When my house was built in the early 1980s (possibly the worst time in history; the interest rate on our loan was 14 percent), I made a vow. I wanted to be able to have access to all sides of the house, so I pledged that no matter which side you were on, you would be able to walk along a garden path. In other words, you wouldn't just have a front yard and a back yard, you'd have something going on on the sides, as well.

While things are not yet like I envisioned, I have renewed my original pledge after having been inspired by some very lovely side gardens I saw on recent garden tours.

Miriam Napier / AJC Special (ENLARGE)

BEFORE: Miriam Napier's side yard used to be overgrown and gloomy.

Martha Tate / AJC Special (ENLARGE)

AFTER: The addition of an arched gate, cypress mulch, paver walkway and hydrangea border totally transformed Napier's garden.

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Miriam Napier, whose Buckhead garden was on the American Hydrangea Society's tour June 14, is a good example of someone who took a shady, unusable area on the side of her house and turned it into an inviting pass-through garden.

A business analyst for Oracle Corp., Napier describes the "before" of her yard in no uncertain terms.

"Oh my gosh, it was a real mess. It was totally overgrown — just a tangle of vines and bushes. There were three enormous pine trees, one of them up against the fence, hanging over my neighbor's driveway."

After deciding on a low-maintenance plan for the front so she could concentrate on the back yard, Napier left the side of the house untended for a while.

"The only way you could get to the back yard was through the house," explains Napier. "This area was overgrown with English ivy, which was crawling up the side of the house. There was a chain link fence for a gate."

After seeing the entrance to Atlanta rosarian Anna Davis' garden, Napier was inspired. She realized she could take the forbidding, disheveled space on the side of the house and make it into a garden in its own right.

"Actually, I saw it as an excuse to put in even more hydrangeas," says Napier, who has over 50 different hydrangea varieties, many of which she propagated herself.

Napier's first task was to remove a mature line of nandinas. This turned out to be more than she bargained for.

"I took a pick ax, but I soon gave up. They were impossible to dig. As it turned out, they've made a good backdrop for the hydrangeas."

Napier installed large square pavers in a diamond pattern for a walkway and used 80 bags of cypress mulch to cover the ground. She asked the builder of her deck to install a fence and gate near the entrance to the back yard.

"I 'semi-copied' Anna's, but mine didn't turn out quite like I'd wanted. I painted the fence and arch a pale green, but the gate is a bit too rustic for me. I may have it redone some day."

Here are some hints for creating a side garden, gleaned from photographs of Charleston, S.C., where narrow side gardens are common, and from other Atlanta gardens on recent tours.

• Clean it out: There's nothing like walking through a bunch of ivy and trying hard not to think about what lies beneath. Remove the ivy or vinca or honeysuckle completely and create a clear place for a walk.

• Vertical structure and definition: Walls, gates, fences or a row of tall plants may already be in place to define the space. Take advantage of blank spaces on walls for espaliers or vines to add charm. Use fastigiate (narrow, upright) shrubs for interest.

• Install pavers or steps: If you have a flat surface, you can purchase large pavers from garden centers. If you don't have defining walls, create some sort of outline alongside the pavers. This will give you some definition for a border of, say, ferns, hostas, begonias and heucheras.

• Ground covers: Use crushed stone, sand, mulch or pea gravel as a base for the walkway. You also can grow tiny ground covers such as blue star creeper, mazus, dwarf mondo or creeping jenny between the stones.

• Mark the entrance to the garden with an arch or gate.

MARTHA'S PICK

East Indian Holly Fern

Botanical name: Arachnoides simplicior 'Variegata'

About the plant: A mostly evergreen, finely textured fern with lustrous green fronds and a yellow band. 12 to 14 inches high.

Use in the garden: A good fern for a small space. Gives color to a shady border.

Planting and care: Plant in part shade in moist, woodland soil.

Source: Fern Ridge Farms, 395 Old Vandiver Road, Canton GA 30114. 770-479-6996. www.fernridgefarms.com

Martha Tate is a writer who lives in Atlanta.