Yard of the Month February 2025

The owners of the 1911 Craftsman style home at 5520 Tremont, Annie and Michael Gibson, and current resident, Maureene Gibson, are all transplants from Cleveland, Ohio. In recent years, Maureene’s entire family has now moved to Texas, nearly all whom have settled in East Dallas, where their deep love of all things historic is manifested in several restoration projects. So particular are they, that when restoring these homes, they seek out salvaged wood floors and antique fixtures and fittings to ensure historical authenticity. Two of these restorations are now family residences in Peak’s Addition and another is the luxury bed and breakfast, The Gaston, which Maureene manages.

When the family purchased the home on Tremont, it presented a problem. To their discerning eyes, the original arched windows at the front of the house did not conform to the mostly craftsman style of the equally old neighboring homes. So, they changed the facade with new square windows, installed a railing to surround the front porch, and repainted the house in pleasing, historically appropriate shades of dark blue with pale turquoise and white trim. Before and after photos show the wisdom of their choices.

Along with those changes came necessary adjustments to the front yard. The plan conformed closely with the original 1911 landscaping, but like all Junius Heights residents, the Gibsons needed to adapt to current weather extremes. When replacing plants that had died, Maureene instructed her yard man, Jose, to install only hardy bushes, shrubs, ferns, and flowers that would resist extreme heat and cold. And so, in the beds bordering the front porch, Jose planted a mixture of perennials: Indian Hawthorn, Fox Tail Ferns, pink Dianthus and Monkey Grass. The Photinia hedge to the left of the property was already there, as were old Pecan, Crape Myrtle, and American Elm trees.

One of the few homes in the area with green grass, Maureene shared that she had the lawn reseeded with rye grass in the late spring. Carefully nurtured over the summer months, the grass is now flourishing during this winter’s coldest spells, providing a welcome patch of green in the neighborhood.

Large stones are placed from the drive to the front steps, adding a rustic touch to the tidy landscape. Monkey grass on both sides of the front path continues the neat, no fuss-but-pleasing aesthetic that makes this historic home so charming and easy to maintain—a must for today’s busy working families.