Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 3, 1995 TAG: 9505030022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY ALAN
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
The couple's historic three-story brick home at 903 Wenonah Ave. isn't blockaded by high stone walls or protected by moats with man-eating monsters.
Its boundary is guarded, instead, by thousands and thousands of tiny green soldiers. Standing staunch, topped with colorful turbans of glowing orange, deep purple, lemon yellow, creamy white and multifarious shades of red, these little soldiers attract more sightseers than they deter.
They should. They're tulips.
Legions and legions of tulips.
Five years ago, Charles Fleeman planted 1,500 tulip bulbs. Last year, he planted 10,000. The year before that he sowed 2,500 of the colorful, bell-shaped flowers, and the year before that ...
Well, all told, he figures he now has about 20,000 bulbs in the ground on this 3-acre spread near downtown Pearisburg.
Ask the big, burly plumbing contractor why he digs this diversion and he'll tell you:
"I just happen to like tulips."
"I guess you could say we're addicted," admits his wife, Phyllis.
When he told her he was going to Lowe's to get 10,000 tulip bulbs last fall, Phyllis Fleeman thought her husband was pulling her leg.
A week later, Charles Fleeman, 53, and his 32-year-old daughter, Cindy, were still on their hands and knees. Planting so many bulbs isn't an overnight project.
"When you get down there, you'll stay there awhile," Charles Fleeman said.
"Cindy said every time she dug a hole, she found another bulb already there," his wife added.
Tulips aren't the only botanical beauties embellishing the Fleemans' king-size lawn. Fragrant English boxwoods and junipers, delicate asters, pretty daffodils and azaleas in a kaleidoscope of hues make it a plant lovers paradise.
Ajuga, dahlias, tea roses, chrysanthemums - Phyllis Fleeman can call out the names of the flowers in her yard like a teacher taking roll.
The pansies, however, are her pets.
"They seem like they're always smiling at you," she says.
The Fleemans began their massive landscaping project about five years ago. Laurel Creek Nursery did much of the work initially and advised the couple on planning their landscape design with an eye to the future.
Since then, Charles Fleeman has learned the golden rule of gardening:
"You gotta remember this stuff grows when you plant it."
A giant elm towers above the Fleemans' home. It looks as if it has shaded the front porch for a century or more. The brick house was built around 1903 after the original home on the site, a white frame structure built around 1863, was destroyed by fire. The Fleemans bought the residence in 1978.
Many of the trees on the property are new additions, however.
"We planted 28 dogwood trees on the lot," Charles Fleeman noted.
Norwegian spruce, magnolia, silver maple, crab apple, holly, Bradford pear, Kazim cherry, Japanese maple, redbud and several varieties of evergreen trees are part of the panoramic view from the 31 windows in the Fleemans' house.
As knight of his castle, Fleeman's job is to fight off invaders. Armed with heavy tanks of Round-Up, he jousts with the dandelions and stickseeds. He also battles bumblebees and grapples with grubs.
He estimates that he and his wife spend 50 to 60 hours a week doing lawn and garden maintenance work during the warm months.
"I have gone outside and stayed all day," Phyllis Fleeman said. "I work until it gets dark. I can't quit. I get a lot of pleasure out of it, though. It's relaxing."
She said she also finds the results of her labor rewarding.
"We enjoy sharing it with other people," she noted.
Indeed, people who live in Pearisburg and those who are just passing through often stop at the Fleemans' house to admire the blooming backdrop. Folks in cars creep past 903 Wenonah, craning to see the rhododendrons, the azaleas and - of course - the tulips.
Charles Fleeman figures he has room for a few more of those.
"Yeah, I was thinking about planting another 5,000," he said, surveying his 3-acre spread thoughtfully.
He may have to make a trip to the bank first, though.
"This ain't nothing but a hole to dump money into," he quipped. "The sky's the limit as to what you can spend."
While the Fleemans don't want to say how much money they've buried in their backyard, they know it's a long green.
Figure 20,000 tulips at an average cost of 50 cents per bulb and you'll get the picture.
And picture, if you can, the expression on the loan officer's face when the Fleemans come calling:
"Do you give loans to people who just happen to like tulips?"
by CNB