Westcreek Neighborhood Association

Yard of the month for June goes to Sharon and Joe Clontz at 4701 Summerset.  Joe claimed the Mandola’s gift certificate and Sharon will make good use of the Emerald Garden gift certificate.  They have lived in their home for 30+ years.   Their 5-year-old grandson, Travis, lives with them.  Anyone who walked his or her dog past the house knows Travis.  He is the very energetic 5 year old that chases you down the street to ask if he can pet your dog.  Joe and Sharon are both retired and are remodeling the interior of their home and Travis helps Sharon with the gardening in the yard.  When Sharon learned they won the YOM award, she prepared the following article for the WNA newsletter and website:

“Many people have asked me about my roses.  I have 45 antique rose bushes in the yard.  My advice is simple:

1. Plant only antique roses.  These buses survive around Texas in cemeteries and abandoned homes.

2. Amend the soil before you plant.  I use The Natural Gardener’s Rose Dirt.  It is actually not so much amending as it is putting soil in your yard, since this area is 1-inch dirt and 3 feet of limestone rock.

3. Water at night and water deeply.

4. Use mulch but keep it off the trunk of the roses.

5. Fertilize with liquid seaweed.  This keeps the plant healthy and helps them fend off insects, disease, and stress from the heat.  (Use only after 7pm as it will burn the leaves in the hot sun.)

6. Your best friend is a breaker bar!  I don’t care if I am only planting a sprig of mint, when I try to dig a hole; the shovel gives off that now familiar “chink” which means “rock below”!  My beds are all lined with rocks that have been extracted from my yard!  I have now mastered the art of boulder removal.  When you hit the “chink”, dig around and find the edges of that sucker.  Remove as much dirt as you can from around the rock and use your breaker bar for leverage.  Get it under the rock and put all your weight on the bar.  If it won’t budge, get some additional manpower and put all your weight on the bar and the rock will roll out.  If it is a large rock, toss the sprig of mint and plant a rose bush!  How do you think I ended up with 45 rose bushes?

My “bibles” as far as gardening are Central Texas Gardner by Cheryl Hazeltine who is a local Austinite.  Texas Organic Gardening by Howard Garrett.  The Guide to Antique Roses by Mike Shoup and The Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, Texas.”

Sharon is interested in starting a Westcreek garden club and welcomes interested neighbors to call her at (512) 892-1102.

Sandra and John Tyndall at 5006 Summerset are the winners of the Yard of the Month for May.

John gives Sandra the credit for the yard and says that it is all her hard work.  Sandra tells us that she prefers plants other than native.  Living on the greenbelt, the native plants there attract the deer and other critters, so she steers away from them in her yard!  Her yard has been a lot of trial and error.

One can’t help but admire the beautiful crape myrtle trees that line the parkway along the curb.  They are so beautiful and create so much shade and color! Sandra said that when she moved in to the house in 1992, they were just little bushes! She recommends trimming the saplings so the trees grow straight up instead of bushy.

We also loved the stunning butterfly bench that adorns her front yard!  Sandra loves butterflies, thus the bench was a gift to her from her children.

From left to right :  Gracie, Shannon, Sandra, John, Tricia, Micah. In the front - Joshua and Tyler.

Yard of the Month for April goes to Ben and Carol Coughran on 6206 Myra Court.  Ben served on the WNA Executive Board for 9 years, and he and his wife, Carol, and their 16 year old poodle, Ellen, have lived in Westcreek for 20 years.

Ben is retired from the Air Force where he served as a meteorologist.  He then worked for the State of Texas in Environmental Quality and is now retired from that service.  Ben has recently installed a weather station at his house, which allows us to get the current weather statistics in our neighborhood.  Ben takes great pride in keeping well-manicured yard with seasonal color.

Myra Cove is off the “beaten path” as it is at the end of Yellow Rose Trail.  Take a moment to turn onto Yellow Rose Trail to see your neighbor’s yard on Myra Cove!