1821 S. Henderson – Yard of the Month (December 2015)

December’s Yard of the Month, elected by popular vote, is 1821 S. Henderson St. Brandon and Christa Garrett have owned the house since 2012, which was previously owned by one family, the Molinas, for over 30 years. Purchased and renovated in 2011 by Fairmount Dream LLC, 1821 S. Henderson was what Brandon describes as “1950’s shack” with no particular historical features. In their exhaustive renewal, Fairmount Dream expanded the house’s footprint and matched its exterior to the older Craftsman-style bungalows common throughout Fairmount. Dramatic new elements include a second-floor attic conversion with hipped roof, and a front porch with tapered columns. The home is painted in earth tones, especially brick red, with yellow-cream accents.

Since the low-pitched roof is such a prominent design characteristic of the home, Brandon and Christa knew that they wanted their holiday décor to showcase the rooftop as a display feature. After discussing various options, such as the perennially popular Santa’s sleigh and reindeer motif, Christa Garrett had the idea for building a giant Christmas tree entirely out of lights. The roof-top installation was done by firefighter Justin McKinney from Ryan Place, owner and operator of “Feel Better Designs.” McKinney placed 300 feet of green LED lights emanating from a massive gold star. Brandon found the centerpiece – a silhouetted “Sienna shimmering lighted star” 6 feet in diameter and containing 175 lights – at Ace Hardware. It makes a dramatic visual statement from a great distance. The porch, which runs the full length of the home’s front façade, is decorated with artificial, pre-lit garlands. The windows feature three wreaths, and with a Christmas tree inside the home showing through the one unadorned window. Santas, snowmen and presents are interspersed among the bushes.

Brandon claims that the couple has “brown thumbs” but want to contribute to the well-kept appearance of our neighborhood, so they rely on Hairston’s Lawn Service on Comita Ave. for their landscaping. Hairston’s installed St. Augustine sod, with shrubs and Knock-Out roses framing the porch. In our unusually warm winter, pink dianthus are still blooming, while in the spring, Texas native Esperanza will put out their pretty yellow bell-shaped flowers. The Garretts also planted pistachio trees through the “Retree Fairmount” program begun by Patrick Caddou. This program allows homeowners to purchase subsidized trees to increase shade in our neighborhood and fight erosion in the parkway by planting a variety of desirable species of trees.

Our thanks and gift certificates to C. C.’s Touch of Nature and MELT along with a terrium from Ephemeria, go to Christa and Brandon Garrett.