Thirty years ago, Susan Silverman was struggling to cope with the illness of her beloved mother. She turned outdoors to her garden and found, to her amazement, that the place was both mentally and physically healing.

	Tony Tye, Post-Gazette photos A hillside shows the variety of textures Mrs. Silverman has created. To the left of the plum tree, center, are a tree peony, viburnum and sandcherry. Adding color are 'Autumn Joy' sedum and purple aster. Click photo for larger image. Complete List: 2006 Great Garden Contest Winners

These days, her 3/4-acre garden in Murrysville is filled with diverse plantings, color, texture and, most importantly to her, joy. Adding to her joy was being chosen recently as co-winner in the large gardens category of the Great Gardens Contest.

However, when you talk to her, you get the distinct idea that what's even more important to her than winning is getting to spread the word about the wonders of gardening.

The former kindergarten teacher became a master gardener about six years ago, when it became apparent that she couldn't teach herself anything more on her own.

In the beginning, she was like the rest of us with a new landscape and not a lot of ideas. After she and her husband, Arne, had this house built in 1990, she enlisted the help of an area landscaper.

"I wasn't happy [with the results], so I made it my own," she said.

Susan Silverman planted annuals in the semi-shade by the woods behind her house. Click photo for larger image.

Mrs. Silverman looks over a landscape now populated with a mixture of conifers, woody ornamentals, neatly clipped trees, bulbs, containers, lots of daylilies, other perennials and annuals. She has separate shade, sun and water gardens.

Over the years, she has removed and added plants, expanded beds and given the place a personality that reflects her own calm happiness. She does nearly all of the work herself, sometimes losing track of the time.

As a joke, Mr. Silverman bought her a miner's cap with a light so she could keep gardening after the sun goes down. He also installed an outdoor clock for when she forgets to check her wristwatch.

She hires a landscaper to spread mulch in the spring and prune some of the larger trees, a job she closely supervises.

While the plantings certainly reflect the gardener, she is quick to credit her mentor and friend.

	Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) adds fall color to Susan Silverman's four-season garden in Murrysville. Despite its name, the flower is not related to true crocus, which blooms in early spring. Click photo for larger image.

"[Nursery owner] Bill Wilson is instrumental in what I put in here," she said.

His little nursery outside Murrysville is filled with specialty plants, including less-common Japanese maples and interesting conifers, daylilies and hostas. Daylilies are a special love of Mrs. Silverman's and were what initially drew her to Mr. Wilson, who specializes in the plant.

"His driveway is like a painting [when they bloom]," she said.

It's a wild display of daylilies of all colors and shapes, planted, she says, as nature would do it.

Mrs. Silverman has worked hard throughout the years to make sure her landscape is a multiseasonal space. The conifers, which abound, add texture, color and interest all year. In the fall, she's got asters blooming, Colchicum bulbs flowering and a new sedum, which is stunning, called 'Pink Chablis.' In summer, besides a large daylily display, she's got lots of annuals plugged in. This year, she fearlessly utilized bright golden marigolds and pink impatiens.

Mrs. Silverman's 'Pink Chablis' variegated sedum. Click photo for larger image.

She also has a collection of potted hibiscus from a specialty grower in Florida that are amazing in their variations and colors. She winters them indoors, as she does with some of her pond tropicals.

There probably isn't any aspect of gardening she isn't familiar with, though these days, she especially loves water gardening. Her pond, placed next to the swimming pool, is a work of art, a stone frame filled with lush water plants and koi.

"I've been playing in the dirt 30 years, playing in the water 16," she said with a smile.

Everything in her garden works, but when something doesn't, she isn't afraid to change it. When trees overgrow, she takes them out. If a plant doesn't work where it's put, she moves it. If it dies, she moves on.

"Don't cry about failures," she said. "Look at them as opportunities to try something else."

When she's not working in her own well-cared-for space, Mrs. Silverman is preaching the gospel of gardening. She can often be found giving classes to children through the Green & Growing program at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and also to adults on various horticultural subjects. She even used her flowers to teach her young grandson colors. She has a photograph of him in her kitchen, holding a vibrant yellow daylily.

She spends the winter going through nursery catalogs and planning for the new season. She is constantly editing and tweaking. There are still a few areas of her yard where she can "expand." You know her mind is filled with plans for the future.

She gives her husband credit for encouraging her passion.

"I make it happen; he makes it possible," she said.

However it happens, she richly deserves the first-place award.