Edina home with internet-famous 'enchanted' gardens lists for $749,900

Rosanne Malevich's eye for detail and garden design has caught the attention of millions of people.

Since she started chronicling her garden in Edina's Morningside neighborhood five years ago, Malevich has amassed 56,000 subscribers on YouTube and reached more than 5 million views on her channel Rosannes Garden. Malevich's growing adventures were recorded even before then — as a Star Tribune Beautiful Gardens contest winner featured in 2015.

Now, Malevich said, she's moving to a quieter neighborhood in Plymouth. So she has listed her three-bedroom, two-bath home — parting ways with her beloved garden that has captivated people from around the world.

"We wanted it to look like the house has a storybook, English Tudor feel to it — to make it feel enchanted," she said. "It really feels like a sanctuary — like a place to escape."

A growing fan base

Malevich's how-to narration videos tackle everything from designing stone paths to planting the best hardy perennials to preparing your garden for winter. Her hand-drawn sketches make an appearance alongside the gardens, giving viewers a look at how her ideas on paper come to life.

Malevich's idyllic garden starts in the front yard, with a curving stone path that leads to a fenced-in area in the back. Along the way, six apple trees grow along a wooden trellis.

Then the yard opens up, featuring two island gardens with flowerbeds and trees that include Procumbens spruce. Tucked behind the garden shed (built in 2000 to perfectly match the home) are terraces filled with colorful flowers.

But she can't take all the credit. While Malevich designed the garden beds and chose much of the flowers and plants, her husband, Steven Malevich, whose background is in masonry, did all the stonework. He cut the pieces and created paths. He even made a stone bench that matches the house's cream-colored stucco exterior and its accompanying curvaceous lines.

One of Malevich's favorite projects her husband did was create a stone turtle in the middle of one of the pathways that points west — a symbol of the beginning of life in some Japanese lore, she said. (She used to volunteer at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in the Japanese garden.)

The garden is the result of more than 20 years of work — which started after a beloved tall elm tree in the backyard died of Dutch elm disease, she said. Today, the natural beauty of the yard makes the patio area feel like a "nest," she said.

"We've entertained so much on this patio," she said. "You got walls [of natural beauty] all around you so it's very comfortable. And then when the lights are on in the evenings, it feels magical."

Charmed

Malevich and her husband have updated their circa 1935 home in the Morningside neighborhood while maintaining its elegant touches, she said. That includes the curves of the home — from transition pieces where the walls and ceiling meet to arched doorways.

When renovating, they also made sure anything new would complement the home's unique and historic look. The drawers in the kitchen, for example, have old-fashioned handles, and the couple refrained from painting over the doors and frames — letting the oak wood shine.

Other renovations inside include new oak flooring, a complete overhaul of the second floor and a kitchen remodel.

A gem inside and out

It's hard to know which is better, the inside or outside of the home, said listing agent Eric Swanstrom, noting the couple's thoughtful renovations.

"The backyard makes the home unique. So much work and detail went into these gardens — everything is so well thought out," he said. "It just flows so well."

After 35 years of living in the home, Rosanne Malevich said, she'll miss it. Yet between packing and settling into her new place in Plymouth, there's still one thing for her to do: post a farewell garden tour on her YouTube channel.

But the end of this story doesn't mean an end to her social media presence.

"I hope [my viewers] will hang on with me. We'll be building a new garden, one that is more compact," she said. "This one will have more of a prairie garden in the front and native shade plants in the back."

Eric Swanstrom (eswanstrom@themlsonline.com; 612-597-4783) of the MLS Online has the $749,900 listing. At the time of publication, an offer was pending on the home.