Mistletoe Heights Yard of the Month
October 2010: 1410 Mistletoe Drive
The yard of the month for October goes to Rochelle and George Hull at 1410 Mistletoe Drive. The home is listed in The Tarrant County Historic Resources Survey: Phase III Fort Worth’s Southside. The survey describes 1410 Mistletoe Drive, circa 1920, as a “two-story Mission Revival house of hollow tile construction, with rectangular plan, white stucco veneer, and red tile hip roof.”
George purchased the property in 1997 and made extensive renovations to the façade, reconfiguring the front entrance and second-floor balcony and adding custom stonework to the arched surround. The front yard was excavated to slope to street level and brick retaining walls were installed to create flower beds on either side of the main entrance. Tall Italian cypress, Indian hawthorn, white crape myrtles, waxed-leaf ligustrum, and purple Chinese fringe plants flank both sides of the red-tiled steps and porch. The porch continues toward the south side of the house to a portico and more steps leading to the drive. The circular drive is tucked behind a landscaped island, featuring a desert willow, copper plants, pindo, Mediterranean and Wagner palms, bear grass and Mexican feather grasses. River stones edge the sidewalk. The north side of the island features dwarf crape myrtles in an unusual deep shade of red. These plants also line the driveway leading back to the rear of the property. The retaining wall brickwork is repeated behind these beds, and liriope fills in below them. On the south side of the property, the arched portico continues onto a matching stuccoed-wall fence. An arched doorway inset into the fence is flanked by planters of new gold lantana and trellises with climbing bougainvillea. A large magnolia tree, date palms and elephant ears fill beds stretching to the property line. Sweet potato vine in three contrasting shades proliferates everywhere around the property. This lush landscape truly deserves the yard of the month citation.
Congratulations to George and Rochelle, and thank you to Calloway’s Nurseries for the generous gift certificate provided to each winner.