Buddy and Judy Neel may look like a typical Georgia couple enjoying retirement. They live in a swim, tennis and golf community near Athens, a location chosen with children and grandchildren in mind.

Elissa Eubanks / AJC (ENLARGE)

Buddy and Judy Neel stand in their bonsai garden i

Elissa Eubanks / AJC (ENLARGE)

Buddy Neel began to learn the art of bonsai before the couple ever lived in Asia.

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But walk inside the central courtyard of their bungalow, and you begin a virtual journey to China.

Buddy Neel was president of BellSouth China before retiring nine years ago. The Neels lived in China for six years and enjoyed traveling and learning about the culture, including picking up some language skills.

Even before the couple lived in Asia, Buddy Neel had dabbled with bonsai trees. (Bonsai is the art of growing dwarfed, ornamentally shaped trees or shrubs in small containers.)

He started in 1980 with a Schefflera, or umbrella tree, in his office.

"I'm not trained in bonsai, I just enjoy doing it," Buddy Neel said as he proudly showed off his trees.

"Then we went to Australia, and I had to get rid of everything," he said. With each move, Buddy Neel has started from scratch, building up his treasured garden.

Now settled at The Georgia Club in Statham, the Neels have cultivated a garden of 30 trees surrounded by fountains, rocks, Japanese maples and a sampling of the more than 300 pots they shipped back from China.

The bonsai garden is the first scene that greets visitors. The Neels wanted to create a peaceful garden setting, but also make it something their grandchildren, ages, 9, 6 and 4, could enjoy.

"I wanted large rocks to form the creek bed and to display the pots," Neel said. Upgrade Landscaping of Cumming worked with Neel and the builder to create this slice of Asia, including large rocks that form the creek bed provide display side. The plants include Knock-Out roses, lantana, pyrocanthia, rosemary, junipers, boxwoods and Indian hawthorne.

Asian inspiration moves indoors

The Asian influence continues in the home's interior. The five-bedroom, 4.5-bath, 4,000-sq.-ft. home is designed in a "C" shape with the entire home framing the outdoor courtyard — a perfect showcase for Buddy's hobby.

The interior features of this and other courtyard homes were designed to bring the outside in, according to the builder, Chesapeake Development. Pocket doors create disappearing walls. A detached guest suite makes the perfect pool cabana, home office or guest quarters.

Buddy Neel collected or commissioned most of the furniture while in China. He calls many of the pieces "new antiques," since they are new items made from old parts.

For example, the round table and chairs in the formal dining room include chair seats made from old wood floors. He had the table specially made because he couldn't find anything he liked.

"The Chinese culture likes to eat at round tables so you can talk to everybody," Neel said.

A Chinese wedding chest and buffet anchor the dining room. Brass teapots displayed on the buffet come from an area of China where Neel said they serve a tea composed of dried fruit and rock sugar. Buddy Neel also brought back a couple of antique water heaters that look like metal urns.

To give the stairwell visual interest, they hung intricate wood pieces on the wall that were originally used as sliding window screens.

Every room tells a story of the Neels' life in China.

In their living room, Buddy Neel displays his collection of wooden stools used by Chinese barbers.

Judy Neel has grouped her Chinese teapots on a table near the back stairway.

The Neels decided to forgo the two-story, great room style of the living room to add the media room on the second floor.

The master bedroom includes a sitting area and one of Judy Neel's handmade quilts. The room includes art made by a Chinese friend. The story of how they became friends is also interesting. Buddy Neel hired a taxi driver to drive his wife around so she could get to know the country.

"They went everywhere, and he looked after her," Neel said. The driver's wife was an art student, and it's her work that now hangs in their Georgia home.

A neighborhood they love

The couple discovered the neighborhood through their son's golf adventures. They moved in November 2007. The home overlooks the eighth hole on the Silver Course.

The Neels enjoy the friendliness of the community — it's a place where everyone waves, whether walking or driving.

"If they didn't wave, they don't live here," Buddy Neel said with a laugh.

HOUSE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Buddy Neel's bonsai garden — with two waterfalls and too many plants to mention — is the centerpiece of the home.

• A separate guest suite opens onto the courtyard.

• Homes at The Georgia Club range from the $400,000s to more than $1 million. The homes offer classic Southern architecture in neighborhoods with pedestrian-friendly streets.

Do you have a tip or a nomination for Private Quarters / Classic Edition? Email writer Chris Reinolds (creinolds@ajc.com) or call her at 770-326-8958.