Maryhelen Zopfi gets a kick out of finding new uses for old stuff.
The avid gardener’s green thumb is on glorious display at her North Mobile Villa Drive home in Lutz, where she grows roses, orchids, crotons, fruit trees, orchids, grapevines and all sorts of other plants.
But her enthusiasm for gardening is perhaps outdone by the funky stuff she has all over her place.
Recent additions to her eclectic outdoor décor include the front end of 1997 Buick that she’s converted into a waterfall for her koi pond in her backyard. The pond, by the way, is a former swimming pool, which is partially covered by a deck.
The deck, it turns out, is the perfect cover for the koi — should a hungry bird swoop down to try to grab a quick bite to eat.
The Buick’s front end is raised up on blocks, spilling water through its grill into the pool below.
Meanwhile, out front, Zopfi has added an old-fashioned telephone booth amidst her plants, just for fun.
She also has a smaller waterfall in her front yard, which, by the way, she thinks would be a perfect candidate for the front end of a Smart car.
Zopfi, who describes herself as a “stay-at-home gardener,” always is thinking up stuff she can do to keep adding interest to her yard. Besides being full of whimsy, her yard also is environmentally friendly, too.
She won Hillsborough County’s 2012 Florida-Friendly Landscape Water-Wise Award for the many water-conserving practices she observes.
For instance, she catches rainfall in a barrel to water a portion of a garden. She diverts runoff from her rooftop and pipes it into areas of her garden. She also uses landscape beds to keep storm water from spilling out of her yard. And, she uses micro-irrigation to apply water where needed without wasteful spraying.
Zopfi gets a kick out of showing off her handiwork. She welcomes garden clubs to come take a tour of her yard. She’s also been known to set up tables in her driveway, to let garden club members have a meeting and eat lunch.
Her generosity does have its limits, though.
The garden club members have to bring their own lunch.
If your garden club would like to schedule a visit to Zopfi’s garden, you can email the request to .
