Patrick and Susan Lattner’s Georgian Colonial home is a beautiful sight year-round, but it levels up each spring when the dazzling azaleas bloom. A tradition since Judge Phillip C. Gould and his wife, Roah, bought the property in 1929, the backyard azalea garden is a showcase along South Roosevelt Drive. It’s also meaningful for the Lattners: Although the couple moved into town from McCutchanville only three years ago, their home has been a part of their lives for far longer.
The Lattners don’t hire help with landscaping — they care for it with their own hands and tools. (They have the know-how: Patrick worked for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. late in his career). The garden hosted Patrick and Susan’s wedding reception 25 years ago, while the red brick home that faces Lincoln Avenue was occupied by Susan’s parents, Joe and Linda Scott. For decades, it’s been a place to reflect and enjoy nature. “We have witnessed lots of prom photo sessions, a couple of weddings, picnics, and parties,” Susan says.
The lush, tranquil space is hemmed in by a hedge standing about 14 feet, and its red, pink, coral, lavender, orange, and white azaleas make company with variegated hostas, knockout roses, creeping phlox, blackeyed Susans, oakwood hydrangeas, irises, several Japanese maples, and a beautiful Japanese cherry tree.
Shrubbery abuts a stunning brick shed with a wooden door crafted by Susan’s late father, Joe Scott (more on him later). The Lattners love to grill, lounge on the veranda, and entertain family, including two children, their spouses, and soon-to-be five grandchildren, as well as neighbors and friends. But browsers are welcome, too. “We have a tradition,” Patrick says. “We leave the (garden) gates open during the peak season of azaleas. People can come to view them.”
One admirer was Boonville, Indiana, resident George Thomas Minning. Before he passed away in 2022 at age 89, he painted a picture of the colorful azaleas; the Lattners have it hanging in their great room, where glass doors lead to the beauty outside. Susan explains that Minning was a spiritual man as well as an artist, and one year, he “came back with a painting as a gift.”
Countless works of art cover walls inside their 4,156-square-foot home, and the property’s grandeur is hardly confined to its magnificent garden. Both Patrick and Susan are artisans, and creative talent runs in the family. Right now, Susan is re-creating a mural that hung in the Akin Park house where she grew up, and she’s also reproducing a painting of Alcatraz (done by a prisoner there) that will hang in an upstairs room that once was her father’s office.
Their grandchildren also are budding artists. When they visit, “we pull out the art stuff and supplies,” Susan says. “They love their little projects.”
Patrick has paintings of his own in the four-bedroom house, and the Indiana University and University of Notre Dame sports fan also cherishes hanging mementos to late footballer Johnny Lattner, the 1953 Heisman Trophy winner from Notre Dame Johnny Lattner’s father and Patrick’s late grandfather were brothers.
The Lattners’ expansive kitchen is decorated with paintings of a lemon tree and florals created by Susan’s mother, Linda Scott, who lived there 28 years. Gold hues in those works mesh with soft yellow Crown Cabinets with brown glaze installed by Susan’s dad. The prior cabinets “were dark oak,” Susan says, “and they wanted to brighten things up a bit. He and my mom both painted them. Joe’s craftsmanship also is visible in the kitchen’s island — another renovation project.
Just off the kitchen is a butler’s pantry, which Susan describes as “a nice surprise. It really adds to the kitchen. It has storage, and it’s a good place to mix your drinks.” Colorful rugs, high ceilings, and ornate chandeliers permeate the home, and the intimate sunroom features wicker furniture and narrow, tall windows.
The family room is big enough for the whole clan to gather around a piano – Susan is re-learning to play. Their Staffordshire pitbull, Achilles, enjoys roaming inside and outside. A winding staircase to the second floor is a distinguishing feature, and it’s ideal for family photo shoots. The home has three fireplaces and numerous attractive built-ins.
Family plays a larger role in their lives now that the Lattners are retired, or moving closer to it. Patrick worked for Anchor Industries for 25 years and then Stauffer Glove & Safety and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. before retiring. Susan has had a small rental home business for about 15 years, and she’s always had interest in old homes dating back to her childhood in the Akin Park neighborhood. She recalls being “devastated” when her parents moved from that home to Lincoln Avenue. Little did she know that she and her husband would make it their own home years later.
The Lattners are proud that the legacy of Susan’s father lives on in their home. Joe Scott died in 2016 at age 73 after being injured in a skiing accident. His widow, Linda, remained in their home another eight years and moved to a far smaller property on Evansville’s East Side in 2023 when Patrick and Susan took ownership of the house and magnificent garden that her parents loved.
Earlier owners also deserve credit for preserving the home, the Lattners say. The Goulds started the garden and began opening the gates for public viewing during the peak azalea blooming season. David and Cynthia Stinnett hired H.G. McCoullough Designers in 1983 to sketch additions. After Joe Scott passed, Linda took care of the house on her own. “She is an amazing woman,” Susan says of her mother. “Great style, great taste, and one of the hardest workers you would ever meet.”
Susan and Patrick also are proud to carry forward the tradition of opening the garden to visitors. Susan says that her parents, upon buying the home, were unsure about welcoming in strangers. They eventually embraced the idea that the garden was a treasure to be shared, and they strived to perfect it for themselves as well as others. “They have truly loved working in their garden, adding and changing things and making it more beautiful every year,” Susan says. “It brought them so much joy.”
