Mistletoe Heights Yard of the Month
November 2014: 1303 Mistletoe Drive
Scott & Val Ewing moved into their home at 1303 Mistletoe Drive in 2006. Both the yard and the house were a wreck when they acquired them. The improvements they’ve made are nothing short of stunning.
The effect today is one of an enchanting English cottage hidden in a little forest!
There is the giant shade tree prominent in the yard, and under it are two Japanese Maples. One of those was there when the Ewings bought their home, but it was a stumpy little shrub at that time. Now it’s one of the biggest Japanese Maples around! The other, smaller one they put in themselves.
The front of the house is covered with Boston Ivy and Virginia Creeper, which adds to the English cottage effect. Carolina Jessamine is also climbing on the porch.
The bed has a liriope border, behind which are a bunch of Fairy Roses and one Knockout Rose. Defining that from the porch is a row of boxwoods. There are also some Mums and Gerbera Daisies in that bed.
Complementing the architecture of the house is a traditional trellis with Clematis on it. Clematis is like so many other fabulous blooming plants: It puts on a stunning show for a very short time and after that it’s admired for its foliage. Also, behind the Iron Gate a Wisteria is visible.
I know the Yard of the Month Award is about the yard, not the house; however, in this case I feel the need to mention an architectural feature that is part of the beauty of the front yard: the pathway-effect sidewalk leading to the porch. It is, to my knowledge, unique in Mistletoe Heights, and it helps make the yard what it is!
The Ewings have a daughter (Avery) now and continue to make improvements on their landscape. As is always the case, their hard work benefits us all... it beautifies the neighborhood.
The fact that I started this article about how much the Ewings have improved the property makes a good segue into another topic. For the next 2-3 months, instead of there being a Yard of the Month award, you will find articles in the newsletter about which yards have been Most Improved! Regrettably we don’t have a sign for that, but there are certain yards in Mistletoe Heights that have been so very much improved upon that their creators deserve recognition. Plus, in the hard winter there’s not much going on in yards anyway. I suppose one could write “They raked their leaves!” But that is something we all do. Hard winter is not really ‘yard time’, but recognition of those yards that have been most improved will be attempted.
- Bruce Horn