Jennifer Oldridge Paul Bonnichsen

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Tips for Preventing Soil Erosion: • Choose plants that have a strong root system. • Zigzag plants so that the roots will catch water wherever it goes. • Pack clay soil on the ground surrounding the plants to hold them tight. • Cover with wood chips and mulch. • Build a dam with rocks and clay to catch the water until the plants take hold. • Trim weeds, but keep the roots to hold the dirt or a plant. Then, go back and pull weeds after the plant has established itself.

Dennis and Jahala Kinser’s nonchalant home nestles into position at the end of its Lakewood cul-de-sac. Most of the homes in this Lee’s Summit community are lovely and well-kept, but when you step into the Kinsers’ backyard, it outshines the rest.

A picturesque scene unfolds, from the craggy precipice that plunges into the calm, tranquil lake whose waves softly lap against the rocks’ battled edges, to the bends and curves that create alcoves for the pontoon boats to park and float.

The Kinsers have spent the last five years demolishing, rebuilding, manicuring, rearranging and reconfiguring this pie-shaped lakeside garden and its 200 feet of waterfront land. Standing on the pinnacle of their terrain and gazing at the panoramic view of other lakeside havens, this one is clearly the poster child of controlling erosion, creating a lush, fertile garden and literally wowing the neighbors. But it wasn’t always this way. When the couple purchased the home, the garden was in complete disarray.

Now those same banks are awash in color, with new plantings that can tolerate the Missouri weather and the poor growing conditions. Teetering on the sloping hillside and threatened by erosion, the Kinsers had a definite challenge. Jahala ripped out grass near the edge so they wouldn’t have to mow there, replacing it with sedums or roses. Many of the floras are native and durable, take root quickly and can withstand just about anything Mother Nature throws their way. However, controlling the routes the water travels and keeping as much soil intact as humanly possible are quandaries that keep Jahala and Dennis up at night.

Jahala kicks the earth and points out one of her erosion woes. “Our ground is right on top of rocks — see those rocks peeking through?” she asks. “The ground just slides off the rock. At first I packed the area with clay soil and a wood chip mixture, and then I’d plant as rapidly as I could. I’d mulch again and continue to tamp down the soil, really just trying to get roots to grasp on to the land as quickly as possible.”

It seems to be working: The plants are taking root. Jahala is a smart woman, holding a doctorate in education. She firmly believes that people can teach themselves anything if they are motivated enough. After studying up on the subjects, she learned how to master erosion, wield water to her whims and garden in general — with outstanding results.

Jahala jokes that when Dennis leaves town, she tends to take on gardening notions that he has tried to dissuade her from attempting. Her natural “can-do” spirit propels her to try the impossible.

Dennis never really knows how the garden will have morphed while he is away. She explains, “Once, when Dennis was away, my son and I created this water feature,” as she points to a two-tiered, double pond that has a shallow river rock stream connecting two pools. It is teeming with blooming lilies and lotus. One might think that someone with a gigantic lake to view wouldn’t find it necessary to add more water to the garden. But Jahala has four water features, two ponds, a bubbler, and a tumbling water fall that plunges into the kidney-shaped swimming pool.

“I love water. I’ve got some sort of water fixation,” she explains. “The sound of water is wonderful. With this garden butting up to the lake and all the rocks, it provides lots of nooks and crannies to plant in and, for me, that creates a very natural look, just like those plants had always been there, like something you would find growing on the edge of the creek.”

Although the Kinsers’ garden wasn’t placed by nature itself, the couple was able to carve out their own little slice of heaven, with all of the elements of wind, water, stone and earth that are truly a gift to a gardener’s soul and a sight to behold.