A Southern Garden Grounded in Memories


A stone pathway extends from the Brazeals’ covered back patio to the front stoop of the tin-roofed cottage, which now houses Leila’s gardening tools. Confederate jasmine vines intertwine along the façade, and beds of ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas, George Tabor azaleas, pink and white begonias, and variegated caladiums frame the building.

“Pink, white, and blue are the colors that I always use in my yard,” says Leila, who selects various annuals, like petunias, in her go-to hues for the decorative planters scattered around the garden. A whitewashed pedestal urn and several shorter containers keep company with an iron bench nestled among branches of hot pink hydrangeas and azaleas.