Mistletoe Heights Yard of the Month
August 2015: 2328 Edwin.
Tad Carter and Janice Arvin Carter have lived at 2328 Edwin St. since 2001, but they’ve lived on Edwin since 1998.
This is their third home on the same block of Edwin in 18 years. I can only conclude that they’ve found their place!
Their well-manicured lawn has a huge Chinese tallow tree as a prominent dazzler. There’s also a natural stone path leading from the porch to the eastern edge of their property.
One of the main features of their landscape is the large number of containers, each of which holds its own miniature garden.
Clay pots of all shapes and sizes are worked in at many spots – in the beds and alongside the eastern edge of the yard.
Janice told me that they really like the color combinations of purple, green and silver, and there are many such examples in the containers.
From smaller pots to huge urns, the containers explode with color. Both the contents of the containers and their placement enhance the overall appeal of the yard.
There are many varieties of coleus, petunia, impatiens, lavender, light green and purple sweet potato vines, shrimp plant and some plants with which I was not familiar. But Janice educated me right then and there!
There are several plantings of scaevola (also known as fan plant), Persian shield and silver mound.
Right in front are two huge loropetalum bushes and on the right of the porch is a super-massive Indian hawthorn.
The bed along the eastern edge has lots of containers with rosemary, lavender and Texas sage. There’s an althea (rose of Sharon) at the front edge of that bed as well.
They have some nice chairs on the porch that make it an inviting place to hang out. And there are a few solar-powered lights in the beds to light up the night.
Janice told me that they plan to put in another bed in front, with the goal of reducing the amount of turf out there. They have pretty much done that in back already.
Tad and Janice explained that they have made many changes with both the house (it was painted brick red when they bought it) and in the yard during their time there.
In my never-very-humble-opinion, the changes have all been for the better. Thanks, Tad and Janice, for all your hard work!
- Bruce Horn