IMMACULATELY GROOMED LAWNS

Willard Morgan's home on Lexington Avenue is a fine example of a well kept lawn.

Austin Bagby, left, and Viola Bagby worked at ridding the flower beds of weeds in front of their home on South Pacific Street.

The roses at the Bagby's home are full of rose buds and blooms during the summer.

Willard Morgan's neighbors are accustomed to seeing Morgan tending his yard.

"I think I know every blade of grass by name," chuckled Morgan. At least, Morgan explained, his neighbors and his wife, Diane, say he must.

The Morgans are among those in the Cape Girardeau area who keep their yards groomed immaculately.

There are quite a number of local residents who work to make their yards exceptional, noted Jeff Hawk, a member of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee.

Hawk and other committee members should know. Typically, three committee volunteers tour one of seven sections of Cape Girardeau monthly, on the lookout for top yards in that section.

"There are some real pieces of art out there," said Hawk on a July morning as she and fellow committee member Kevin Govero carefully zig-zagged by car through the maze of streets that comprised the section under consideration for yard-of-the-month awards.

The Scott City Chamber of Commerce also has in place a yard-of-the-month program.

For yard-of-the-month consideration in Cape Girardeau, a different section of the city is toured monthly from spring through early autumn. With the rotating system in place, Hawk explained, "each year we go to different locations at different times of the year."

Top awards go to one commercial -- including churches and other structures that are not homes -- and two residential addresses each month. In recognition of their achievements, each winner receives a certificate and may display a yard-of-the-month sign. Their pictures are published in the Southeast Missourian.

Perhaps it was Viola and Austin Bagbys' 16 hybrid-tea-rose bushes flanked by marigolds and allysum that captured a committee member's attention in June. Maybe it was the dogwood tree surrounded by violas, moss rose and impatiens.

Though people have commented on their yard before, Austin Bagby said he and his wife were surprised when they learned their yard had been selected as a June winner.

"We just consider it an ordinary yard that we love," Viola Bagby said. The pair, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Friday, share decisions about their yard. "Sometimes I'll come up with an idea, sometimes he'll come up with an idea. We have always worked together," Viola Bagby said.

"It's one of my hobbies, I just like to do it," Austin Bagby said of the work he does in keeping his and his wife's South Pacific Street yard well groomed.

The Morgan yard, too, is the result of the combined efforts of husband and wife. Their children also take part in the effort.

"All the children really take great pride in their yards," Willard Morgan noted. His family readily shares among one another new information and ideas relating to the subject.

For the most part, keeping his lawn, trees, shrubs and flowers -- including more than 20 azaleas -- in top condition is sheer enjoyment and is a great form of relaxation, Morgan said. "I really don't look at it as yard work."

A former dean at Southeast Missouri State University, Morgan, who retired as professor of education administration, became interested in having a nice yard as a youth. That enthusiasm has continued throughout his adult life.

"It's interesting how many problems over the years that have been solved in the yard," Morgan said, noting that for many years tending to the yard was his way of unwinding at the end of the work day.

That kind of energy and caring about one's surroundings makes all the difference, members of the Chamber's Beautification Committee contend.

"It's very important to keep the city neat looking," said Adele Kupchella, chair of the beautification committee. "We want visitors coming into town to think this is a sharp city, a pleasant place to live," she said. "Lawns are one of the first things people see."

Committee members hope the awards serve as both motivation and reward for a job well done.

Morgan, who is a past recipient of the yard-of-the-month award, noted that when neighbors also take great pride in their yards, the friendly competition that is sparked can be both motivating and fun.

While the work involved in making a yard beautiful can be a positive experience, it undoubtedly helps to see the fruits of the labor.

When developing a landscape, Morgan advised, "Keep the lawn designed kind of simple. Simplicity is the most complicated thing to develop."

"You can get too much clutter out there, or it can be too drab," he explained.

Morgan does not water his yard with the exception of new seeds or plugs. However, he waters shrubs and flowers regularly and pays careful attention to watering any newer shrubs or trees.

Timing is important throughout the year, he explained. "There are critical times that things have to be addressed, such as weed control, spraying for insects, planting and fertilizing." Morgan fertilizes his yard four to five times a year.

Learning the how-to's about having a beautiful lawn is a big part of the process.

For long-lasting success, "It's something you have to enjoy doing," Viola Bagby observed. A few people, like the Morgans and the Bagbys, have found that the learning and the enjoyment involved in yard work can be continual.

"For this year, our yard is in shape," Viola Bagby said. "But who knows, something may come up on the spur of the moment. When we come up with it, we do it."