A little sign popped up in front of our neighbors house. It was from the township beautification board, a little award for good gardening. They deserve it. Their gardens are immaculate. Black-eyed Susans mixed with dune grass. Roses and hostas. A running fountain and elaborate hills of mulch. Their yard is something to admire.
A few weeks later, I saw another neighbor had received an award. Since the man of the house retired, he had been putting a lot of work into the yard and beds around the house. This year they ripped out a few trees and plants and reconfigured the arrangement with lots of mixes of flowers and plants of every size.
On a walk with the kids, I noticed a neighbor down the street had one as well for his garden gnome home made out of a tree stump.
Our yard has really been through a metamorphasis since we moved in six years ago. We’ve taken down trees, installed landscaping bricks as a retaining wall, turning an area that was once stumps and dirt to something worth looking at and driving up our curb appeal. Most of the work was done to help pull water away from our house and basement to keep it from leaking or getting musty, but the side benefit was better landscaping.Granted a few flowers needed deadheading and some weeds needed pulled after I had the baby, but our gardens are full of perennials that have been blooming in phases all year. There is a lot of color, a lot of depth but clearly not enough to impress the beautification committee.
This week, I moved some flowers around, weeded and tried to ramp things up a little bit. According to a local free paper, the township planned to give out 300 awards in July. Maybe I’ll get one in August. If not, I really need to step up my game next year.
I’m not just talking additional flowers or some extra plants, I’m thinking fairy doors and twinkle lights. Maybe I can get a waterfall or a small pond with ducks that stay there and have babies in the spring—that’ll bring the cute factor up a notch!
All in all, this was a great idea by the township. Some people really care about having these awards (me) and so they step up their game and garden like crazy. This is great for their yards and often encourages their neighbors to take notice and enhance their yards a little as well. It’s really a win-win.
I prefer perennials with lots of color and of varying heights. What are some of your favorites?