Troll Knoll: A Garden Like No Other

By John Morris and Richard Tracy

Heres 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, theyre stunned by the fact that the vast majority of environmentally friendly planning, planting and maintenance is done by a couple in their, 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 theyve 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 youll find an impression of the gardens many aspects. And hopefully you will agree it is, a garden like no other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514480090

John Morris

John Morris has stories to tell. His novels are absorbing fiction, which are intense and emotional at times, and funny at others. “I study the Human Species,” he relates. “I share this by writing a rainbow of human emotions. One minute the evocative words may make one cry, and the next, humour dispels the emotional miasma. Good novels, like real life, are a question of balance, and drawing the reader in.”Morris draws on his eclectic life experiences in his writing. He brings to the reader a range of heartfelt emotions, highs and lows of human life, as mirrored by humanity in general.“I am sharing my written words with readers, and feedback has been fantastic. I’m hungry to write more, and share with others life’s experiences. My books have several levels, but I love it best, when I use words to hide a clue written in plain sight. That is Cristie-esque.”Morris has never accepted anything simply because it is the norm. He admits, “I have enjoyed so many different careers, and seen so much of the world in the process, they seem like separate lifetimes. I always wanted to be a folk/rock star, because I’m driven to tell stories of people’s lives and loves, initially by writing lyrics. Whilst being very good at playing a 12-string acoustic guitar, I could not sing to save my life. Over time, I discovered I could write, poems and short stories at first, and then novels.”Born in England to a local father and an Irish mother, Morris has lived in China since 2004. He has held numerous positions, from the ten years he spent as a police officer specializing in serious fraud, to entrepreneur and world trader, to writer. Early on, he qualified as a Yachtmaster for sailing vessels.Aged forty-eight, he lost everything: his girlfriend, his home, his car, and because of that, his job. “It was a turning point. How does your mind work?” He asks. “I felt the bottom had dropped out of my life as I knew it, so after moping for a few months, I created a new life. I went to University to study Mobile Computing BSc. (Hons), and got my placement year in Foshan, China. I loved the culture, the people so much I never went back. Life is what you make it.”After two failed marriages, he is now happily married to Siu Ying, and living in the heartland of Cantonese China. Morris is father to their young daughter, Rhiannon. Morris is not a polyglot, but he speaks Cantonese to a conversational level. Although he and his wife do not share a common language, they communicate exceptionally well. “We’ve never had an argument,” he relates. “How could we, when neither of us speaks enough of the other’s tongue.”Morris writes about his cross-cultural experiences on his self-coded website, china-expats.com. He also designs and hosts web sites for other people and companies.Related websites:Author website:http://www.john-morris-author.comImprint website:http://www.charlotte-greene.co.ukStar Gazer website:http://www.star-gazer.co.ukA Letter from China:http://www.china-expats.com

Book preview

© 2015 Dick Tracy and John Morris

All rights reserved. Published 2015.a

22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5 6

ISBN-13: 978-0-9831798-3-2

Copyright © 2016 by Richard Tracy with John Morris. 728009

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016905088

   ISBN:   Softcover   978-1-5144-8010-6

      Hardcover   978-1-5144-8011-3

      EBook   978-1-5144-8009-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 10/24/2016

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

It takes a village to create a book like this. And there are those without whose inspiration and guidance it would never have happened. Topping that list is Ann Morris.

Without her, there would have been no need for the garden at Troll Knoll. And minus her persistence, encouragement and love, the home and garden could not endure.

Further endowing the continued expansion of Troll Knoll have been some significant contributors: Sebastian Rapport for computer help; Merle Kennealy for bringing folks; Judy Beaver for creative ideas; Eric Sparks for overseeing electronics and surveillance cameras and Sherron Egner for comments and criticism. Certainly not to be forgotten are beloved benefactors from the past such as my mother-in-law, Helen Wilson, who showed me how to frame a view, and my parents, Toxey and Dorothy Morris, who let me fly and told me what I was doing was fantastic.

Notable contributions came from the family of my collaborator in the enthusiasm and support of his wife, Felicia Tracy and the remarkable proofreading skills of his son Ryan Tracy.

Finally, we owe thanks to the thousands of guests who have followed the troll through the garden. We’ve never charged admission, but were paid handsomely with observations and suggestions that have added to the fun and adventure of the endeavor.

John Morris

image%202.tif

What’s Inside

Contents

Chapter 1   Meet the Troll

Chapter 2   Meet Lady Whackemback

Chapter 3   Troll House

Chapter 4   The Garden Entry

Chapter 5   Pond Won

Chapter 6   The Subject Is Roses

Chapter 7   The Story of Kwan Yin

Chapter 8   The Three Graces

Chapter 9   Statues Become Punctuation

Chapter 10   A Garden within a Garden

Chapter 11   The Path of Lesser Significance

Chapter 12   The Mossy Green Path

Chapter 13   Ants in the Plants

Chapter 14   The Dinosaur Habitat

image%201.tif

Chapter 15   An A–maze–ing Vineyard

Chapter 16   Golf, Anyone?

Chapter 17   The Boxer Bog

Chapter 18   The Swamp Garden

Chapter 19   Ruins of Opius VI

Chapter 20   Ann’s Kitchen Garden

Chapter 21   Annsville Honors the Old West

Chapter 22   Pinky’s Trailer Park

Chapter 23   Troll Knoll’s X-Files

Chapter 24   The Far Western Rinkydinks

Chapter 25   The Night Garden

Chapter 26   Is It Worth a Wooden Nickel?

Chapter 27   Preparing for the Prom

Chapter 28   The Topic Is Neatness

Chapter 29   Inside the Knoll’s Engine Room

Chapter 30   Troll Knoll Snapshots

Chapter 31   Troll Knoll’s Hidden Treasures

Chapter 32   Things We Need to Say

Chapter 33   Dick Tracy? Are you kidding?

Chapter 34   What the Future Holds

page%204%20and%205%20061B.tifpage%206%20047.tif

The English Garden Walk

Introduction

Welcome to Troll Knoll

Chances are you’ve turned the pages of this book several times before checking out this introduction.

Don’t feel sheepish. I’ve done the same thing many times when reviewing books in my professional capacity as a garden newspaper editor.

But now that you’re here, allow me to make some observations.

When I was writing about gardening for the Sacramento Bee, a career that stretched over thirty years, I had the extreme pleasure of visiting gardens near and far.

In those glory days, when newspapers were knocking down a handsome profit margin, I was urged to travel. Attending symposiums of the Garden Writers Association, for example, brought me to gardens all over the country and Canada.

And as a garden luminary, it was my pleasure to guest-host trips to England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

Over those years, I developed a test for a world-class garden. In such a place, you can plant your feet and quietly look around and see that the gardener has placed stones and other landscape objects in a particular manner and created a schedule of blooms to carry beauty through the year. Aspects of the garden that look as if they just happened have been carefully planned, as have the methods of irrigation and lighting pathways.

I share that information in order to explain that I have never seen a garden quite like Troll Knoll. True, it’s not Versailles, Villandry, Stourhead, or Giverny. Yet it is a world-class garden in every respect.

image%204.tif

First, we will turn all the flowers blue, then turn the alligators to stone …

In fact, it’s a love story told with tenderness and humor as much as it is a horticultural showcase. That’s why, after first visiting in 2004, I urged John Morris, You have to share this.

He did, and visitors arrived by the tens of thousands. One day, for example, there were seven coaches of California Garden Club members roaming the garden with guidance from the Troll.

And when I suggested that he should write a book about the garden, John drew a deep breath and said, I love to talk, but I hate to type.

Raising my hand, I said, I can type. And the die was cast.

We’d usually meet on Wednesday mornings, pick a subject to discuss while my tape recorder rolled, then visit various parts of the garden.

Even after dozens of such visits, I invariably found something in the garden I hadn’t noticed before.

image%205.tif

John and Ann Morris

And each conversation with John and Ann revealed that every aspect of the landscape is intertwined with the stories of their lives: joy and sorrow, happiness and despair.

I recall one morning when we were seated on the living room sofa with the Morrises’ boxers, Pepper and Plato, curled at our feet; and Ann walked in, pausing on her way to the bedroom to change clothes. Arms held out like a scarecrow, she was laughing hysterically, wearing a completely soaked T-shirt.

Obviously, something unexpected had happened on her rounds to see that all the drip emitters and sprinklers were working properly. It was an experience only a true gardener would find humorous.

What about the future of Troll Knoll? John, turning seventy with the publication of the book, oftentimes talks of the new people who will someday own the property. (It’s highly unlikely either of the grown Morris children will continue their parents’ garden legacy.)

When gardeners die, John says with a sigh, staring out at the rose garden, their gardens usually die with them.

If that’s the fate of Troll Knoll, at least it’s served its purpose for now.

Keep in mind that garten in German means sanctuary, and that’s what John was seeking. Initially, I just wanted a place to take evening walks with Ann.

This book is an opportunity to share that stroll.

page%2010%20B0020251.tif

Some places to stroll

image%206.tif

Ranunculus volans tumulorum or something

flipped%20troll%20addresses%20crowd.tif

Chapter 1

Meet the Troll

Ask anyone who’s been on a guided tour of Troll Knoll for their impressions, and they’ll most likely laugh and tell of John Morris’s lilting Southern accent and add, It was hard to figure out whether he was telling the truth or pulling our legs!

And such remarks gladden the heart of the Troll, who insists the purpose of the garden is to have fun.

A gift of the golden tongue has been with John since grade school, when, at the age of sixteen, he won prestigious state and national awards for extemporaneous speaking.

Recalling his early education, John says he applied from high school to a number of top-quality colleges, including Yale and Harvard, and was accepted—with a scholarship—at nearly all of them, including Harvard.

An instructor