Effortless Abundance

September 17, 2025

A Liberty couple created a garden that balances beauty, bounty, and ease—proving that a little planning goes a long way toward a life well grown.

Words
Andrea Darr

Photos
Matthew Anderson
@matthewaphoto

eeds and pests are constant battles in any garden. But Eric and Katie Schmidt make the job of fighting both look effortless. Some upfront labor, material installation, and automation help their garden thrive throughout the season.

Of course, Katie isn’t new to the hobby. Her mother is a master gardener, and Katie has been learning from her since she was a child. Eric defers to Katie’s lifelong knowledge and experience, but he can wield a hammer proficiently and prolifically to build his wife all the raised beds she wants.

The couple owns a 1912 home in the Dougherty Historic District off of Liberty Square—specifically one Katie has long desired. On a whim, while the couple was in town for a wedding in 2016, they made an offer on the house—and were surprised and delighted when it was accepted.

“It was meant to be,” Katie says.

The inside of the house was livable but dated, and the backyard’s raised bed garden—Katie thought—was ready to go. The previous owner(s) had worked at both over the years, but each required a fresh approach.

For the interiors, the couple hired designer and neighbor Laurie Champ of Collected Living Design to update the kitchen, all the bathrooms, and reorganize two key functional areas: the mudroom and the pantry.

Outside, the couple had to start anew, as the existing raised beds quickly fell apart.

“[The project] kept growing,” Katie says. “We started with four beds, then built two more, and then two more…”

Finally, they reached 10 and called it.

Raised beds are an excellent way to grow crops, as they are easier on the back, where gardeners can sit on the edge of the frame, and harder for weeds to take over when not at ground level.

At the base of the beds, encompassing the entire area, a layer of pea gravel keeps grass and other undesirable plants at bay.

“Pea gravel is easier to maintain than mulch; it doesn’t have to be replaced,” Katie notes.

Stone edging forms a crisp line separating the well-tended yard and provides a clear boundary for the kids, effectively stopping them from driving their Power Wheels through.

Every other year, Katie orders a truckload of Missouri Organic compost to give the plants the nutrients they need.

“It’s enough for most fruits and vegetables,” she says.

Last year, they added timed waterers so they could get away on the weekends and still return to living plants.

Katie gets a little help in the garden from companion plants, like nasturtiums and marigolds, which are said to deter some garden pests. She also likes to mix flowers for cutting, like dahlias and poppies, with her veggies.

Along the fenceline, where neighbors walk their dogs on the gravel alleyway and stop by to say hello, wily stems reach out to grab someone.

“The raspberries are always trying to escape,” Katie says.

So they get their own bed.

In the center of the space, a stock panel forms an arch for growing vines, including cherry tomatoes, honeydew melon, and fall gourds. Flanking side beds incorporate an assortment of favorite herbs—purple basil, dill, sage—and some gladiolas for colorful flower heads.

“I plant what I like to eat, and there’s always extra to share,” Katie says.

The kids—ages 4, 7, and 10—prefer to eat the fruits the most. Katie planted a Brown Turkey fig—a variety that is perennial in this plant hardiness zone—alongside an older cherry tree and three apple trees.

There is so much abundance in the garden that the family has made something of a business out of it by creating a ‘lemonade stand’ to sell the extra produce, and the kids even deliver peonies to neighbors on Mother’s Day.

Katie has them pay her back for the goods with chores.

“They help when they are made to,” she adds.

But it’s not all about work; Katie left space in the garden for rest—Adirondack chairs encircling a fire pit. Neighborhood kids join the family to play in the yard, where the Schmidts house a 1980s jungle gym, a playhouse, and a climbing wall and slide built into the deck.

“We love our backyard; we spend a lot of time out here,” Katie says.