Laura Christman / Record Searchlight

Dee Dee Cline has a large display garden at her nursery to help customers see what potted plants eventually grow up to be.

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There's an interesting little nursery off Highway 299 between Redding and Bella Vista. Perhaps you've seen it in a blur as you whizzed by. A bright yellow VW Bug with all sorts of sprawling plants spilling out of its windows serves as a sign.

Dee's Gardens is run by Dee Dee Cline. Her specialty is unusual perennials and bulbs. She also carries some annuals and lots of wildflower seeds. And she sells garden ornaments - concrete mushrooms and birdbaths that she makes herself.

To give customers an idea of how all of these things can work together, Cline turned 1/2 acre of the 3-acre lot into a display garden. It's packed with plants - hardy hibiscus, hollyhocks, cannas, sedums, salvias, rudbeckias, daylilies, castor beans and much more. It's the kind of place that will either inspire you or make you feel lousy about your own pathetic yard.

You might think Cline's been working on this vibrant, lush garden for a good while - say 20 years or so. Wrong. It's only 1 1/2 years old.

Cline and her husband, Mike, moved to their home in March 2007. They'd lived in a small town in Texas, and before that in Placerville, where she had plant businesses. They wanted to relocate to California and they liked the look and feel of Redding, so they decided to put down roots here - literally.

They moved to a home where most of the backyard was an abandoned cow pasture.

"We brought in 120 yards of city of Redding compost," Cline said.

After the compost was worked into the red-clay dirt, Cline began her planting frenzy. Many plants were started bare-root. She also relied on seeds she'd saved from previous gardens.

The big garden is a big job. Watering, weeding and deadheading keep Cline busy. But the rewards are large too.

"It changes constantly," Cline said of the garden's appearance. "From spring to the first frost, different plants are flowering."

Cline said customers are wowed when they see the display garden. One regular comes to photograph its flowers. Others like to simply wander through.

"People come to sit and just enjoy the garden. And that's fine," Cline said.

She said the display garden helps people see how big plants get and how they look in combinations with other plants.

The daughter of two plant enthusiasts, Cline says she's long been interested in gardening. She's not formally trained in horticulture, but she continually reads and researches. Propagating plants is one of her passions.

The display garden is a source for plants that she uses to create new plants. Propagating plants from cuttings and raising them on the premises means the plants will be well adapted to the north state's climate. Cline said that's one of her selling points. Concentrating on unusual plants also helps her create her own niche in the garden market.

"I have different plants that you don't see at some of the other places," she said.

Most of the plants are in 1- or 2-gallon pots and sell for $3.55 to $15.95. Dee's Gardens is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. Learn more at www.deesgardens.com.

Laura Christman's column runs every other week. She can be reached at lchristman@redding.com or 225-8222.