NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A Garden of Eden blooms at a home on Pocahontas Place in Hampton, Va.

Thousands of flowers spill from the stems of impatiens, geraniums, begonias, marigolds, hydrangea, and lantana. Hostas, ferns, and ornamental peppers provide a backdrop of fancy foliage.

Interestingly, most of the plants thrive in pots - more than 100 containers in different sizes, shapes, and colors.

Celestine and Charles Johnson, both 77, are the green thumbs behind the potted garden. Their brick home, on property that measures 60 feet by 110 feet, is tucked among other neatly kept homes. A "distinctive showplace" sign from the Hampton Beautification Committee says they are the experts on their street.

Charles, who retired from Fort Monroe 22 years ago, has been gardening since he was 15 years old. In fact, he grew up on the same street, on the same plot of land. About 40 years ago, he built a larger house over his homestead, which was constructed there in 1915, he says.

"I remember Sunday afternoons when we would walk the street looking at the yard of the week, then that house would serve ice cream and cake," he says, thinking back to his childhood.

"I like flowers. I came up with them."

Married 56 years, the Johnsons share gardening chores. They spend about $2,000 annually for pots, soil and plants. Charles shops Costco and Sam's Club for the 25 to 30 bags of Miracle-Gro potting mix that he uses each year.

To keep potting mix expenses at a minimum, he uses cheaper topsoil to fill the bottom half of each pot. Foam packing peanuts are mixed in to absorb water and help keep roots moist, especially during the heat of summer.

Celestine goes outdoors at 6 a.m. daily to spend an hour watering the front yard and an hour watering the back yard. Along the way, she removes old flowers, especially on the geraniums, so they stay looking nice all the time. Water for plants comes from a 35-foot-deep well that has been there 25 years.

"We channel our ideas together and help each other out," says Celestine, a retired teacher's assistant. "You've got to be retired to garden like this, because it's a lot of work. You can't fool flowers. . . . They need attention."

Once a week, Charles uses two hose-end sprayers mixed with Miracle-Gro to spray everything.

Needless to say, the Johnsons spend most of their days outdoors, but it's not always puttering with plants. When the afternoon sun gets hot, they find shelter inside a canvas-and-metal gazebo that's shaded by a tall tree at the back corner of their land.

"That's our favorite spot," says Charles. "We like to eat out here and just relax."