Click on the thumbnails (the pictures with beveled edges) for a larger photo.
Jean
Gardner, SHS Class of '56 married Ed Estes, SHS Class of 1953, and they
lived happily ever after. They constructed their own Camelot on 50
acres of land overlooking a bend in the Tennessee River west of town
(actually west of Village One). Jean has made it her avocation to
turn this 50 acres into a prize-winner of a rose garden. As if
that weren't enough to do, she became interested in breeding miniature
ponies, and, now, the gardens are alive with tiny prancing miniature
horses.
Don't think for a minute that she has turned her ideas for the garden and the brood herd over to a staff who actually implement her plans. She rolls up her sleeves and does the dirty work herself. She plants, tends, sprays for rose plant diseases, fertilizes and waters her gardens. She breeds, cares for and is mid-wife at the delivery of every pony born on the property.
No, "Gardener" in the title is not misspelled. She really is a top-notch rose gardener as these photos attest.
Clic on Pic
The centerpiece of the garden is a formal English rose garden that is thriving under the care of Jean ("The Gardener") Gardner Estes. You've gotta see this picture full-screen to appreciate the beauty that Jean has created here.
This is the scene of our Friday night reunion event, and Jean wants you to come early enough to be able to spend time strolling in the gardens before reunion activities begin. Sunset at the beginning of June should be a little after 8:00 p.m., so the starting time of 6:00 p.m. should give us ample time. . . and, I'll bet they are beautifully lighted after dark.
But, then, that's when all the good eating and fun will be happening.
Jean says it's backbreaking work.
She wants you to enjoy the fruits of her labor.
Come to Jean's House Friday, June 2, at 6 o'clock in the evening.
Come early and enjoy the ponies and the gardens she's created