Myrtle the turtle enjoys watering day in Jan Wilson's North Raleigh garden. The "educated deer" that come over from the woods between Wilson's townhouse and Ravenscroft School visit occasionally to nip the fading flowers from the impatiens planted in a container by the front porch. "It's cool the way they take the tops off the impatiens, but leave the ivy and periwinkle alone," Wilson said.

I met Wilson at a garden party when she sat down on the sunny side of my bench and introduced herself as a longtime wildlife gardener. When she described the tiny area in which she gardens, and the relationship she's developed with the wildlife that visit, I could hardly wait to see her creation.

We decided on a Sunday afternoon, as Sunday is watering day and I hoped to catch a glimpse of Myrtle and perhaps her mate, Fred. After a brief stop to see the container with the deer nibbles beside her front porch, we proceeded through the house to the postage stamp-size back deck. Just large enough for a wicker lounge chair and a few pots filled with a variety of sedums, the deck offers a birds-eye view of Wilson's wildlife garden and the woodsy common area between neighboring townhouses.

We had to zigzag down the stairs to avoid two large pots planted with hydrangeas and their companion stone animal sculptures. A small weathered brick pathway forms the center of this miniature wildlife refuge. On one side of the walk is what I would term the "potting bench." It provides a place for two people to relax, and I noticed that potting supplies and soils were neatly tucked beneath the seat.

As she turned on the hose, Wilson said that she sometimes feels like a turtle whisperer. She held the hose about waist high and directed the stream of water onto a bed of leaves and pine needles behind the bench as she explained that when Myrtle hears the water, she usually crawls up to enjoy a shower.

Alas, apparently Myrtle is not used to clumsy-footed, big-voiced strangers invading her peaceful little habitat and she wasn't interested in getting to know me. Next time, I'll try to walk more softly and remember that whispering is preferred when one wants to meet a native Eastern box turtle on her own turf.

Several pots containing old fashioned hydrangeas dot Wilson's mini-landscape. "I took hydrangea cuttings from my grandmother Grace Wilson's garden in Roxboro." Her grandmother worked in the florist industry until she was 92, and she was also the source for Wilson's azaleas and gardenias. Almost everything else in her garden came to her as pass-along plants from other gardeners. And every plant that is dear to her -- which is every plant in her garden -- is planted in a container.

"I've been in my townhouse for 25 years, but I still garden in containers because putting these plants in the ground just seems too permanent." Some of the containers are all but hidden by the foliage of the plants they contain. A huge hydrangea (in an equally large container) is strategically placed to block the view of a utilitarian area.

Two weeping evergreens arise from dual pots to form a small archway on the side of the path opposite the bench. Tall evergreens are staggered among shorter deciduous shrubs forming several levels to keep the eye dancing from one shape and color to another. In such a densely planted and diverse array of shrubbery, it's easy to forget this is a container garden. To add more texture and interest, a few well-placed metal sculptures dot the view.

Wilson pointed to a tiny patch of earth beside the brick pathway and explained that she's watched Myrtle dig a nest and bury her eggs there. She has never witnessed the babies hatching, but she has found evidence that they have. How exciting to know that even in a small scale and "impermanent" garden, a pair of box turtles named Myrtle and Fred are contentedly doing their part in maintaining our precious web of wildlife.

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