September 2021 Yard of the Month
Congratulations to Bob Hammett at 533 Blanning Drive, our September Yard of the Month winner!
Bob is a 20+ year OLH resident and both he and his partner, Dianne, are avid gardeners. This past year they accelerated their gardening plans (pandemic planting), engaging a landscaper to help them redesign parts of their yard and expanding their beds. Bob composts and spent a great deal of time amending the soil in preparation for this expansion. Additionally, to keep their gardens insect-friendly, they use only natural products and no pesticides. The results are impressive. Their yard is a mix of texture and color, thoughtfully planned to keep a flow of blooming pollinator plants throughout the season. It also incorporates hardscaping with an eye-catching flagstone path, raised flagstone beds across the front, and a dry riverbed meandering around the house connecting the front, side, and back yards. Bob also refinished their side porch in a dark grey to accent the house, where they can dine and enjoy their chiminea and their gardens.
A large Magnolia shades part of their front yard. Their driveway is lined on one side by Mexican feather grass, red yuccas, and yellow Texas lantana, all water-wise plants, and the latter two are also popular with hummingbirds. Their garden collection includes an Atlas Cedar, Pyramid Ligustrum, Autumn Sage, Yew, Mexican “Rain of Gold,” Azaleas, Camelia, Mystic Spires (a bee magnet), Rose of Sharon, Senecio, Agaves, Zinnias, and Dianthus, among many others. In their backyard, they have a wonderful mix of edibles such as peppers, mint, lemon balm, spinach, basil, combined with flowering pollinators. Dianne purchased a “mystery” packet of pollinator seeds as an experiment. Imagine their surprise when one of these seeds produced a towering tree-like blooming plant, taller than their house! It turned out to be a Mexican sunflower. She enjoys cooking from their garden and making bouquets of fresh flowers. They also enjoy visits from many butterflies. Be sure to check out their lovely landscape; you’ll probably find them out working in the yard. Nice work and congratulations Bob and Dianne!
