Yard of the Month

For May we selected the yard at 2019 Sea King for Yard of the Month owned by Jennifer and David Bowes.  I was surprised when Jennifer told me that the landscapers just finished putting in the new landscaping the day before I showed up to select the yard of the month.   David thought they were not quite ready to be selected since the new plantings will look better after they mature a bit. I agree with David that the yard will improve over the summer but it is great now and reflects the kind of landscaping that make our Lazybrook houses look great.

The Bowes’ selected Garden Jules, a landscape firm to design and install their new plants.   All the plants that bloom will have white blooms and a few of them are already blooming. The front yard has a large maple tree and a pecan tree.   Two other trees were lost or damaged badly by Hurricane Ike and they have been replaced with Laurel Oak trees.   These trees are a little faster growing than Live Oaks and have a canopy which is not as full which the Bowes believe will avoid future hurricane damage.

An  Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata) is prominently planted at the corner of the front porch in a bed which extends even further from the foundation.   This extension has very large beautiful moss rock around the outside perimeter of the bed.   Near the garage on the Seaspray side of the house, Jennifer and David selected a Natchez Crepe Myrtle for the feature plant to go in an extension of the bed which also has large and beautiful moss rock around it.  The Almond Verbena blooms are wonderfully fragrant and will provide a pleasant welcome to the Bowes’ front porch.

Five frost proof Gardenia plants and several Ducher roses (a china rose) are included in the front flower bed as well as an espaliered  Little Gem Magnolia.  A Wimbei Ligustrum is the feature plant at the end of the house opposite the porch.    Clusters of Salvia which will produce white blooms and White Pentas are planted in the front bed.  White blooming verbena is planted on each side of the sidewalk which leads to the front porch.  A Starshooter (looks like a green grass with white flowers) is planted at the end of the front porch.  Along the Seaspray side of the yard the bed has new Citrus Jasmine along the back of the bed and Serissa Kowloon which is a variegated plant near the front.  More white Pentas are included in this bed.

One special environmentally friendly feature of the Bowe’s new landscape is their Pine Straw mulch.   All the new beds are mulched with Pine Straw.  After a rain or a few waterings the pine straw will appear very natural and when it decomposes it will provide nutrients for the bed.  The landscaping company furnished the pine straw for the Bowes’ beds but Pine Straw is available free along the curb in nearby neighborhoods on the day before trash pickup.

We had many beautiful yards to choose from this month but after driving every street in Lazybrook, we finally came back to our own block and selected the home of Dennis and Vickie Krolczyk for April Yard of the Month.

Dennis and Vickie have lived at 2011 Willowmoss Ct for seventeen years and they do all their own landscaping and planting. They even put the landscape brick around their flower beds. Their design of this feature in the yard is very graceful and presents a very nice appearance from the street. This yard is more beautiful during April than any other part of the year because the Azaleas were in full bloom. Across the entire front of the house, the Krolczyk’s have white GG Gerbing Azaleas and in the large bed on the right side of the sidewalk they have a large mass of Formosa Azaleas which are covered with dark pink colored blooms. Near the right corner of the house in front of the GG Gerbing azaleas, Vickie and Dennis have planted some smaller Azaleas which have salmon colored blooms and near the sidewalk around the large Pine tree they have some light pink Encore Azaleas and some Agapanthus.

All the Azaleas are very neatly trimmed. Vickie says that she trims them immediately after they finish blooming to avoid cutting off next years blooms. In front of the large window just to the right of the front door the Krolczyk’s have planted boxwoods and variegated Aztec grass is planted in front of the bed along the sidewalk. A single Firespike which is still recovering from the freeze is planted behind the Boxwoods.

A neatly trimmed Japanese Yew is planted near the front door and a brightly colored pot of Impatiens is near the door. Cast Iron plants fill the space between the driveway and the side of the house.

The photo shows the beautiful mature Water Oak, Red Oak and Pine trees that surround the house.