• The gardeners: Pamela Hill Nettleton and Bill Schrickel, Minneapolis.

• The inspiration: A 10th-anniversary trip to Paris. "We visited Rodin's house, and Bill said the garden there was his favorite spot on Earth," Nettleton recalled. "It struck me that your favorite spot on Earth shouldn't be someplace you get to only twice in a lifetime, so I said, 'Maybe I could make something like that.' "

• Elements of romance: Nettleton used wrought-iron trellises as a fence to separate her romantic garden from the rest of the back yard. The trellises have curlicues --"so you can hang little lanterns from them," she said. "I'm a huge fan of candles, votives and lanterns." She chose white blooms and silvery foliage, to glow at night, and accented with twinkle lights, a fountain, an arbor, urns and comfy French garden chairs. "I have a lot of areas in my garden but that area is most successful because I had such a clear vision."

• Best compliment: "Some young girls were walking by, and one of them said, 'If I find a boyfriend, can I have my first kiss in your garden?'" Nettleton said.

• Enchanted evenings: Nighttime is the writer's favorite time in her garden. "It's kind of moody," she said. Schrickel, assistant principal bass with the Minnesota Orchestra and music director of the Metropolitan Symphony, works late, and on summer evenings, Nettleton likes to sit in the garden and wait for his return. "He's usually still in his tuxedo ... and he comes and sits with me," she said. "The garden lent itself to a new ritual."

KIM PALMER