A repost of Wade & Bea Crowders’ Wine Garden on McPherson

This is a reprint of a post from late summer, 2010. It’s Part 2 of  today’s “Remembering Wade Crowder.

” 
Bea and Wade Crowder, whom you may remember as the operators of a wildly popular pop-up shop on Euclid during the holiday season, are the kind of neighbors who have a perpetual welcome mat at their back gate. In fact they, and some of the same neighbors who drop by regularly for movie nights and impromptu gatherings, have created a wine garden in their backyard on McPherson.

If you look closely through the iron entry gate laced with tiny white lights (above), catch a glimpse of Mark Crowder (Wade’s brother) sculpture in the side yard.

From details such as the handsome architectural artifacts hanging on a garage wall and the back of the house, to the beautiful plantings, I was charmed by the clever use of space.

For instance, I assumed that the elephant ear surrounded by greenery next to the backsteps (above) was planted in a bed. Instead the plants are in pots and arranged to look as if they are in-ground.

<

A fashionable buddha with a sweet potato vine skirt sports a stylish head wrap and amber-colored beads.

The Crowders have lived in their house on McPherson since 1988. When they decided to invest energy into transforming a rather desolate backyard, they cleverly invited the neighbors to help. Wade had six pallets of brick delivered to the alley, and fourteen people showed up to pitch in. The men carried the bricks, while the women put them in place. Four hours later they were toasting the fruits of their labor with glasses of wine.

Wade was also a very talented artist. This is a drawing I photographed during that visit.