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Bob and Rita Widergren wanted a garden of peace, serenity and joy when they moved to the Country Club area of Ignacio 10 years ago.

Bob Widergren, retired from Shades of Marin, the family business started by his father and now run by his son Eric, grew up in San Rafael with a father who loved sweet peas.

“Every summer he would plant sweet peas,” says Rita Widergren, who worked as a Marin County public health nurse with marginalized groups. “And if he came to your house, he would bring you a bouquet.”

She was reared in San Francisco’s Sunset District in a home with a small garden with a few trees and ferns, but her real gardening experience came from her days spent at a relative’s big home and garden.

“My mother’s aunt, Jen, had a lovely garden with a fish pond in the Richmond District of San Francisco and taught my brother and I how to love and grow a garden,” she says. “She truly inspired us and gave us many opportunities to plant and enjoy what grew.

“We would take all the buses to Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma and put flowers on the graves of our deceased family members,” she says. “On the way back, we’d pray the rosary and stop for a milkshake at Clubundies on Geary Street.”

The couple raised their six children in Peacock Gap, but once they all moved out, it was time to downsize and move to Novato, where they could be closer to four of their children who were raising their own families there.

While they loved their new Ignacio home, the garden needed some work.

“There were roses, but not much else,” she says.

That left them with plenty of room to focus on what they wanted in a garden — color, fragrance and bird-attracting flowers.

“There are many perimeter spaces to experiment with,” she says.

Each year, they add new plantings to the beds filled with hydrangea, jasmine, roses, geraniums, camellias, daffodils, miniature daisies and, of course, sweet peas along a fence.

The sweet peas now frame one side of “Cousins’ Corner,” a private escape where their youngest grandchildren take their snacks away from the adult gatherings to chat.

“We love the fact that from very early spring throughout the summer, various plants provide lovely blossoms that come and go as the seasons unfold,” she says. “An amazing rose tree fills the garden with blooms throughout the month of May, and because Bob’s dad grew sweet peas for decades, we’re delighted to have a space to keep up the tradition.”

A swimming pool allows the couple and their guests to cool off and a fountain does the same thing for feathered guests of many species, including hummingbirds, finches, woodpeckers, doves, bluebirds and ravens.

The Widergrens dubbed their fountain, or more specifically, the cherub that holds the fountain’s water bowl, Donatello, and installed a light in the mayten tree to illuminate their beloved water feature at night.

“We bought the fountain from Charleston Gardens (an online store) nine years ago and had it installed near the mayten tree because it was a lovely, warm spot in the morning sun and convenient throughout the day,” she says.

Nearby is a volcanic stone table, hand-painted with luscious-looking lemons, pomegranates, pears and other fruit on a deep blue background.

“It offers us a delightful place to enjoy morning coffee accompanied by birdsong and spilling water,” she says.

She found the table in the coastal village of Praiano, on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, when she and her daughters traveled to celebrate her sister-in-law’s 60th birthday.

“It was a magical time,” she says. “I knew of these tables, and found one that would fit perfectly in our new garden. My husband agreed and we now enjoy Praiano and Donatello on many spring, summer and autumn mornings.”

When the weather turns too cool or too warm, they usually retreat to the welcome relief of their lanai, where a fan cools the space or the fireplace warms it.

“The lanai is a very special place built by our home’s architect, and was designed to enjoy an indoor-outdoor ambiance all year long,” she says. “It works.”

Marin’s NanaWall glass doors help make that possible.

“They open our poolside lanai for summer gatherings and turn it into a delightful winter garden when autumn chill descends,” she says.

The seat cushions are made of easy-to-clean Sunbrella fabric and a built-in vacuum, along with some Bona Tile cleaner, keeps the upkeep of the terra cotta floor simple.

The couple’s shared love of terra cotta is carried through outside, too, where it surrounds the pool.

For decades, they celebrated their anniversary — this year is their 55th — in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, she says. “The terra cotta tiles remind us of that beautiful place and the wonderful warmth and joy we experience there.”

That sweet sense of peace is what they appreciate about their garden.

“We love the joy and serenity our garden offers from both inside and out. It provides us, in our retirement years, a place to celebrate gratitude, family and friendship,” she says. “It beckons us to enjoy the simple abundance of the natural beauty around us and welcomes us to add new dimensions, colors and fragrances to our days. Our garden is an ever-evolving joy forever.”

If you have a beautiful or interesting Marin garden or a newly designed Marin home, I’d love to know about it.

Please send an email describing either one (or both), what you love most about it, and a photograph or two. I will post the very best ones in upcoming columns. Your name will be published and you must be over 18 years old and a Marin resident.

PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.  

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