Ramblewood Garden Club announces September YOM

The September Yard of the Month has been awarded to Carl and Barbara Blanchard who live and garden in the Twin Lakes subdivision in Cape Girardeau.

The Blanchards built their house in 1973 on a barren lot. They planted a red oak tree (Quercus rubra) that stands majestically in their front yard. Other trees on the property are a large sweetgum tree (Liquidambar) and a pin oak tree (Quercus palustris), which provide shade in the back of the house on hot summer days. These trees were planted in 1975 and have had years to grow tall.

The front porch is decorated a potted red geranium and a floral door wreath. The front drive and walkways are planted with alternating evergreen, ball-shaped Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) and variegated Liriope, which blooms with purple stalks in the summer.

Black and tan rocks forming a mosaic pattern act as mulch to fill the undulating planting beds edged with brick pavers. A front fountain fills the area with the soothing sound of trickling water. Other plantings in the front area are dark burgundy barberry (Berberis) shrubs, a shiny-leafed Euonymus, and a corner Chamaecyparis at the light pole. A Sunshine Ligustrum dresses up the area with bright yellow green color. The evergreens provide foundation structure to the house all year long.

A deep red blooming azaleas (Rhododendron) and a tall, healthy hybrid tea rose bush, having white edged in deep pink blooms, name unknown, also add color from spring to the end of the growing season.

Barbara fertilizes her plants heavily in the spring with Miracle-Gro, and then lightly throughout the summer. She also uses a Fertilome fungicide to protect the rose bush from blackspot and pests.

The dense foliage of a specimen spreading yew (Densiformis taxus) grows regally at the lower driveway bed.

The back area walkways are planted with several English boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), which hold their shape and need less pruning. Other beds contain yellow Stella d'Oro daylilies (Hemerocallis), pink Cleome, hellebore (Helleborus), several varieties of hostas, and an evergreen holly bush (Ilex). A tall Nandina domestica stands among a bed of purple blooming Lirope.

The side yard boasts a beautiful variegated lilac (Syringa vulgaris) shrub with fragrant pastel spring blooms. The one acre plus lawn is mowed by Carl, who loves mowing, according to his wife. A garden shed houses the tractor mower and other gardening equipment, and a backyard gazebo provides a shady place for relaxing and enjoying the landscape.

Barbara comes to gardening naturally as her father was chairman of the Horticulture Department at the University of Kentucky. She was also past president of the Four Seasons Garden Club and the Council of Garden Clubs of Cape Girardeau, as well as holding several chair positions in the Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri, Inc. and the Southeast District, and chairman of the Rose Garden in Capaha Park for many years. She is also a long-time educator in the Cape Girardeau School District. Carl is a retired real estate executive and broker. We congratulate the Blanchards on their gardening prowess and thank them for making our city a more beautiful place to live.