Serenity in Blooms

Every detail is worth noticing here at Skycrest Gardens just north of Ames, Iowa (35 miles north of Des Moines). Tom Kenney's soothing water gardens and the lavish flower borders of his wife, Marilyn, create a lush oasis in what once was a barren 3/4-acre yard.

The blooms of hardy lilies, which come in shades of yellow, pink and red, rest on the water. Very fragrant tropical lilies poke out several inches above the water's surface. Tropical lilies come in the same colors as hardies, plus blues and purples, and grow larger leaves. You can buy day- or night-blooming tropical lillies.

Tom's smallest pond, about 5x4 feet and packed with fuzzy water lettuce plants, tucks into a fenced corner. In another part of the yard, a big, formal concrete pond with a two-tier waterfall lends a note of elegance.

Two larger water gardens, each about 13x20 feet, blend in so well with Marilyn's flower borders that you might not even notice them until you almost fall in. Out-of-the- ordinary plants such as wispy, 5-foot-tall Egyptian papyrus, or 3-foot-tall taro, with burgundy, heart-shaped leaves, hint that these aren't average flower beds: They're ponds!

Tropical and hardy water lilies and lotus plants decorate the surface with pastel blooms, from lavender to pink and pale yellow. Dainty flowers and mammoth striped leaves of 5-foot-tall cannas add interest.

The Kenneys try to sneak a few moments in the evenings to relax on a bench beside a pond. They smell sweet night-blooming plants and listen to comforting sounds of rippling water, as moonlight glistens on the surface.

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