Backyard
Gardener Front Yard Personalities Story and Photos By Kat Long/Contributing Writer
How does your garden grow? Very well, thank you. Cannot keep up the weeding, mowing and harvesting but everything looks fantastic! Said everyone in the state of Oklahoma. This weather has been amazing and it looks, other than getting hotter, to continue to be a fantastic “Let’s grow things” summer. To entertain myself as I waited to harvest strawberries, greens and herbs, I have been driving around looking at other people’s yards and porches. An editor told me when I first started writing about gardens and yards that it isn’t trespassing or stalking if I look closely and take pictures of the fronts of houses. I need to knock and be invited into the backyard. Front yards for the win this month. There are so many different, and beautiful, ways to grow in your front yard. I just wanted to share a few of my favorites and tell you why I love them so much.
Xeriscape Let’s start with something completely different: a xeric yard: very little to no grass, some plants but mostly rock and ornaments. Lots of room for interpretation in this type of yard. My favorite is on the southwest side of town, and it may have evolved since I
last saw it. Quite frankly, I do not remember what street or exactly where this yard is located. I just know it made me stop and look more closely to the yard when I saw it. Since seeing that yard a few years ago, succulents and small cacti have become all the rage for indoor or outdoor planting. This large bowl of succulents is under the breezeway at City Central, and it is beautiful. Succulents are the perfect plant for this dry and sometimes very windy part of the building. And don’t let anyone tell you they won’t survive in your yard. Sedums are the most popular and have a variety of sizes, shapes and bloom colors. My mom has them all over her yard, and they survived that horrible coldness in April like champs. There are over 300 species of sedum, which means they range from small, think hens & chicks, to over 18 inches tall. Apparently, the larger sedums have been moved into a separate genus, meaning they are still sedums, just under another scientific name. Gotta love science.
The Gorgeous Porch This is one I aspire to: You’re driving from Point A to Point B and your eye catches a truly southern porch. Chairs out front and plants; gorgeous Decorative circle found on one of my walks.
Xeric-style yard here in Ponca City. Love the entire decor. Plants in the middle are sedums.
See FRONT YARD Continued on page 41 July 2021
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