OCTOBER YARD OF THE MONTH
The landscape at 4333 Calmont Avenue is thoughtfully curated
to include a mix of hardy xeriscape plants, Texas natives, and reliable old-fashioned standbys.
After buying 4333 Calmont Avenue in 2015, it took Emily Baker no time to rip out the boxwood shrubs lining the front of the house and the bare grass in the bed in front of the circular drive. She replaced the grass with a vitex tree and several red yuccas, adding a generous topping of decomposed granite.
Up by the house, Emily decided to keep the two giant crepe myrtles, as well as the overgrown nandina shrub. “I kept the nandina because cardinals kept building nests in there,” says Emily. “It’s fun to watch all their activity from inside my house through the front window behind it.”
Emily acknowledges her father Tom Baker as her “gardener. He has taught me how to take care of plants,” she says. No surprise that he’s a good teacher. Tom grew up on a large farm in Queen City, Texas and is now a geo-technical engineer by trade. He is an expert on soil and rocks.
One of the first things Tom did when Emily bought the Calmont house was to “put down good dirt everywhere.” Good dirt, as in Silver Creek Premium Soil Mix. Tom likes to top off the beds with it every now and then.
Emily explains that she is the creative brains of the duo and he’s the technical expert. Together, they shop at least once a year for new plants. This year they bought pentas for annual color and added several Spanish dagger yuccas in the beds close to the house.
In previous years, they planted a Japanese maple tree, red salvia. and a pair of potted Japanese yews that Emily likes to decorate at Christmas. The coral knockout roses are in honor of Tom’s mother and Emily’s grandmother who always had a large rose garden.
This year, the beavertail cactus got transplanted closer to the house after taking a near fatal hit from a hard freeze. A healthy variegated privet shrub hides the fence on the west side of the yard.
Emily, who works in marketing for General Motors and produces content for all platforms, explains her pink front door: “this is the first house I’ve owned and I wanted to make it my own. The front door was white, but I always wanted a house with a pink door. It sort of picks up the color of the red yucca blooms.”
Emily received a $25 gift certificate to Archie’s Gardenland and a year’s membership in Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association, courtesy of AHNA.
If you see an award-worthy yard, even your own, please let us know by sending the address to president@arlingtonheightsna.com.
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FREE HALLOWEEN COSTUME SPECIAL EFFECTS CLASSES
Take your Halloween costume to the next level! During the rest of October, free classes in special effects makeup and costuming will be held at Fort Worth Public Library branches throughout the city.
Click here for a schedule and description of the classes.
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FORT WORTH MASTER TRANSPORTATION PLAN
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TODAY IS NATIONAL GOOD NEIGHBOR DAY
Forty-eight years ago, President Gerald Ford proclaimed September 26 as National Good Neighbor Day. The proclamation he signed is as apropos today as it was in 1976.
“Only by accepting our individual responsibility to be good neighbors can we survive as a strong, united Nation. By recognizing our dependence on each other, we preserve our independence as a people.
As we teach our children the cherished idea of government by and for the people, let us begin by teaching them to know and care about the people next door. We must not only help each other, we must be willing to learn from each other so that we may remain forever united. Each individual American must make his or her special effort to be a good neighbor.
I call upon every American man, woman, and child to be a good neighbor to those around them. I urge schools, churches, civic and community groups to engage in activities that will remind, encourage, and help each of us to be a good neighbor. And I call upon governors and mayors to urge their citizens to renew the good neighbor spirit.”
Be a good neighbor today and every day
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NATIONAL NIGHT OUT THIS TUESDAY
TUESDAY OCTOBER 1
6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Thomas Place Community Center
4237 Lafayette Ave.
This annual community get together, hosted by the Arlington Heights Citizens on Patrol, is a highlight on everybody’s social calendar.
It’s all free and fun for all ages!
Music provided by DJ Gil Lazo
Food
Bounce House
Giveaways
ARCHIE’S GARDENLAND CELEBRATES 90TH BIRTHDAY THIS SATURDAY
Archie’s Gardenland, Fort Worth’s premier nursery, will always be near and dear to AHNA. It started in Arlington Heights in 1934 in N. E. Archie’s backyard on Calmont Ave. As his business grew, he opened up Archie’s Planter Box at 4910 Camp Bowie where Olivella’s Pizza is today. Moving the business in 1952 to its final location in Ridglea at 6700 Camp Bowie Blvd. allowed the multigenerational business to grow even larger. Heading things up today is N. E. Archie’s great grandson Randall Archie. Check it out, it’s an amazing place for plants and more.
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SAVING STRIPLING’S STONE WALL WINS PRESERVATION AWARD
Moving the vintage stone wall erected in 1934 at the south end of Stripling Middle School’s campus took many months of planning and negotiating to pull off. (Photo by Bob Lukeman)
As soon as AHNA member Juliet George heard that the historic retaining stone wall on Stripling Middle School’s campus was going to be demolished to make way for the school’s new addition, she was determined to save it.
A 1968 Stripling graduate, Juliet located an Ohio stonemason who specializes in historic stone work and who was willing to travel to Fort Worth to dismantle the stone wall. Then, she had to figure out where to go with the stones. Enter Bob Byers from Fort Worth Botanic Garden who agreed to take the dismantled stones since they were identical to the Palo Pinto sandstones used in the garden’s former rose garden built in the 1930s. Funding the project was a long and winding road. Juliet was eventually able to get only partial funding from Tarrant County Historical Society to pay for part of the stonemason’s expenses.
For a longer version of this saga, go to Juliet’s story she wrote in Fort Worth Weekly this past April: https://www.fwweekly.com/2024/04/03/carrying-away-the-stones/.
Juliet and her project will be recognized with a Preservation Achievement Award by Historic Fort Worth on October 10, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. at The Woman’s Club of Fort Worth at 1316 Pennsylvania Avenue. This is a ticketed event, so go to historicfortworth.org for more information.
Bravo, Juliet–your passion and tenacity paid off. If anyone would like to make a donation to this project, please email president@arlingtonheightsna.com.
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