LJWorld.com

An unassuming little cottage nestled neatly under a canopy of shade trees on Barker Avenue has a garden that peeks through the rustling leaves and begs passers-by to take another look.

Paul and Chris Hotvedt have taken artistic license with their little piece of earth, and who would know better how to get creative in the garden than a couple of artists.

Paul is a landscape painter and former Lawrence Arts Commissioner, and Chris is a ceramic artist and preschool teacher at the Lawrence Arts Center. When you meander down the garden paths -- hand-crafted from river rock, large stones, bricks and wooden stumps -- you immediately get a sensation that this is a garden where anything goes. As long as the medium is found in nature, it will more than likely be incorporated into this whimsical and inviting outdoor space.

When the couple bought the home about eight years ago, there was virtually no garden to speak of -- just a typical lawn with a house perched in the middle of it. If the garden space were going to accurately reflect the home's inhabitants, the pedestrian green lawn had to go.

In its place, the Hotvedts have created lush, layered landscape beds. Paul points out the muse that started the entire garden.

"It was the rough-leaf dogwood which is found growing wild all over Kansas," he says. "I would try to paint them and get so frustrated with how difficult they are to accurately interpret. They are just very complex in how they move and the colors. I call the tree my siren song. Then a friend gave us some clippings of the rough-leaf dogwood, and the garden has snowballed from that point on."

Paul grew up on a lake in Wisconsin surrounded by a family of artists, so the outdoors and art have always gone hand and hand for him. He spends most of his days outdoors, observing nature and attempting to capture its many moods.

"Painting outside is more realistic, and I think the work looks better," he says. "It is challenging with the shapes, colors and light which are always changing."

The Hotvedt's garden is peppered with interesting artifacts: a rusted old metal sewing machine, the shovel end of a broken tool which has found a permanent home tucked behind some wild geraniums, and a quaint border fence made of horizontally stacked tree limbs. They all combine to enhance the interest of the garden above and beyond the plants.

"When you are involved in making art, you are used to pushing things further," he says. "You are always considering options, the 'what ifs' of life and landscaping."

The Hotvedt landscape is a family affair. Their daughter Maisie, 12, has her own garden plot, as does their son, Nels, 15, who often wants very unique plants in his area. In the past he has collected carnivorous plants.

The vegetable garden is now brimming over with free compost from the city and is ready for what Chris Hotvedt affectionately calls her "salsa garden."

There is a "wild" back yard that has a wonderful pear tree, which seems tailor-made for climbing, with an old stone fireplace next to it that Maisie and her Girl Scout troop take full advantage of. Patio furniture, much of which has been hand-crafted by Paul, makes for a marvelous spot to sit and view the native plant beds, one for sun and one for shade.

The Hotvedt's took a trip to Jefferson City, Mo., specifically to purchase plants native to this area and made a weekend of it, staying at a bed and breakfast before loading up the car with a gardener's smorgasbord of earthly delights. Their garden has the look of one of Paul's paintings; the difference is that touching, poking and prodding are encouraged in this outdoor masterpiece.

Copyright 2012 The Lawrence Journal-World. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. We strive to uphold our values for every story published.