Stylist creates easy-care backyard garden, fish and all

Lonnie Hoey admits that he and his wife, Melissa, got the second home thing backward. They had been living in the unincorporated community of Sarver, Pennsylvania, for 10 years when they decided to get a second home on the north side of Pittsburgh. Three years later, they got it right.

“We’re renting out our place in Sarver,” he said. “We live here because we love it so much.”

One big reason they love the city is the shady urban garden he has created around their 1869 Italianate-style row house.

Many of the plants in this garden and nearly all of the 60 or so fish came from the Hoeys’ other house. Lonnie Hoey, a stylist at a hair salon, began making the yard his own over two months of weekends. His wife is not a gardener.

“She likes to use it and watch me,” he joked.

He discovered that he liked gardening in his 20s and finds working outdoors relaxing, especially when it involves water. He has created two small water features and one big one, a three-tiered waterfall that begins in a tilted urn and ends in a shallow pond crossed by a small wooden footbridge.

The nine koi in the lower bowl and approximately 50 small goldfish that swim around them overwinter in the deepest part of the pond. He has had the koi for 10 years.

Their guardians are three small dogs: a miniature pinscher, miniature dachshund and Italian greyhound. A sign by the pond reads: “Pets welcome. Children must be on leash.”

“This is their kingdom,” Lonnie says. “We just live with them.”

He’s not a fussy gardener: “I learn as I go.”

This summer, he tried an herb and vegetable garden in a raised bed that catches a little bit of morning sun. Zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, cantaloupe, rosemary, parsley and oregano enjoyed the rain in June and July. Recent hot sunny days haven’t really had an effect.

“It’s much cooler down here than on the deck,” he said.

Scattered around the yard are small statues of frolicking pigs, a panda and a smiling Buddha. A sign near the stone bar says “Aloha.” The Hoeys enjoy entertaining old friends and new neighbors.

“The neighbors are fantastic -- everyone looks out for everyone,” he said. “What’s not to love about this place?”

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 10:18 PM with the headline "Stylist creates easy-care backyard garden, fish and all ."