Stunning Tennessee scenery

Because of the sometimes-tricky growing conditions, native plants such as mountain laurel were an attractive option for the gardens. Frances says she is also open to experimenting with new types of plants, even if she isn't always successful. "It was like eating peanuts - I couldn't stop," she says. "Unfortunately, I haven't met a plant I didn't like. I try something, and if it doesn't work, that's OK too."

Trial and error resulted in what are now sprawling gardens, with 1,500 different types of plants. Frances purchased surrounding pieces of land when they became available, expanding her natural palette.

In the sunny garden in the front of her house, she has wildflowers, as well as more exotic plants such as bamboo. Junipers and dwarf crepe myrtles punctuate the yard. In the shady garden in the back of her house, she grows her azaleas and rhododendrons. She estimates that she has 150 different kinds of rhododendrons, with one or two examples of each type.

Garden tours

Frances' beautiful flowers have captured the interest of other garden enthusiasts. Members of the American Rhododendron Society and the Azalea Society of America have toured her gardens. Frances tries to accommodate all of the requests from garden clubs.

"I always say yes to anybody who wants to come through," Frances says. "I guess word of mouth travels fast."

With so many groups stopping by to see the gardens, Frances needed a place to meet with them outdoors. She found a location for a pavilion in an unlikely place: the site of a 40-year-old swimming pool on her land. The pool, which she once maintained so neighbor children could swim in it, was in need of extensive repairs. Rather than fix the pool she no longer used, Frances and her son decided to fill it in with dirt and gravel so they could build the pavilion in its place.

Lath house

Frances has another structure on her property that is one of a kind. Thomas, who is an architect, designed a lath house to shelter his mother's potted plants. When the carpenters were building the structure, they joked that it looked like a stealth bomber because of its distinctive shape. The lath house has been nicknamed The Stealth Bomber ever since.

Not all of Frances' plants grow outdoors in her gardens or in the protection of her lath house. She also has a small greenhouse where she cares for tropical plants and grows new native plants from cuttings. When the weather gets cold, she pumps air between the two plastic layers on the exterior of her greenhouse. This process keeps her plants insulated from the cold temperatures.