Slice of paradise Walthers create a personal utopia

WRITTEN BY GREGG L. PARKER

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEN FOUTS-DETULLEO

In 2000 in northeast Madison, Dan and Dannie Walther found not only a house that satisfied their wish list but a yard to build their green paradise.

The list included a redbrick traditional home, 25-plus trees, master bedroom on the main level, spacious dining room and extensive view of lawns.

In 2012 they renovated the kitchen with granite countertops and new cabinet doors, lighting and appliances. With approximately 3,000 square feet, the home also has a living room, open-concept family room, master suite and two additional bedrooms, along with bath, office, laundry room and greenhouse.

Their living room doubles as a music room with grand piano and many musical instruments.

Among Dannie’s “memory treasures” is her grandmother’s pump organ, more than 100 years old. Never refinished, the organ “has two keys ‘depressed’ to tap Dannie’s memory bank from her childhood when her grandmother played. Two blackened areas of wood show where oil lamps illuminated music before the days of electricity,” Dan said.

Depicting their interests, collections of brass bells, angels, space memorabilia, Dan’s father’s books, cut glass and numerous mugs from around the world brighten the home.

They own 500-plus masks from global cultures. The Walthers donated most of the collection to Birmingham’s McWane Science Center and more valuable ones to Birmingham Museum of Art.

Dan’s father worked in the early space program and collected patches, models and photographs. “We kept letters he sent to each astronaut and their response,” Dan said.

“Viewing our collections is like viewing our family history,” Dannie added.

The home’s one-of-a-kind trademark is the greenhouse. Attached to the house, the greenhouse is heated/cooled by the home system. “Whoever designed this home must have had us in mind,” Dannie said. “Five large plate-glass windows look onto the backyard. We watch birds at our feeders and chipmunks and squirrels digging up our plants. Nature is a wonder. We enjoy it daily.”

Their parents were avid gardeners, but the gardening “bug” didn’t strike Dan and Dannie until they became homeowners. “With such great role models, we developed our love of plants and flowers,” Dan said. Each of their six homes during almost 50 years of marriage has featured a garden.

“We love being outside … working with the earth, being together and sharing this hobby,” Dan said. “We receive lots of exercise and would rather garden than jog.”

“Dan collects the 4 million leaves from the trees and maintains a compost area to turn them into ‘black gold,’” Dannie said. The compost enriches their gardens, and they share with friends.

The flowerbeds boast pansies, violas, moss rose and dragon-wing begonias. For perennials, they choose ferns, hostas, lenten roses, daylilies, dusty miller, lamb’s ear and hydrangeas.

“Pass-along plants are our favorites. We have many specimens from friends,” Dannie said. A close friend gave them an iron bedstead, now standing as yard art with an entwined pink-flowering tropical plant.

Dan and relatives dug a main pond, featuring a waterfall, fountain and goldfish. Dan then installed seven tons of rock and prepared it for water. “We continually try to outwit the blue heron that stops by regularly for a meal,” Dannie said.

Their concrete “watering girl” statue remains as part of a broken birdbath. Housed in a clay pot, a “sunface” from Dan’s mother spills water.

Their 400-plus plants thrive with an automatic drip system, economical because all water delivers directly to roots. Even hanging baskets have a drip.

At Trinity Baptist Church, Dannie served as organist many years. They are involved with choir, hand bells and music activities. Dan is a lifetime deacon.

A church organist for 50 years, Dannie mentors youngsters on both piano and organ … “a joy of her life,” Dan said. He has worked as a software engineer for 50 years, the past 24 years at Teledyne Brown Engineering. Although “retired,” Dan works part time on the Patriot missile.

Dan and Dannie are parents of Danielle, Dana, Daniel and Dane. They live in Madison, Atlanta and Redmond, Wash. “They’ve blessed us with 11 grandchildren – the ‘sparks’ that keep us young,” Dannie said.

Grandchildren’s hand and foot imprints on stepping stones form a path. The youngsters built their own little paradise, ‘Pixie Hollow.’”