JULY YARD OF THE MONTH
Despite the blistering heat spell, the July winner at 4225 Birchman Avenue looks fresh and inviting.
When Lisa and Robbie Stultz moved from Katy, Texas to 4225 Birchman Avenue eight years ago, they got to work filling in a lot of blanks in their landscape. The previous owner had left them with newly sodded St. Augustine grass, crepe myrtles, three hollies and an unknown shrub that hid the air conditioning unit.
Lisa is in charge of the flowers and trimming the shrubs. Robbie, a graduate of Arlington Heights High School, takes care of the mowing. Lisa trims low the hedge of crepe myrtles that line her front porch. To keep them from getting too tall, she cuts them almost to the ground every winter. White vincas that can withstand the summer heat are tucked beneath the crepe myrtle hedge. In the winter, Lisa trades out the vincas for pansies.
A large stand of colorful pentas take center stage in front of golden euonymus shrubs. In the winter, pansies replace the annual pentas. Next to the pentas is Society Garlic that smells like garlic, but isn’t. Lisa likes it helps to keeps cats away.
At the east end of the flower bed are day lilies, agapanthas and a tall white peacock flower. Salmon-colored vincas add a pop of color to the dwarf Yew Podocarpos that have done very well and help to hide the air conditioner.
Two pots of red geraniums by the front door welcome visitors. Lisa says watering in the summer gets expensive since it sometimes requires watering twice a day.
The biggest landscape challenge facing the Stultz’s is their St. Augustine grass. It had been doing great, but after last winter much of it never came back. “We used to have 100% St. Augustine, but now it’s about 70% Bermuda,” Robbie says. He’s been raking the grass to stimulate new growth and fertilizing with Scott’s WeedEx.
The Stultz’s received a $25 gift certificate to Archie’s Gardenland, courtesy of AHNA, and a free year’s membership in AHNA.
If you see a yard you’d like to nominate, even your own, please be sure to send the address to president@arlingtonheightsna.com. We’re always looking for award-worthy neighborhood yards to celebrate.
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