Yard of the Month December 2024

Congratulations to Jackie Jackson, who is the Junius Heights Historic District Yard of the Month awardee for December. Located at 704 Lowell Street, Jackie, her partner, Peter Kohn, and her neighbors make up a close group of like-minded folks who look out for each other, their homes, their pets, and their yards. So, it’s no surprise that neighbor, Rod Russell-Ides of Signature Gardens, is also Jackie’s landscaper.

Jackie called in Rod when, after three years of surveying the damage from 2021’s “Snowmageddon,” she decided the time had come to start anew. Rod’s plan for the front yard involved rocks and natural, cascading greenery, but work was halted when they learned the design did not conform to a Junius Heights Historic District ordinance which states that garden redesigns in the neighborhood should retain the historical characteristics of the original development. After a two-month delay, Rod and Jackie rallied, reworked the design, and got approved by the Landmark Commission.

The dead Pittosporums were removed and replaced with a new Japanese Maple at one corner. The existing Sweet Gum in the middle of the front yard gives significant shade, so ground cover was incorporated alongside the new lawn. The carefully pruned and now fully grown Natchez Crepe Myrtles replaced the silver maples facing the street. Garden beds on both sides of the pathway leading up to the front door display a lovely mix of Blue Ornamental Fescue, Lamb’s Ear, Oxalis, Artemisia, Procumbens Juniper, Pansies, Plum Yew, Yellow Sunshine Ligustrum, and Hydrangeas plus ornamental grasses. The left bed continues across the shaded part of the house where a variety of ferns and Hydrangeas are nestled.

Impressive as the new landscaping in the front yard is, an even greater delight is revealed in the back, where a carefully crafted jewel of an enclosed space awaits. Here, Rod’s creative talents were set free, as no JHHD regulations apply to back yards. A former attorney, labor and delivery night nurse, and, later, interior designer, Jackie was accustomed to managing people and projects so was surprised to find herself ceding full control to Rod. Her trust was amply rewarded, as Rod and his worker, Jose, created a garden retreat that is full of enchantments, from the artful patchworked decking and its innovative placing of plants and shrubs to the incorporation of Jackie’s metal artwork depicting icons, owls, and butterflies. The surrounding beds are planted with a medley of Bromeliads, Coral Bells, Viola, Cyclamen, and Loropetalum.

Given to whimsey, both Jackie and her next door neighbor enjoy a cavalcade of assorted ceramic birds and animals placed on top of their fence.

Jackie and Peter are committed to the relaxed and friendly Junius Heights enclave that is their home. While adhering to the limits imposed by a historic district, they found a way to indulge their creativity while also enhancing the neighborhood.