Submitted by Westcreek resident Barbara Huffman on July 28, 2012

6101 Sun Vista, home of the Busa family, is the month of July’s Yard of the Month. Last summer’s brutal heat took its toll on the landscape in both the back and front yard, so the family made the decision to take out the St. Augustine lawn in the front yard and use that grass to fill in the gaps in the back yard.

The front yard was then planted with 1.5 pallets of Zoysia grass. Zoysia needs half the water of St. Augustine and is much more heat tolerant. They also devoted about half the yard to a mulched flower bed lined with native rocks they collected from their acreage in San Marcos. Veronica, a senior at LASA High School, did the research for the plants that would go into the bed. Among many others, I found yuccas, milkweed, verbena, lantana, mountain rose, algarita, bulbine and columbine. These were purchased at the Clint Small plant sale and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Some were even dug up and transplanted from their San Marcos property!

Congratulations to Ron and Helen, Veronica and Thomas for their YOM award that includes a free oil change at Klingemann’s and a $50 gift certificate from Emerald Gardens.

Submitted by Westcreek resident Barbara Huffman on June 25, 2012

Congratulations to Cheri Rowden of 6201 Adel Cove for her award winning yard!

Cheri has done all the work herself… including digging up and moving some huge boulders that now add to the landscape above ground. Her goal has been to reduce the area of “lawn” that requires much more maintenance and water. Her favorite plant in the yard is the red Turks Cap which grows happily in many locations. Mulching a large bed and then putting large potted plants along the side yard has been her most recent accomplishment.

Thanks to Emerald Garden for their support and gift certificate to Cheri, as well as our neighbor Klingemann Car Care Center, who gave a free oil change!

Submitted by Westcreek resident Barbara Huffman on April 16, 2012

The Neighborhood Enhancement Committee would like to announce the first Yard of the Month for the 2012 season. The May YOM goes to Gary Brunevick and Linda Ford at the corner of Porsche Lane and Smith Oak. A gift certificate to The Emerald Garden for $50 is forthcoming and will be presented to Linda and Gary. Cypress Grill also donated a one-time $50 gift certificate to Westcreek, which was provided to our May winner. Please take a minute to drive by their lovely yard and take note how well it recovered from our dreadfully brutal summer of 2011. Congratulations to Gary and Linda!

Submitted by Westcreek resident Barbara Huffman

Congratulations to Frank and Debra Lewis of 4513 Langtry Lane for receiving the WNA Yard of the Month award for December! The beautiful holiday lighting on their house earned them a $50 gift certificate from Emerald Garden and a $25 gift certificate from Mandola’s.

Frank and Debra love decorating for Christmas, and at their front door they proudly hang an antique ornament that Frank’s family hung at his family home. There is a friendly competition among the neighbors on Langtry to out-decorate each other each year. Frank and Debra were thrilled to be this year’s December Yard of the Month winners.

Submitted by Westcreek resident Hannah Williams

Congratulations to Robin Mayfield for winning Yard of The Month in September!

Robin Mayfield’s beautiful yard and certified wildlife habitat has always caught my eye while making the rounds in Westcreek. I love her amazing variety of colors and textures! She was so much fun to talk to about her yard. She had GREAT information to share and also writes a gardening blog!! The website for her blog is getgrounded.wordpress.com and she is part of the Austin Garden Bloggers.

All of her plants and trees are native or adapted native. She uses the city’s Grow Green Guide and tends to frequent nurserys like Barton Springs Nursery, The Natural Gardner and The Great Outdoors. Everything is done organically. She cares for her plants by using compost and mulch twice a year.

In her yard she has a beautiful assortment of Salvia Greggi, Purple Fall Aster, Lantana, Pride of Barbados, Blackfoot Daisy and her favorite: Gomphrena (the little red ones).

Her grass looks great for the horrific summer we had, too! She said that on the left, between her and her neighbor, the grass had a St. Augustine fungus. They worked together and got rid of it with cornmeal and compost from Natural Gardner.

These are Persimmon Trees.

One of her favorites is this Varigated Flax Dianella. It’s great for shade, dies in the winter, but then grows back.

Her favorite, Gomphrena. She gave me a bud to dry out and plant the seeds in my yard! She said that her and her neighbors “plant swap” all the time and highly recommends it.

Ruby Crystal and Mexican Feathergrass.

Varigated American Agave. Eventually this will grow and curl over the tub. The other plant blooms yellow flowers.

All plants are very heat and drought resistant – and look gorgeous, too!

Robin gave us a few tips to share as well. She said that the MOST important thing is MULCH MULCH MULCH! She has 8 inches of mulch in her flower beds. She said not to plant directly in the soil or the plant won’t make it. Lay down the foundation with mulch first. (I’ve learned that the hard way!). Another tip: on her corner bed, she laid down cardboard and then 8 inches of compost. She mulches twice a year.

Hear more great tips from Robin by reading her blog! Here’s the website again: getgrounded.wordpress.com.

Happy gardening!!

Submitted by WNA Officer, Jennifer Voss

Meet our August 2011 Westcreek Yard of the Month Winners… Karen and John Sperry. The Sperrys have lived here since the early 80s when Westcreek was first developed. They consider Westcreek as one of the best places you could live in Austin and they have done so much to maintain and beautifully update their home over the years. The gorgeous yard you see pictured is a result of carefully planned and well managed research and work that took 2½ years to finish. The Sperrys completed the hardscaping prior to finishing out the landscaping and irrigation portions. This welcoming yard is full of many drought tolerant native and adapted plants such as Imperial Blue Plumbago, Purslane, Silver Castle Artemesia, Double Knock Out Roses, red/orange Lantana, Liriope, Sego Palms, Agave, Blue Daze, Spring Bouquet Viburnum, Pride of Barbados, Pink Skullcap, Crape Myrtles, Coral Bean, native grasses, and delightful surprises such as a Meyer Lemon tree, a Big Tooth Maple, and potato vines.
As you approach the Sperry’s front walkway, you’ll be drawn to their bright front beds and led towards their front door as you follow a natural, winding path of rich stained concrete sidewalks. The lush green grass all around you is Zorro Zoysia – a drought tolerant grass that shows off an emerald green hue (be sure to plant it where it gets a little shade). But wait…you must see the rock and granite path that leads to the back yard. A dry creek garden area leads to a path with a few subtle curves and takes you back through an intriguing iron gate. Once you walk through, you realize the true beauty of Westcreeks’ greenbelt

The Sperry’s back yard is a mix of the soft Zoysia grass and beds of unique and native plants, including a cozy seating area further down the lawn.

The Sperrys were presented with a $50 Emerald Gardens gift certificate and a $25 Mandola Italian Market certificate to recognize their efforts in keeping Westcreek looking great. Stay tuned for next month’s winner.

Congratulations to Jimmy and Sylvia Gonzales at 4906 White Elm, winners of the July Yard of the Month. They were awarded Gift Certificates from Emerald Gardens and Mandola’s who are WNA’s supporters of our Yard of the Month program. We appreciate their support and hope that WNA neighbors will support them in return.

Jimmy and Sylvia have owned thir home since 1989 and have done extensive remodeling of the house in addition to their new landscaping. Last summer killed off the mix of burmuda and St. Augustine, so this spring Jimmy put in Zoysia turf named “Zorro” as it is drought tolerant and this particular variety grows well in the sun and shade. Wanting to reduce the amount of grass he had to mow, Jimmy covered the side yard with crushed pink granite. A large bed at the corner is filled with river rock and plants such as Agave, Sage, Crepe Myrtle, and Rosemary that require less water. Sago Palms accent the entry and other beds in the yard.