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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