HBTSNEWS 7 YARD OF THE MONTH
February 2013
Serene landscaping allows quiet reflection
Photos by Yvonne C. Harper
The Yard of the Month located on Rexford Street is ideally located for home owner Sherry Russo.
By Yvonne C. Harper HBTSnews.com
I came back three times and looked and decided I wanted to live in HBTS because we have a club house and golf course… that’s how I landed in HBTS,”said Russo. Being surrounded by water was the allure for Russo. She described Atlanta as dry and she wanted to be near the water.
Sherry Russo came, she saw, she bought, and has made herself a home in Holley by the Sea. Russo, then living in Atlanta, Ga., vacationed in Pensacola Beach about eight years ago and stayed after she found a home. “When I came down to Pensacola Beach, I decided I loved it,”said Russo.“I was tired of living in Atlanta. I went to Hilton Head (S.C.) and different places and (then) I came here. This little voice said ‘move here.’” Russo drove through the Gulf Islands National Seashore on the beach and stopped by Juana’s Pagodas. “I got a Realtor and had him Sherry Russo enjoys the solitude of her show me around. home on Rexford Street.
“Atlanta was so dry. In Michigan I lived on the lake and in NewYork I lived on the Hudson River. I thought I was going to go out of my mind (in Atlanta)… here there’s water everywhere,”said Russo. Her home at 7408 Rexford Street was built in January 2006 and all she had to work with was a few bushes and a yard. At her request, the builder put in a circular drive and at the time, the road was dirt. After the road was paved, she ended up with a“lake”in her front yard, so a few years ago she had drainage installed that allows the water to flow out of the yard through a small drainage hole. About three months ago, she installed a small parking pad around the mail box to alleviate the mail truck creating ruts. Without any formal landscaping experience, she set out on creating a yard that flowed and has color. “I used to grow my own garden in Michigan, but not landscaping,”explained Russo. But with an eye for color, she planted a Texas Sage that she’s been molding and shap-
David Pinney and Sherry Russo enjoy many quiet evenings on the patio they built. ing into a tree.“The purple flowers come out and they stay until October. They’re beautiful.” She put in plants that attract butterflies and humming birds. “I don’t know the exact name, but it attracts butterflies and humming birds.” She laid Alabama red rock instead of red lava and carried the border around the house to the side where she planted lemon grass. In the back yard, her patio extends to a border that is filled with perennials. She planted a Laura Pindlim,“little bushes with pink flowers but in the shape of a tree,”fire crackers, fire trees and hydrangeas among others.
The slate and tile work was done by Russo and her boyfriend, David Pinney. “David built the patio and the panels are UV so (there’s) no sun damage,”said Russo. The wood work was done by Pinney. Russo planted a few live oaks, a weeping willow and a wisteria bush in the back yard. “In the summer time it grows and blooms and the deer love them,” said Russo. A bird feeder attracts a variety of birds, with a cardinal enjoying the seed at that particular moment, and seed placed at the bottom of the feeder brings the deer. Being surrounded by wooded lots means she often
sees a mother deer with her two young fawns in addition to the many birds.“But no bears, and I don’t want any,” said Russo with a chuckle. She plans to add St. Augustine grass to the few bear spots that border the flower bed.“Everything dies because of the shade (of the patio) so I’ll put in St. Augustine. It’s a work in a progress.” While it may be a work in progress for Russo, Larry Kingrey (December Yard of the Month) selected her home as yard of the month because he liked it. “I just liked the curb appeal of it. It’s nice,”said Kingrey.
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