Yard of the Month

For November, we selected the home of Betty Allen at 2338 Brookmere for “yard of the month.”  Betty has lived at this address since 1990 but because of foundation problems with the original house, she and her former husband decided to tear down the house and divide the property into two lots. The new house was completed in 2002 and Betty moved into it 2003.   This year she added a double garage and above the garage she added a huge quilt room where she will keep all her quilting machines and supplies and where she make quilts. In the photograph, the new addition is everything to the left of the porch.

The old driveway was a single lane and the new driveway is double.  The new driveway required that a large oak tree be taken down.  The tree was already dying in places and when they cut it down they discovered that the tree was hollow so Betty feels lucky they cut it down before it fell down.  Betty had the old tree ground into mulch which she uses on her flower beds.

After the new addition, Betty asked the man who takes care of her irrigation system to supervise the installation of some new landscaping.   She already had salmon/pink Encore Azaleas across the front.   They are blooming now and Betty says she has some azalea blooms almost all year long.   A new sidewalk from the front step to the driveway is very nicely curved and gets wider as it gets near the step.   Betty selected some flagstone for the border around some new beds.    She wanted the edge of the beds to be neat yet she wanted them to have a casual appearance.   In the beds she selected some Crotons for color and she also added purple fountain grass, variegated Lirope and some Foxtail fern. There are pink and red Pentas in the bed in front of the sidewalk.    In the large front bed a very large moss rock about five feet long is placed in front of the Azaleas.   The rock divides the color are.   On one side Betty planted snapdragons and on the other side she planted purple Fountain Grass. She now has three Milkweed plants which the Monarch caterpillars love to eat.

Just last week Betty found a 12 – 15 foot tall Shumard Oak tree on sale at Home Depot.  The Shumard Oak tree is one of the largest southern red oak trees. It grows moderately fast  and is a handsome shade tree and is deciduous.  Shumard Oak trees have shiny, dark green leaves, and the bark is gray and smooth. Shumard Oak trees tolerate poor soil and drought conditions, especially after they are established. The outstanding deep crimson-red fall color produced by the Shumard Oak is an excellent reason to plant this species.   The new Shumard Oak is planted near the center of the front yard.   Off to the right, an older Hickory tree is producing Hickory nuts – more than the squirrels can eat for the first time.

The yard of Pat Lero at 2314 Brooktree is the yard of the month for October 2010. Pat and her husband bought the house in 1986 so she has lived on Brookmere in Lazybrook for 24 years.

Pat does all her own yard work including planting, designing and mowing. She does get someone to do the edging.  The front yard is home to three  large trees.   In the center are two Red Oaks and off near the driveway there is a Burr Oak.  The trees were there when Pat and her husband moved to Lazybrook. They put the new front sidewalk in about 10 years ago.   It is made of pressed concrete and resembles flagstone in color as well as the surface texture. The sidewalk curves from the driveway to the front entrance to the home.

Earlier this year Pat reduced the size of some of the beds, specifically the one around the Red Oaks. Some of the original Azaleas (we think they are Formosa) which were there when they moved in are still planted between the sidewalk and the house. Pat has added some Encore azaleas closer to the front door. In addition there are some pink and some red Knockout Roses near the end of the house toward the driveway. One Caldwell Pink old rose is planted by the driveway.

All the beds except for the bed around the Red Oak are bordered with some beautiful rocks that Pat and her husband brought from their farm in Flatonia about 12 years ago. These rocks are unusual. They are a reddish brown color and they are smooth but not as smooth as River Rock. Each rock is about 5 or 6 inches long and almost as wide. These rocks add a very special touch to the borders of the beds.

Other plants which are in the beds in front of the house include two Gardenias, Aztec grass, Giant Lirope, Flax Lily and at the end, a Yellow Rose of Texas. Near the front door, Pat has selected a 3 foot tall Double Red Camelia and planted it in an ornate terra cotta pot which has aged to a beautiful mossy color.

Between the two large trees and just in front of the sidewalk, Pat and her husband placed a bench that they bought in Schulenberg. The bench has cast aluminum arms and legs which include an image of a large American eagle.  The slats on the back of the bench look like stripes on a flag and a cast aluminum rectangle with stylized stars is attached to the upper left corner of the back so the back of the bench looks like the American flag. Pat said the bench was her husband’s favorite spot before he died 3 ½ years ago.

On a Saturday morning at 8 am, I was driving by the house and I saw Pat in the yard planting yellow Chrysanthemums in the bed around the Burr Oak. I stopped and asked her if we could select her yard for “yard of the month.”  She responded that all of her hard work had paid off. Pat had placed three wooden pumpkins around the front of the Burr Oak tree.  Each pumpkin has the name of one of Pat’s granddaughters.

We have observed the house at 2218 Brooktree since late 2007 when the house went into foreclosure.   At that time the house and the landscape was a disaster.   The front sidewalk was gone and the indention where it used to be was filled with dead sod.   Whatever plants were there were overgrown or dead.

Less than three years after Vonda and Sean Bonte bought the run down property in December 2007, the house has been completely remodeled with new siding, new roof, new windows, new carport, a new wrought iron gate across the driveway, new gameroom/entertainment area in the back yard and a new salt water swimming pool, new outdoor kitchen, three pallets St. Augustine sod and new landscaping.   The house was not habitable when they bought the house but they started the remodeling process and moved into the house on July 1, 2008.  The Bonte’s have two sons, Kenneth age 14 and Mitchell age 12. The two boys do the lawn maintenance.    Sean who is an electrician did a lot of the remodeling work himself.  Vonda grew up in Lazybrook.  Her parents live on Watercrest.

Today this home stands out in Lazybrook as a prime example of what  updating can do to a 1960’s Lazybrook house.   The new landscape was designed and planted by the homeowners.   They purchased all the plants in the neighborhood at Lowes, Home Depot and Garden World.  When Vonda and Sean went looking for plants, they wanted plants native to the area and plants that were maintenance free.   They chose five Italian Cypress trees about four feet tall and spaced them across the front of the house.   They created curved beds and in the beds they planted a variety of plants including Dwarf Indian Hawthorne, Variegated Pittosporum, Mexican Heather and Foxtail Fern.   At the left end of the bed they planted a tall Callistemon or Bottlebrush and at the right end of the bed near the driveway they planted a Sago Palm.   Across the front of the beds, they planted clumps of Aztec Grass which is a variety of Giant Liriope with very distinctive green and white striped foliage.  Their  St. Augustine grass is greener than any other yard on Brooktree and when asked about how they kept it so green,  Vonda an Sean said they watered a lot but they do not fertilize the St. Augustine. The sidewalk in the front yard is new and connects the driveway with the front door.   As the concrete curves toward the door the sidewalk gradually gets wider until it forms a welcoming entrance to the home.

The driveway has been widened by adding about a foot of white gravel on each side of the existing driveway. Sean has started gathering the pine straw which falls from the large pine trees in the front yard.   He is wisely using the straw as mulch in the flower beds.    This is a mulch which is free, attractive and very effective in controlling weeds.

We selected the yard at 1830 Seamist Court as yard of the month for August.  This month’s yard of the month is owned by Nancy Piwonka who has updated the exterior of the house as well as the landscape.

A new sidewalk from the street has one step half way up to accommodate the gentle slope in the yard.   As the sidewalk approaches the house it makes a sharp right turn to go around a new planter box about three feet tall made of the same brick as the house.   In front of the planter box, the owner has placed a beautiful square glazed clay pot about 3 ½ feet tall in which she has planted butterfly iris.   This pot is a focal point for the landscape.  The planter box creates a semi-private area near the front door.   The planter box is planted with asparagus fern which is very lush even in the August heat.   Behind the planter box and before the porch Ms. Piwonka has created a maintenance free area with the ground covered with gray rocks.   This rock area is a very nice complement to the gray colored flagstone which is used to pave the porch.

In the landscape from the driveway to the planter box across the front of the house are five Liropetalum plants.    Stepping stones in front of the Liropetalum provide a walkway  from the driveway to the front sidewalk.   In front of the stepping stones the landscape features Prostrate Juniper planted along the front of the curved bed.   In the center of the bed a Holly tree about 12 feet tall is becoming established.     Starting with the area around the large glazed pot and continuing on to the other side of the sidewalk are some Dwarf Mexican Petunia plants which are also called Ruellia.   This plant is designated a Texas Superstar on the Aggie Horticulture website because it is a spectacular, low-growing, heat tolerant perennial with profusions of violet flowers.  The Ruellia is blooming nicely in August.

Across the front of the porch, the owner has planted some Horsetail Reed which is a plant which is increasingly recommended by garden designers who are searching for a minimalist design.  The horsetail consists of many reed-like segmented green tubes that grow straight up to a height of four feet.  Attractive black and gray bands are found at both ends of each segment.   This plant will spread easily.

At the corner of the front porch is a beautiful Japanese Yew which is very adaptable to our area.   The Yew is about 7 feet tall.

This month’s yard of the month is owned by Melodie Matlock, an area Realtor.   Melodie has lived at 1706 Haverhill since 2003 when she bought the house.  The house and yard were in original condition and Melodie immediately set out to update the interior of the house and put in some landscaping.   As one contribution to Lazybrook, Melodie has volunteered to chair the Christmas Decoration judging for the neighborhood. She had the help of a landscaper named Oscar Comacho in laying out the beds in the yard.

In the front yard Oscar used a rope to mark the borders of the new beds and this resulted in very graceful curved beds.   The beds extend across the front of the house and down the sidewalk to the driveway.    Melodie actually selects all plants that go into her yard because she likes plants with structure.    After the beds were laid out and prepared she had nearly 300 plants to put in place, divided between the front and backyards. On the East side of the yard Melodie wanted to create a barrier to the traffic noise from Ella Boulevard so the bed extends all the way down to the curb.

GG Gerbing Azaleas fill that bed from the house to the curb and behind the Azaleas are several Crepe Myrtles that were transplanted from the back yard.    Melodie got most of the Azaleas from a plant nursery but she found the two large bright pink Azaleas in a client’s trash waiting for the garbage truck.   These two rescued Azaleas are now beautiful and healthy looking.

The Crepe Myrtles in the bed along the East side of the yard are not blooming much because of the shade but they do provide a green barrier as Melodie planned.  In front of the sidewalk Melodie planted several dwarf yaupons and continued them along the side of the driveway.  All along the curving bed from the curb to the front of the house and on to the curb nearest the driveway is a bright and colorful display of many colored Impatiens.

Several Sago Palms, Camellias, Agapanthus, an Oak Leaf Hydrangea and a Variegated Hydrangea are planted amongst the other plants in the beds. Between the sidewalk and the front porch more Azaleas are growing behind a border of Mexican Heather.

A very large Crepe Myrtle which has a very nice natural shape is planted near the porch.   It is currently blooming with pink flowers and the bark of the tree is exfoliating to reveal a beautiful deep red colored trunk.  On the west side of the driveway are more Crepe Myrtles and an English Dogwood along with a variety of yellow and orange Daylilies.

Joshua and Rachel Hopson at 1707 Haverhill have lived in Lazybrook for four years.  For June we were hoping to find a yard with a beautiful Crepe Myrtle. When we drove by this lovely yard we saw two large beautifully shaped Crepe Myrtles. The Crepe Myrtle on the right front corner of the Hopson’s yard is a pale pink and is surrounded by a triangular bed with curved corners.  The bed is outlined with moss rock and in the bed in addition to the large Crepe Myrtle we saw Irises, Society Garlic with blue blooms, Lirope and dwarf Zinnias.

Near the front of the property a beautiful Silver Maple which is about 5 years old is surrounded by a neatly trimmed bed of Asian Jasmine.   Josh said the previous owners had this tree planted as part of a program sponsored by the city where homeowners could make a donation and the city would get rid of a trash tree, in their case an Ash, and plant a good tree.

On the other side of the yard near the driveway and walkway to the front door, the other Crepe Myrtle is also pink but a darker color than the first.   This Crepe Myrtle is the focal point of another roughly triangular bed.   Standing out in this bed right now are the brightly colored orange and red Daylilies.   The bed also includes Variegated Aztec Grass, blooming Society Garlic and Giant Liriope.  One edge of the bed is created by the curving sidewalk which begins at the driveway and leads to the front door.   The sidewalk is made of concrete but does not appear so because of the design which includes markings that give it the appearance of stone.  The sidewalk is very attractive.  Behind the bed described above are some large Azaleas.  They are dark green and appear very healthy.

On the other side of the sidewalk the Hopsons’s have placed a large glazed pot about 18 inches tall.   In the turquoise/blue mottled pot they have planted pink Petunias and a Yellow Bulbine.

At the base of the pot the Hopson’s planted some pale pink Rain Lilies.  There are many Rain Lilies and they were blooming on the first of June when we looked at the yard.   This big splash of color really added quite a spectacular display and even though the blooms will not last throughout the month, they are indeed beautiful.

Across the front of the house there are several Giant Liriope and in front of them are some dark pink petunias that are now blooming. Finally, the Hopson’s have selected a beautiful glazed pot for the front porch and have planted a red Gerber Daisy which is blooming now.