The yard of the month for February 2011 is at 1823 Mill Creek and is home for the past eight years to Bobby Orsak and Kristen Ruth. The landscaping was installed in 2010 by Lawn Masters of Houston, a local landscaping firm. Stones which are roughly 15” X 4” X 4” form a neat border around all the beds. There are two circular beds in the front yard. One bed forms a circle around a large Magnolia tree and the second bed forms a circle around a Live Oak tree. Curved beds with the same stones are along the front of the house and down the side of the house.
In the circular beds Bobby and Kristen have planted Dianthus. The Dianthus had a lot of blooms before the freeze and new blooms are coming out again. The blooms are mostly white with some pink blooms. The bright blossoms of Dianthus will bloom from early spring through late fall in Houston gardens. They do best in full sun, preferably in well-drained soil. Hummingbirds and butterflies love their bright flowers. Most Dianthus are heat tolerant and bloom through the summer.
Along the front of the house and all down the North side are rows of Indian Hawthorne. In front of the Hawthorne the owners have planted some small Azaleas which are not blooming right now. In front of the Azaleas and along the stone border a Variegated Aztec grass looks fresh and bright.
On each side of the sidewalk each bed begins with a large Sago Palm and at one end of the house in the bed the owners have planted a Japanese Blueberry which is still a small tree. At the other front corner of the house they have planted a Little Gem Magnolia tree.
cycling book from 2008 entitled Be Green so I’m going to share something from it for the next few articles. It quotes the EPA as saying, “Thirty six States are anticipating water shortages by 2016. Yet, the average American uses more than 100 gallons of water each day.” And the NRDC as stating, “A family of four using low-flow shower heads instead of full-flow models can save about 20,000 gallons of water per year.”