Here's a formula for excitement: Take a retired (and slightly bored) legal professional with an abiding love of his wife, Ann, a passion for gardening, creative skills ranging from embroidery to arc welding, and lots, and lots of imagination. The result is Troll Knoll. Nearly everything within the confines of this 20-acre estate - from its spectacular botanical display to its mythical mischievous inhabitants - is what John Morris calls, A conceptual metaphor. All of these things, he says, reflect upon some experience in my life. Thousands of visitors have followed the silk-top-hatted Troll on tours of the garden, and are astounded by its attractions like the Old West town of Annsville, its vineyard maze, and successful use of plants like citrus, and palms, not supposed to thrive at Troll Knolls 1,800 foot elevation. Even more so, they're stunned by the fact that the vast majority of environmentally-friendly planning, planting, and maintenance is done by a couple in theirs, Golden Years. In every respect, Troll Knoll is a world-class garden. Even those who have visited the site several times can plant their feet, and see some aspect of the display they've never noticed before. And, the garden keeps expanding in scope. Just before completion of the book, a blank wall in the kitchen garden blossomed with a trompe loeil mural of a picturesque street in Italy. And it expands into the patio with live potted plants. Within these pages, you'll find an impression of the gardens in many aspects. And hopefully, you will agree it is, a garden like no other.
