Stones Rewarded For Yard Work
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The yard of Rick and Terry Stone, 1803 E. Howard St., has been named the June 2008 Yard of the Month by the Beautification Committee of the Pontiac Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Stones have resided in the house they built 14 years ago and every year has led to a little more of their landscaping touches.
While not too much of the front yard can be seen because of a privacy hedge along Illinois 116, the open areas at both ends of the curved driveway give a glimpse of the beauty within.
“While the hedge does shut off a lot of view it also has its advantages in that it cuts down a lot of traffic noise from the roadway,” said Terry Stone.
One thing that cannot be overlooked is the unique driveway paving material chosen by the Stones. The off-red gravel-looking material is named “rotten granite” and gives the large curving driveway its own special soft color very different from routine run-of-the-mill white or gray gravel.
Knock-out roses in a deep red are repeated throughout the yard along the front, back and side.
“The roses have done so well and bloomed so profusely this year. I have lots of daffodils which did not bloom that well this year and I was afraid other perennials might follow the same course,” she said. “Instead what a pleasant surprise it has been with the roses and a few others, including the purple perennial salvia.”
“I have also been a little disappointed that more perennials like black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers are so much later this year. I’m guessing the cold and wet spring has put everything a little behind,” she said.
Rick Stone’s project this spring has been starting some maple trees from maple “helicopter” seeds that blew into the yard.
“While the seedlings look good, they are still small, it’s too early to tell how they will do once set into the landscape as trees,” she said.
Tags: area chamber of commerce, beautification committee, black eyed susans, daffodils, front yard, glimpse, gravel, landscape, Landscaping, maple trees, open areas, paving material, perennials, pontiac area, privacy hedge, purple coneflowers, roadway, rotten granite, salvia, seedlings, traffic noise, wet spring0
