This article appeared in the June 18th Issue of TV Times
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By David Maull
TV Times

Tom Tibbetts has what he likes to call an "accidental garden" at his home on Pilottown Road in Lewes.

The house, owned by Tibbetts and partner Bob Thompson, features one of the hidden gardens for which the town has become famous. But they can only take partial credit for its development.

When they purchased the home 10 years ago, many of the plantings had already been done by the previous owner, John Greer. Others came in the form of unintentional gifts.

"We were given some by Mr. Greer and we were given some by people who claimed they were using our space for storage," Tibbetts joked. "Its developed like most things in life."

Developed to the point where, for the first time, it will be included on the annual Lewes Garden Tour, scheduled for Saturday, June 20.

The eighth annual self-guided tour takes visitors to 14 hidden gardens throughout town. Located behind houses or hidden by fences, most are not visible from the street.

The front portion of Tibbetts' house dates back to the 1700s and once stood about a mile away on 2nd Street. Greer moved the house to Pilottown Road in the early 1950s.

"It's a very old house," Tibbetts said. "It used to sit in the middle of downtown Lewes."

Although Tibbetts and Thompson have added a garage, living room and pool to the structure, a few of Greer's original gardens remain.

Tibbetts estimates there are more than a dozen types of flowers and at least 10 types of trees and shrubs surrounding the house and pool.

Many of the flowers were planted around the pool as temporary storage for friends who needed to relocate their garden because of a remodeling project at their house in Washington, D.C.

But those friends never reclaimed their plants once the remodeling was complete.

"Much of what we have added was a gift," Tibbetts said.

But that doesn't mean developing the garden was easy.

Tibbetts, a retired federal executive from Washington, D.C., has spent countless hours maintaining the garden and recently added a brick patio with a fountain. Last week, he was scrambling to add the finishing touches for the garden tour.

"This is the first time I've had enough time to work extensively (on the garden)," he said of his retirement.

Tibbetts specializes in lilies and has a number of different types, including day lilies, tiger lilies and calla lilies. There are also a few roses and impatiens.

Adding a special touch are Greer's antique garden statues.

"This is interesting because it has history," Tibbetts said.

Another first-timer on the tour is Lewis Miles, whose home sits at the corner of Railroad and Madison Avenues.

Miles moved to Lewes in May 1994 and set about developing a garden at what had previously been a seasonal home.

He has added a rock garden with roses at the front and along the walkway to the back of the house are gladiolus, calla lilies and more roses.

One of the garden's interesting quirks is a small pond with live fish.

"This is all just a total makeover," he said. "I want lots of different things."

In the back yard, there are rose vines growing up the sides and on the top of a small wooden canopy.

Miles is pleased with the progress the white roses have shown in only their second year.

"It's already showing exactly what I want it to show," he said. "They've got a ton (of growing to do)."

Miles is originally from South Florida and had to relearn the trades of gardening after moving to Washington, D.C. and eventually Lewes.

He discovered that certain types of plants that flourished in Florida could not survive in Delaware because of the cooler climate.

"The gardening you of up here is totally different," Miles said.

While in Washington, Miles chose to have a landscaper develop a garden at his home. Although that garden would eventually win awards and be featured in Washingtonian magazine, those honors rang hollow because Miles had almost no hands-on involvement in it's creation.

"I decided I didn't want to do that," he said.

Miles began developing his own garden and soon realized the amount of work involved.

He noted the challenge is finding out when plants will bloom or give off a scent and then planting them in locations where they can be enjoyed most. He even grows plants inside with heat lamps during the winter.

Miles noted there is always work to be done in a garden.

"One-third of your garden is always in the wheelbarrow," he said. "I suppose when it's done, you're in the casket."