Yard of the Month January 2024

Congratulations to Beth Boughton at 5416 Worth, winner of the January Junius Heights Historic District Yard of the Month! Beth bought her 1920 bungalow house and started living there in May of 1996. She has always loved older homes, so finding a vintage home near to her work in downtown Dallas was ideal for her. She also had a friend already living in the area, so it was perfect.

The landscaping is designed and maintained by Beth. She recently hired a lawn care team to mow, but Beth still maintains the flower beds. We love the special care she takes to match the color of her flowers to the paint colors of the house. This year Beth replaced all of her pittosporum shrubs with “Twist of Lime Abelias” and the yellow variegation in the leaf looks quite nice with her house color.

“I always had pittosporum. The first plantings thrived for years and then died of scale disease which would have been easily treated if I had understood what the problem was. The second round of pittosporum also did well for a long time. I covered them when we had hard freezes, and they actually survived the winter pretty well. But I lost the second planting as our summers started to grow hotter and more intense. The landscaper then told me that pittosporums are not intended for full sun. Oops, who knew?” – Beth Boughton

That is how we learn isn’t it? Trial and error. Thank you, Beth, for never giving up and always giving your neighbors something to smile about.

“Gardening – indoors or out – really is the slowest of the performing arts. Plant something, wait, hope. The anticipation, for me, is almost as important as the performance.” – Henry Homeyer