Archives for Yard of the Month
In case you missed one, here are our archives of the Yard of the Month stories and images.
March 2012 Yard of the Month
The home of Mary Passmore at 1310 Comanche is recognized as the March 2012 Yard of the Month.
Mary provided the following: "My daughter, Katie, and I moved onto Comanche Dr. in August 2011. I grew up in Dallas and graduated from RISD schools, where my in-laws, Bill and Sue Passmore, worked and taught. This house needed to be retrofitted to accommodate Katie's wheelchair, so, with help of Richardson Residential (Justin McMillin), Finley Design (Shelley Stagner), and JDS Design (Julie Woolridge Simons), a plan was implemented. Justin turned an existing bathroom into a roll-in shower for Katie; Shelly designed the interior so that Katie could have access to every room in the house; and Julie made the wheelchair ramp disappear into the new landscape. I look forward to living in such a friendly and close-knit neighborhood. I smile every time I drive up to my new home!"
February 2012 Yard of the Month
The home of Mike and Tammy Amyx at 1234 Chippewa is recognized as the February 2012 Yard of the Month.
The Amyxs provided the following: "We moved into our house in 1999. We wanted our son to stay in RISD, and, although he graduated from J.J. Pearce in 2008, we can't imagine leaving the Reservation and our home. It has been a labor of love, where every room has had some aspect of remodeling inside and outside. Our latest venture was to remove the brick off the front of our home and install rock; and, as we all know, one project tends to lead to another, so we then decided to change our pillars to a wood rustic look and add a metal roof. We have decided to make the changes to our current home instead of going somewhere and buying another home because we love the neighborhood feel of the Reservation. We love that our neighbors watch out for each other and that, when you take your dogs for a walk, you are always greeted by a neighbor with a smile or wave."
January 2012 Yard of the Month
The home of Zes and Mary Scott at 1224 Mohawk Trail is recognized as the January 2012 Yard of the Month.
The Scotts provided the following: "We moved to Richardson in 1962 and into our Mohawk home in 1963. As our front yard oak trees grew, we lost sunshine to our front yard and replaced some of our original plantings and grass with ground cover and less sun-loving plants. We remodeled and upgraded the interior of the house several times. Through the years, we have watched many of the original neighbors move away and seen a resurgence of younger neighbors and the return of young children to our block, which has awakened a sleeping neighborhood. It's great to live on the Reservation and especially on Mohawk Trail. Thank you for this award."
December 2011 Yard of the Month
The home of Mary Aasterud at 1206 Cherokee Place is recognized as the December 2011 Yard of the Month. Mary provided the following:
My husband and I moved to Richardson in 1969. After we found our perfect home in the cul-de-sac in 1979, we remodeled areas in the house and outside we added and subtracted many plants. Native perennial plantings that are low maintenance decorate the landscape. For a burst of color, annuals are added every year.
Our two children, who graduated from Pearce high School, are both married, and I have three beautiful grandchildren.
The continuity of the same eight neighbors for over 30 years helped shape us into an extended family.
November 2011 Yard of the Month
The home of Mark & Marci McCloy at 1228 Chippewa is recognized as the November 2011 Yard of the Month. The McCloys provided the following:
We have lived in our home for almost 9 years and during that time have made several landscaping changes. The most recent update was August, 2011, as we lost the old tree in our front yard in a lightning storm and decided to plant all native Texas bushes and flowers. Since we took the tree down, we planted yellow and purple flowers in the spot the tree was at. We also updated the shrubs directly in front of our house with a bush that has yellow flowers and smells like sweat tea. In addition we added bushes with purple flowers that attract butterflies. The flowers in front of these bushes are yellow and bright pink.
Thanks for choosing our yard!
October 2011 Yard of the Month
We first moved to Richardson in 1958 to our home on Frances Way on the East side of Richardson. In 1964 we purchased a vacant lot on Cheyenne Drive in a newly developed area in the city. We created a preliminary design for our home and hired a contractor to finalize the design and build our home.
We moved into our new home during the summer of 1965 and have lived here since. When we moved in, we could could see open farmland north of Melrose Drive.
We have two daughters, both of whom attended Mohawk Elementary, North Junior High and Pearce High Schools. They are both married and we have five grandchildren. We planted our trees and put in our yard when we moved in. We updated our kitchen in 1985 and have changed our landscaping periodically. We love the neighborhood and plan to remain in our home as long as our health permits.
September 2011 Yard of the Month
The home of Van and Margaret Neinast at 1223 Chippewa is recognized as the September 2011 Yard of the Month. Margaret provided the following:
What a pleasant surprise to be selected as September's Yard of the Month! Although Van and I question the appearance of most of our yard, we do agree that the caladiums in front are beautiful. We attribute this to God's handiwork and not to any gardening ability on our part!
Van and I have two boys. Our oldest will graduate from Texas A&M this December, and our youngest is a Junior at Pearce High School. Both of our boys attended Mohawk Elementary, North and Pearce. We have lived in the Reservation for 11 years now, 6 years in this home. We truly enjoy living in the Reservation and it's quiet, neighborly atmosphere.
Our home was built in 1962. In 2003, the former owners expanded the master bedroom and bath, created a larger game room upstairs, added a detached garage in the back and replaced the original pool with a saline pool, jacuzzi and pool deck. Needless to say, we have enjoyed having family and friends over for swimming and grilling during the summer! Although this summer has been miserably hot, we hope to enjoy many more summers here in the Reservation!
August 2011 yard of the Month
The home of Carl and Sandy Wills at 1326 Glen Cove is recognized as the August 2011 Yard of the Month. Carl provided the following:
Originally my family moved into the house after my father finished construction in August of 1964. My father and uncle built over forty houses in the Reservation from 1961-1968.
After my father passed away in 2006, my wife and I decided that we wanted to keep the house in the family. Because I grew up in the Reservation, I have many fond memories of years gone by.
I drive my wife crazy reminiscing of the silly antics that went on during my youth. In 2007 my wife and I began the long arduous task of updating the inside of the house. We have given a new meaning to DIY. We are close to completion of the many projects and look forward to having time to spend with our family and friends.
June 2011 Yard of the Month
The home of Jason and Alissa Bennett at 1228 Mohawk is recognized as the June 2011 Yard of the Month. Alissa provided the following:
Jason and I have lived at 1228 Mohawk since August 2006. We purchased the house in April of 2006 right after we were married. I always knew I wanted to live in the Reservation as I loved the community aspect this neighborhood had.
We were able to purchase our house from someone I had known growing up. We immediately gutted most of the house. Phillip Hunt's business, Texas Lawn Boys, did our original landscaping and continues to help us update it. Since moving into our house, we have added children to our crew. Gage ('07), Ella Claire ('08), Lucy and Landry ('10).
Please take a moment to welcome them and let them know how you can help!
May 2011 Yard of the Month
The home of Bill and Kathy Lang at 1100 Seminole is recognized as the May 2011 Yard of the Month. The Langs provided the following:
We have lived on Seminole for 36 years. Our 4 children all attended Mohawk, North, and Pearce, and one of our daughters now lives in the Reservation. We have 7 grandchildren, one of whom is at Pearce and two of whom attend Mohawk.
Several years ago Kathy had a vision of building a front yard porch/patio like our grandparents used to have from which she could visit with the neighbors, plus meet new ones. So far it has worked beautifully. We are not finished so look for more improvements.
April 2011 Yard of the Month
The home of Rhett & Kimberly Stokes at 1208 N. Cheyenne is recognized as the April 2011 Yard of the Month.
The Stokes provided the following:
We have lived in the Reservation for 9 years and have 3 boys. Our 1st 7 years we lived on Apache Drive and knew we wanted to move further inside the neighborhood and in 2009 we bought this amazing home here on Cheyenne. We have done updates such as a completely remodeled kitchen, master bath, and put in hand-scraped wood floors throughout entire house, except tile in bathrooms. All new doors, baseboards, windows, heating & A/C. Our newest update has been our French doors to front of house that we just love!
And of course, our yard, that is a true favorite! We would love to take credit for all of it, but the previous owners, the Henigsman's blessed us with an amazing yard that we have been able to keep up and build on to! The front yard is covered with many perennials such as fern, hosta, Lenten roses, Lambs ear, oxallis, a Japanese maple, and many others. Annuals are mainly impatiens, and snap dragons, with a few other undecided things to be added along the season! We have also just added 4 garden boxes to the north side of yard that we a looking forward to planting and harvesting from very soon! We are honored to be recognized by our amazing neighborhood that has so many to beautiful homes to choose from!
March 2011 Yard of the Month
The home of Jackie Palmer at 1209 Seminole is recognized as the March 2011 Yard of the Month.
Jackie provided the following:
I'm a native Dallasite and my late husband was a good ol' boy from West Texas. We moved into our new home at 1209 Seminole 46 years ago. There was no grass and no trees, just foundation plantings.
Needless to say, there have been several changes (major!) in the landscaping during this time. Some by choice, some weather related, and some due to old age of the plants.
After major tree loss during the past few years, the present design is kinda "walk-up appeal" with flowers (multicolored pansies) on both sides of the front walk. Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer is the schedule plan, so the yard looks pretty year around.
February 2011 Yard of the Month
Each month, the Reservation Homeowners Association recognizes homes in our neighborhood that have excellent "curb appeal" based on architectural upgrades to the house and/or landscaping.
The home of Don and Suzie Robins at 1205 N. Cottonwood is recognized as the February 2011 Yard of the Month.
Don and Suzie provided the following:
We are long time residents of the Reservation - over 40 years. Recent improvements include stone work around the trees and bordering the flower beds. Used lots of pansies this year hoping they would survive the weather and the squirrels.
January 2011 Yard of the Month - 1232 Mohawk
The home of Daryl & Mandy Davis at 1232 Mohawk is recognized as the January 2011 Yard of the Month.
Daryl and Mandy provided the following:
We bought our home around November of 2009. The first of January 2010 we began the remodel. Our goal was to be as energy efficient as possible and if there were any opportunities to participate in "going green", we tried to implement them.
We took the house back to the studs and kept very few of the interior walls. Raised the ceilings to 9', took out the old fireplace and added 2 more. Added a new covered front porch with ceiling fans. All new Heat & A/C, electrical and plumbing. Foam insulation attic, exterior walls and crawl space. With the new metal roof we added 3 dormers that allow extra natural light into the home. Tankless hot water heater, low flow push button toilets, all new energy efficient appliances, doors and windows with state of the art security system.
Outside we went with new swimming pool and fencing as well as drought tolerant plantings and some drip irrigation. Also a couple of water features and decomposed granite rock pathways within zyosia grass. It took one year from start to finish, but we could not be happier to be back in the Reservation, after being gone for the last 17 years. We would like to thank our architect and fellow Richardsonite, Barry Hand for his attention to detail and talents. Thank you for selecting our home for yard of the month!
December 2010 Yard of the Month - 1205 Navaho
We consider Richardson and especially our "Reservation" neighborhood as our own little "Mayberry." It's a wonderful place to raise a family. We moved into the neighborhood in April, 1989. We were one of the youngest families on the block at that time. Our oldest son Steven went to Mohawk Elementary Kindergarten that Fall. Younger brother Kevin followed him 3 years later and both boys went to Mohawk, North Jr. High and Pearce High School. Steven is now 26 yrs. old and he was married in 2008. Last year Steven and his wife Mariah looked for a house in many surrounding towns and came to the realization that he "grew up in a pretty nice neighborhood." Yes he did! He ended up buying a home in Richardson!
Over the years we made many improvements, most recently in the past two years to the front yard landscaping. We decided to tear out the original front porch, steps and sidewalk and expand the front porch area to be much bigger. Working with Nativ Landscapes we developed a new design that saved many existing plants and we moved 2 crepe myrtle trees to balance out the front yard and place the trees in direct sunlight. We added a stone path and a stone circle area that would hold a swing. We added a small water feature, boulders and new flower beds with many azalea plants that will bloom for much of the year. Finally we added some landscape lighting to wash light onto the brick and also down from the tree into the circular seating area.
There are many new families on our street and it is so fun to sit out front on the swing with the chiminea and pass out candy on Halloween. We have put a 6 foot plastic Santa on the roof since the first year we moved in. Now all of the young children in the neighborhood look forward to seeing when Santa will make his appearance up on the roof!
November 2010 Yard of the Month
Congratulations to the Tait family, 1208 Chickasaw.
Recently they invested in a huge remodel of their home which included a brand new sandstone porch, beautifully stained timbers with an archway, a new arbor to the west and fantastic landscape lighting. Their seasonal decorations this year are just terrific. They planted native Texas plants, which grow beneath two enormous oak trees, and have several large stone accents; all which contribute to a very Texas Hill Country look.
Heather Wheat
October 2010 Yard of the Month
Congratulations to my wonderful neighbors and friends who are awarded this month's Yard of the Month, and who have been nominated by the mayor and neighbors for the Richardson revitalization award! Way to go Navaho!
LaRuth and Richard Morrow
1317 Navaho Trail
Heather Wheat
From the Morrow's:
Previous Condition: As shown in the attached before pictures this house in the Reservation was in good shape but had several features that made access a little difficult for less mobile visitors. There were two steps to be negotiated to get in the house: one of six inches and the other four inches in a fairly confined space. The courtyard was approaching needing to be rebuilt. The house was originally built with a Spanish motif that we wanted to change. In addition the street is fairly dark and the house number was hard to see in dim light. The area around the front porch was low and subject to standing water. The before condition was OK but we felt it could be greatly improved with a modest investment in concrete and landscaping.
New Condition: We removed the brick courtyard and front sidewalk to the street replacing it with a much larger stone patio porch and a winding exposed pebble sidewalk. We made this sidewalk gently rise to meet a single two-inch step for entry in the house. There is much more space for people to maneuver as they come to the front door and less mobile people will find it much easier to get into the house. We put in stone pillars with lights on a timer to be illuminated at night. We also installed a light street number sign to make the house easier to find at night. Connecting the pillars is a low ribbon of stone to separate the lawn from the flowerbeds. We moved a crepe myrtle that was too close to the house and partially replaced the landscaping framing the edges of the house with yaupon holly trees and moved all the flowering plants toward the center nearer the front door. Annual plants will be periodically placed on either side of the sidewalk near the patio porch.
We also took the opportunity to replace all the front soffit and fascia with James Hardy products replacing the original cedar and plywood products. We employed brick workers to remove the six faux Spanish support timbers from the two gables and replaced the empty spots with brick removed as part of the courtyard replacement. This gave the house a more traditional 'old world' look. We finished it off installing half round copper gutter with two rain chains.
We are very pleased with what we've done with this investment in our neighborhood. It is not as dramatic as a teardown but, we believe, is a very cost effective revitalization of the area.
We used a local Richardson resident, Forrest Blaney, to design and install the stonework and also the landscaping. Another Richardson firm, Dallas Gutter and Repair, provided the copper gutters.
September 2010 Yard of the Month
Congratulations to our long time neighbors Carolyn and Bob Fallstrom at 1219 Ottawa Drive for being selected as yard of the month.
The lawn is always neatly kept and the beds are planted with hearty, heat tolerating bushes and very tidy. Take a minute to drive Ottawa and see this month's nice yard.
June 2010 Yard of the Month
From the home owner: I’m very surprised and pleased to have won the yard of the month! I am one of a few of the original owners in the reservation. The large live oak in the front yard was planted forty-eight years ago when we moved in and there were only cotton fields in front of the house. The two red oaks are only about twenty-five years old.
My favorite part of the landscape is in the back yard where I have several dogwoods that, along with my neighbor's, put on a spectacular show in the spring. The winter weather took a toll on my lawn and I had it sprigged with St. Augustine and hope it will cover by the end of summer. The reservation has been and continues to be a great place to live! Bee Skinner 1215 Mohawk Trail
May 2010 Yard of the Month
May 2010 Yard of the Month is awarded to Callie and Ruth Kramp 1310 Chickasaw Drive. After removing the very old sticker bushes and bringing in loads of sand to level the yard, which served as a fun sand adventure for the nearby neighborhood children, the outcome is just beautiful. They tilled and turned and brought in bags of new dirt to ultimately present a beautiful display of Japanese Maples, Knockout Roses, Begonias, Hostas, Coleus,Caladiums, Impatiens, Mondo grass, Purple Diamond Shrubs, Lambs Ear and Fatsia potted on the front porch. It’s especially beautiful at night with their landscape lighting. Congratulations, Callie and Ruth, on a great-looking yard.
April 2010 Yard of the Month
Congratulations to the homeowners at 1100 Navaho Trail for creating a beautiful yard.
Click image for larger view.
MARCH 2010 YARD OF THE MONTH
Congratulations to Marsha and Cliff Miller, 1217 Cheyenne for March Yard of the Month. The couple recently became Reservation residents about 18 months ago. They were looking for an established neighborhood with traditional style and the Reservation was the right choice. The landscaping was fairly new when they moved in, yet they moved some shrubs around and added a bed to the side of the house.
They also planted three trees in the front yard and added colorful flowers. Last year they had the backyard completely redone with a new patio and all new beds and shrubs, wow! Congratulations again to our new residents. "Thanks for the honor, we know we picked the right neighborhood in Richardson."
DECEMBER 2009 YARD OF THE MONTH
Congratulations to Frances and Col. Norman Flippo retired (US Army) located at 1212 Glen Cove .. this is the house with the United States and Texas State Flags, proudly displayed every day. Frances and Norman recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary and have called the "Reservation" home for the past 48 years.
Fran and Norm believe the Reservation is the best place to live in Richardson. The Reservation, location, access to schools and its past and present home owners have continued to make our neighborhood a wonderful place to raise families.
Fran and Norman raised three children in this home: Butch, Marsha and Kay Kay. Butch and Marsha graduated from RHS in 1968 and Kay Kay graduated from PHS in 1975.
The Flippos enjoy decorating their yard every fall, Halloween and Christmas each year. Christmas has always been a special family event. The trees and light decorations represent and honor family members each year. The four Trees planted in the front yard represent Fran and Norm's parents: ("Charles & Cora Bell Carter" of Texarkana, AR) and ("Norman & Carrie Flippo" of Fort Worth, TX). Each string of lights strung in those four trees represent: Fran, Norm, their children; Butch, Marsha, Kay and grandchildren Rickey, Ashley, Chris, John, Matthew and great grand children; Katelynn.
Butch has been a Commercial Real Estate Broker in the Metroplex for the past 27 yrs, Marsha has, and Kay Kay & Ashely continue to teach in the RISD.
Today, Fran and Norm are retired. Fran a former Texarkana, Ark high school basketballer can tell you anything you want to know about the Dallas Mavericks. And you can catch Norm smoking his pipe, working in the yard or tinkering in his woodworking shop in the garage.
NOVEMBER 2009 YARD OF THE MONTH
Novembers Yard of the Month is a great example of Stonemasons Workmanship. This beautiful yard of Bob and Nancy Burger, located at 1325 Glen Cove, enhances the house and neighborhood. And a bit of information from the owners:
Bob Burger sells industrial sewing machines and Nancy is a retired school teacher. We have lived in the Reservation for 33 years. I went back and taught for one year after being retired for 3 years and my last pay checks paid for our stone work. It was done by Blaney Stoneworks and we did it because we were tired of our house looking like every other. Mr. Blaney designed it and included some special touches like rocks from the Arkansas River, which runs through Bob's home town in Colorado. Bob gets all of the credit for the seasonal plantings and for keeping the yard so nice. He is definitely the one with the "green thumb".
OCTOBER 2009 YARD OF THE MONTH
Congratulations to Kim and Joe Stadelman located at 1204 Osage.. this is the house with the Fantastic Brick fireplace that just went up, and the lovely Fall decorations. Please find the time to stroll by and see one of the nicest yards in the Reservation. And Now a bit of information about your neighbors:
Joe and I have 2 girls. Kristin is 25. She is married to Mark and they have a 7 year old daughter Brianna. Kristin is a 1st grade teacher in White Settlement. They are living in Benbrook Tx. Our youngest daughter Amy is 22. She is a senior at Texas Tech. She is president of her sorority and is doing an internship with Habitat. So she keeps extremely busy.
I absolutely love this time of year. Pumpkins and scarecrow are perfect for setting the tone for fall. I love to decorate with lots of color.
I love the reservation because of all the beautiful trees. There is also so much character and charm in the houses. You don’t see the cookie cutter houses like you do in so many of the new neighborhoods. It’s such a nice area to raise a family.
Joe and I love the outdoors. We spend more time outside in the yard then we do in the house. We just built a new kitchen (living area) outside that I think will be where we live most of the time.
SEPTEMBER 2009 YARD OF THE MONTH
The September Yard of the Month story includes a bit of history about the Reservation as well as pride, hard work and a love for the neighborhood. congratulate Jim Browning and Rick Pena on their spectacular yard – 1108 Pawnee. Go by and see the entire street, it’s a “gem”.
By Jim Browning
My parents built 1108 Pawnee in 1963 and I lived there until I went to college. When my mom's health began deteriorating 3 years ago, I purchased the home from her, ensuring that she would be able to stay home and have full time care. My commitment to her--she wouldn't die on linoleum. No nursing homes, no hospitals. Following her passing, I thought I would sell the house, but it meant too much to me. So, Rick, my partner of 17 years, our 2 birds and 2 dogs, moved in to a house half the size. We are still in a constant state remodeling--jack hammering the Mamie Eisenhower Pink Everything my mom had installed over the years--but when we walk into the yard, all the dust and confusion settle and we enjoy the shade, listen to the acedias, and wave to neighbors--some I have known since I was 5 and I still call, Mr. and Mrs. Dirks.
My parents always kept a nice yard, and being the only boy, it was my job to keep it up. One of my earliest memories was helping my dad install the in ground sprinkler system before we moved in. Back then, only golf courses had sprinkler systems. But my father, a mechanical engineer, always had some gadget he was building or developing.
The trees in the front yard--cedar elm, multi trunk live oak and red oak--were planted by my father because he wanted indigenous north Texas trees. Moving from Maryland, my parents were used to soil and trees. Here, it was black concrete and he didn't want to take any chances.
The yard was always well maintained. And as the only son, it was my job to mow the grass, trim the shrubs and plant the yearly annuals. Originally, the house had the 60"s 3 tiered hedge of foundation planting with annuals in the front. When my eldest sister married 20 years ago, my mom decided it was time rid of the tiered hedges, removing 75% of the original plantings. She did the deciding, I did the digging and we added the azaleas, new hedges and shrubs. The Japanese maples and rose bushes were Mother's days gifts from years past. A grandkids pool was added 14 years ago, but for the most part, the second generation garden still exists today.
I have made a few changes by adding the stone paths in front, taking in the live oak into the garden and installing an inexpensive pot fountain. Most of the plants that have been added since we moved in, came from slitting perennials from our other houses or from wonderful neighbors sharing their plants. A cutting from a neighbor means a lot more than a trip to Home Depot. We added the pots, yard art and arbors from our collection of stuff, adding another dimension and texture.
The garden is a collection of memories--shared plants, a broken pot held together with rope, rose bushes my father gave my mom, and remembering to pay the Saturday lawn service. It is a manageable garden, and it is home.
Our mailing address is:
RHOA Box 835253
Richardson, TX 75080-5253
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