Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette In 1990, Kathy and Larry Shoop built a new home, and with it came plenty of landscape work. They started with a pond and haven't stopped since. Their three-acre property includes a small waterfall and bright red dahlias. Click photo for larger image. Great Garden Photo Journal Index to stories on Great Garden Contest Winners 2004

Larry Shoop wanted a goldfish pond. So when he and his wife, Kathy, built a home on a three-acre lot in Moon in 1990, that was one of the first features put into the landscape.

After that, things kept rolling. The couple, with minimal help, created a garden that garnered them honorable mention in the professional category of the Great Gardens Contest.

An Omni-Stone patio went in first, then Larry's pond, each with help from professionals. The rest of the work -- and most of all the plantings -- belonged to the couple.

The impetus? They wanted to get rid of a lawn that would have taken four hours to mow.

The answer? Flower beds -- lots of them.

These days they preside over a yard not just full of flower beds but peppered with seating areas. They've successfully transformed the old "lawn" into a series of outdoor rooms.

The existing pond had two incarnations. The original work and some of the plantings around it were done by a local landscaper. A few years later, North Hills Water Gardens redid the work, making the pond larger.

Into it went goldfish, koi and orfs. Bubba, the whopper koi that is about 24 inches long and 8 years old, is a special pet. Beside the pond is a pergola, which is covered by wisteria and honeysuckle. Wicker seating is in the shade under the pergola, where the couple say they enjoy many warm evenings watching the fish.

Each year, new elements are added. Kathy says they choose plants for the landscape simply by buying things they like. The garden is filled with old-fashioned flowers, like rose of Sharon, roses, daylilies, hostas, lots of ferns, dahlias, zinnias, coneflowers, rudbeckia and lilacs.

Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette Kathy Shoop walks along a shady pathway that surrounds the back yard. Click photo for larger image.

They admit they're still in the learning phase of gardening.

"We buy a plant, put it in the ground, and if it doesn't do well, we move it," says Kathy. "It's been a lot of trial and error."

They removed the lower limbs of the rose of Sharon shrubs, making room underneath for plantings that create a multidimensional effect.

This past year, they put in a gravel/paver path around the inside perimeter of the fence.

"The problem was that it was so overgrown back there (where the path is). We couldn't get back there, so we took out all the overgrown stuff and put in the pathway. Now it's private and [the path] creates small garden rooms -- a shady garden," she says.

This new experiment in shade gardening has been a challenge.

"It's hard to find things that do really well in the deep shade. It's real dark back there, so we have ferns, hostas, and I'm trying a couple of things like campanula, which seems to do OK. But I'll have to wait until next year when some of the stuff comes back. Some of it looks like it's going to do well, and other stuff doesn't," says Kathy.

Because the couple also owns property outside the fence, the path lets them view the area, which they plan to start planting in the future.

A flagstone patio was installed last fall by the couple that includes seating and a cast-iron burner, so cool nights can be enjoyed outside.

And yes, the gardening bug bit them both.

"We do the maintenance ourselves," says Kathy. "We're out here every Saturday and Sunday, and we do something during the week. It's clearly a hobby, and we did lay the flagstone patio ourselves."

But work is divided, says Kathy. She does most of the plant buying and is very budget-minded when it comes to purchasing plants. She has no favorite nursery, so she shops all over.

"I go and browse. If I find something that's either very cheap or very healthy, I try to think where it would go in the garden," she says.

As for Larry ...

"The roses are Larry's thing. He just kind of gravitated toward it. I kind of like things that take care of themselves, like the peonies."

Larry also loves zinnias. Kathy says her favorites are daylilies and dahlias.

Future plans are in discussion. Larry wants another pond and maybe a piece of garden sculpture. Kathy has some ideas of her own.

"I think next year's project will be the front yard. ... I'd like to put something very formal and symmetrical [in that area]. But if you ask Larry, he'll say it's the second pond."

Then she laughed, suggesting Larry has a tough debate ahead of him.