Our Yard of the Month for October – Sarah and Zach Henke
We continue to celebrate our neighbors by recognizing the yard of Sarah and Zack Henke at 6505 Fair Valley. The Henkes have lived in Westcreek for five years and enjoy walking the neighborhood with their children, Clair,(6), Brooks (4), and Wyatt (1 ½) along with their dog, Ranger. Sarah mentioned how much she enjoys her friendships with their neighbors and other moms, and maintaining those important connections even while social distancing.
Zach and Sarah were inspired when designing their yard by looking at other landscaping projects and getting some advice from professionals. Their goals were to select plants native to the area that are easy to maintain and to incorporate some of Zach’s talents in welding to their landscaping. The pandemic offered them the time to get to work on their plans. Zach worked with 3/8” steel to create the edging for the beds and to build the rectangular planters in the front bed and side yard.
The planters are filled with asparagus ferns with more natives filling the beds across the front: blackfoot daisies, wavy spinless prickly pear, Texas brush sage, ice plants, silver leaf ponyfoot, and bulbines. They love their live oak trees in the front and back, noting these were part of why they were drawn to the neighborhood and their home.
They have done extensive work in their yard, creating the beds, widening the driveway with stepping stones and crushed granite, and adding river rock to the side yard by the sidewalk. The end result is a natural yet neat setting that adds value to their home and beauty to the neighborhood.
As Yard of the Month winners, the Henke’s receive the following awards from the sponsors of the Westcreek Neighborhood YOM program:
- Free oil change from Klingemann’s Car Care Center ($37.95 value)
- $45.00 gift certificate from Cypress Grill
- $15.00 gift certificate from D’Lites Ice Cream Shop
- $50.00 gift certificate from Leaf Wholesale Nursery
When asked about information they would like to share with our neighborhood, Zach laughed and said he would apologize for the barking of Ranger, their golden retriever who guards the back yard. He describes Ranger’s bark as “healthy”, adding that in person he is more of a “friendly dude” who likes everyone.
When out and about, give Zach and Sarah a “high five” to salute their hard work in helping to keep Westcreek a beautiful and friendly place to live.
