by Timothy Appling
In 2007 Janet Welch found herself starting over. Recently widowed, she chose to make this new chapter of her life an adventure and found Fairmount the perfect neighborhood in which to make this happen. She and her Australian shepherd mix, Pepper, found their way to 1820 5th Avenue and settled in. It was not long afterward that Janet’s home was first selected as a Yard of the Month. She gives credit for that honor to professional landscapers, who helped her establish the garden. But after altering and maintaining it for seven years, she gratefully accepts the accolades that come her way.

1820 5th Ave.

Perhaps the most prominent feature of her yard is the collection of purple-leafed barberry shrubs that dominate the front bed, but the lime-green dwarf spreading yews next to the front steps are also striking and elicit many compliments from passersby. Janet loves the cotoneaster shrubs with their bright pink berries and the heavenly bamboo that turns scarlet in autumn. The Anthony Waterer spiraea is dazzling in the springtime, with its ample clusters of pink blossoms.

Blue and white varieties of salvia add more subtle touches to the scene. A profuse planting of cheerful zinnias is tucked behind an undulating border of neatly laid stone . Crape myrtles, a Texas gardener’s favorite, add a bit of color and Southern charm. The manicured lawn is lush St Augustine.

According to Janet, the only secret to such botanical success is to mow regularly and water occasionally. She has no need for chemical weed killers and does not even fertilize very often. But she is often found working in her yard and says that is how she met many of her neighbors. “It makes me happy when I’m out walking in the neighborhood and see beautiful yards,” she says. “So I hope my yard gives people some pleasure when they pass by.”

Janet is a second grade dual language teacher at Richard J. Wilson Elementary School. She has two sons, one of whom lives in Fort Worth. She recently returned from visiting her other son in the Baltimore area. She is currently a grandmother of eight, but in February that number will grow to nine.

Congratulations to Janet Welch on her beautiful Yard of the Month. She has received a gift certificate from C. C.’s Touch of Nature in appreciation of her efforts. Anyone who has a recommendation for a future YOTM, should send the pertinent information to applingtimothy@sbcglobal.net