Peace at last resort
LAKE SHORE - After a hard day's work, Doug and Ann Johnson sit in their Adirondack chairs to unwind, drinking a glass of wine and listening to the soothing sounds of a waterfall passing through a flower garden.
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The Johnsons call their home, located on Crow Wing County Road 77 near Bar Harbor, Johnson's Last Resort. They have long found solace in creating gardens and watching the beauty of the flowers and plants grow.
Water trickled through Doug and Ann Johnson's water garden recently. The garden offers the Johnsons a peaceful haven in which to relax at their home off Crow Wing County Road 77.
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"We've always enjoyed gardening," Ann Johnson said. "There's no cell phone in gardens. Nature is the most soothing thing in the world.
"Doug is meticulous about a well-groomed lawn. We water our gardens daily and add plant food once every two weeks. We've gotten a lot of comments from friends, family and people driving by."
Statues dot Doug and Ann Johnson's yard in Lake Shore. Brainerd Dispatch/Jennifer Stockinger » Purchase reprints of this photo.
The Johnsons bought their home on three acres in Lake Shore in 1982. It was a bed and breakfast in disrepair.
The Johnsons, owners of Johnson's Personality Plus Interiors in Nisswa, spent the next six months remodeling the building into a livable home that has a country and lodge look and is filled with handmade furniture that the Johnsons designed.
A box at Doug and Ann Johnson's home in Lake Shore contains hot pink geraniums and purple verbenas. Brainerd Dispatch/Jennifer Stockinger » Purchase reprints of this photo.
In 2003, the Johnsons redesigned the front porch, with a water garden and stone walkway leading to the home. Hot pink geraniums and purple verbenas hang from the exterior of the house - at the bay window, and six Boston ferns are spread throughout the front of the house.
The water garden, surrounded by large landscape rocks, is filled with the hot pink and purple flowers, ferns and other plants.
The Johnsons created a water garden at their home in Lake Shore in 2003. The garden is bursting with hot pink and purple flowers. Brainerd Dispatch/Jennifer Stockinger » Purchase reprints of this photo.
Ann Johnson said she fell in love with the purple and pink flowers when she was in the Azores Islands in Portugal.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.