Jerry Hudgens' garden spills out across 4 1/2 acres, resplendent with mostly native plants such as rare trilliums, hostas, wild gingers and azaleas.
A rushing stream winds through the garden, called Fern Dell, for the more than 10,000 ferns growing wild. The plants and flowers on his Churchville property start blooming in February and blossom every month through November, when bright yellow leopard spots, brilliant blue monkshood, white Chadds Ford orchids, purple and white toad lilies and bright red winterberry holly pop out.
"Jerry has several species of rhododendrons that many of us can't grow," said Donald Hyatt of the Potomac Valley Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society. "He has quite a collection of rare wildflowers and trillium species. He has a great location and great soil and the plants just love it."
But it wasn't always that way.
"When I first bought this house and land in 1966, I tried to grow a vegetable garden and failed miserably at it," said the 67-year-old Hudgens.
At that point, he stuck to household plants until 1978, when he started dabbling in flowers and other plants. He had almost immediate success - and now everything the retired psychologist touches seems to thrive.
Hudgens' garden has grown into a showpiece, visited by organizations such as Harford County Master Gardeners, the Delaware Valley Fern & Wildflower Society, and the Mason-Dixon Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society.
Hyatt said the American Rhododendron Society plans to tour the garden in the spring with the more than 500 attendees of its national convention.
"We've never seen the garden in full bloom," Hyatt said. "It's magnificent in pictures. It's a carpet of flowers. This is the first time we've had our convention in this area since 1982, so it's our first chance to get to see it as a group."
With little training in his early gardening days, Hudgens resorted to trial and error.
But he had a good start. Although he had no formal background in horticulture when he started, he's been exposed to gardens and plants his entire life. His father had vegetable gardens, his mother tended flowerbeds and his grandmother grew roses.
Hudgens' passion for plants started around the house. After failing with vegetables, he decided to go with things that would grow in the shade, such as azaleas and rhododendrons.
