MAY BEAUTY SPOT 2023

Spring has sprung in the CCH, and with it, the return of blooming landscapes and the County Hills Garden Club Beauty Spot.  The vivacious colors of our neighborhood yards stand out against the rich green backdrop enhanced by recent rains, creating a feast for the eyes.  With so many colorful homes to choose from, it is always difficult to feature just one. 

We are delighted to award the May 2023 Beauty Spot of the Month to the Osborne family home at 3423 Andover Drive.  This first-time honor is well-deserved, as their home showcases the stunning vibrancy of azaleas that are so prominently displayed in our community at this time of year.

As you approach the home, you are greeted with symmetrically placed crimson barberry, crape myrtles, and azaleas in shades of pink and red. These shrubs and trees are accented by an assortment of hostas, variegated and green, Autumn Joy sedum, coral bells, and ornamental grasses, creating a lush landscape flanking the driveway to welcome you home.

The front of the house is adorned with a row of dense azaleas, bordered on both sides by panicle hydrangeas. A mature Japanese Aucuba anchors the front left corner of the house, while a just-starting-to-bloom rhododendron greets you at the front door. The colors of the flowers are perfectly coordinated, creating a symphony of similar shades that delight the senses.

The beauty of the Osborne family’s home is further highlighted by the attention to detail that has been paid in its design. The symmetric placement of shrubs and careful selection of flowers and plants have created a landscape that is not only beautiful, but also welcoming. Before the azaleas fade for the season, we hope everyone will take some time to appreciate the colorful landscape that is found at 3423 Andover Drive.

Kirsten Youngren

Country Club Garden Club

The Country Hills Garden Club is pleased to award the October-November Beauty Spot of the Month to the Lescure’s at 10012 Spring Lake Terrace.  Avid gardeners, Nasrin and Steve, have put a lot of effort into their well landscaped haven, bordered by the Commons on one side and Accotink creek on the backside.

As you approach the front of the house, a curved brick walkway takes you along a flower bed containing a variety of perennials offering seasonal interest.  A large potted agave cactus has sent up a soaring stalk, signaling it is about to bloom.  I learn from the Lescure’s that this is the first time this has happened.  There is great anticipation for what will be unveiled.  An assortment of playful pots line the front entry, with a Zen frog welcoming you home.  Cheerful yellow mums, complement the pops of purple and pink offered by petunias, variegated liriope, pink muhly grass, purple coneflower, and catmint.

Japanese maple provide a focal point in the yard, while providing privacy and shade for the front side of the house.  A tall holly tree anchors the front left corner of the house, with hydrangea, various evergreen shrubs and Nandia wrapping along the distressed tan brick walls.  The sunny, left-side of the house, contains a lush green lawn with a mature fig tree along the property line and a crepe myrtle, with ascot rainbow spurge and daylilies surrounding it’s base.

Along the right side of the property, abundant sunlight not only feeds, but illuminates the assortment of flowering perennials that line the fence.  Roses, coreopsis, coneflowers, and cannas lead you to the ultimate fall fireworks, Steve’s pride and joy, his dahlias.  While past their peak, they are still going strong during these cooler days.  Steve has been nurturing these colorful, single and double flowering, dahlias for many years.  Each fall he lifts and stores the tubers until the falling spring.  A lot of work, but well worth the effort.

As you follow the vibrant property line, it leads you to a shaded stone path that takes you to the backyard and a flagstone patio.  A favorite spot for the Lescure family!  While not visible from the street, the backyard offers a more natural landscape in contrast to the well-manicured front side.  A sloped embankment contains a host of shade loving ferns, hydrangeas, azaleas, and camellias.  An enormous banana plant stands at the top, sending tall green fronds towards the sun.  For those that have visited the Commons, the banana plant found there was a donation from the Lescure property.

The Lescure’s take great pride in their well-maintained landscape.  As the colder nights approach, take advantage of the fleeting daylight to admire their outstanding property, the final Beauty Spot award this fall.  We’ll be back this spring to feature another amazing CCH property.

Kirsten Youngren

Country Club Garden Club

The Country Hills Garden Club is pleased to award the September Beauty Spot of the Month to Allen Kohn at 10013 Cornwall Road. 

Allen has been a resident of CCH since the early 1980s and during this time has put a lot of effort into creating his own personal sanctuary.  His property is uniquely situated in that it borders a quiet side street and the wooded Blenheim site offering dense foliage and many woodland visitors.   

As you approach the front of the house blooming liriope line a front flower bed.  A vibrant blue birdbath, along with red and pink begonia and spider flowers provide pops of color against a lush green backdrop.  Bright yellow rudbeckia, continuing to hang on during these cooler days, wrap around a colorful mosaic urn containing ivy.

The right corner yard contains towering cedars that overshadow a dense carpet of English ivy which envelopes the ground.  Azaleas and hostas add to the scenery and draw you around towards to the side yard.  While not visible from the Cornwall side of the house, those that venture down the side street are treated to an oasis of nature.  

As you peer over the hydrangea and fern-lined wooden fence, a large koi pond draws your focus in.  Near the pond, a cozy chair waits for Allen to return to his favorite reading nook.  Various potted plants and figurines can be found throughout the area. Tucked away near the corner of the house a life-size angel, illuminated by the sun, appears to be reaching out to hold the large blossom of a panicle hydrangea.  The backyard continues to offer more visual delights with a brightly colored blue shed and uniquely shaped birdhouses that wrap along the back property line. 

As the cooler fall air makes those evening walks more enjoyable, we invite you to take a stroll on a less traveled path to appreciate the serenity found at 10013 Cornwall.   You won’t be disappointed.

Kirsten Youngren

Country Club Garden Club

The Country Hills Garden Club is pleased to award the August Beauty Spot of the Month to Yonathan Kelkele and Erin Barth at 3407 Spring Lake Terrace. 

Yonathan and Erin joined the CCH neighborhood in 2018.  When it comes to the landscape, it has been Yonathan’s labor of love.  He has spent the past four years incorporating a plethora of plants and shrubs to transform their front yard.  Yonathan’s focus has been on creating a natural, free flowing landscape that exudes the charm of an English cottage garden. 

Strategically placed boxwoods and pink crepe myrtles frame the house, drawing your eyes towards the front garden bed.  An assortment of plants and shrubs spill over each other lending to the cottage garden ambiance. Here one can find abelia, tiger lilies, butterfly bush and vibrant red hibiscus.  Rose of Sharon shrubs dot the landscape, Yonathan has been shaping them into trees.

Several trees and conifers provide structure throughout.  Cypress, magnolia and lilac chaste trees soak up the sun in the lawn area.  A large white panicle hydrangea and pink spirea shrub provide a focal point where the right side of the house meets a fence.  Honey suckle spills over the top of the fence and a small fig tree is located at the base.

The tiered steps leading to the front door are lined with liriope with an assortment of other perennials such as coneflower, coreopsis, hibiscus, and tiger lilies. A large rhododendron, service berry bush, and roses are intermixed in the landscape.

Erin and Yonathan have put a lot of work into transforming their 3407 Spring Lake Terrace yard into an English cottage garden paradise.  We hope everyone will take some time to appreciate this charming landscape.

Kirsten Youngren

Country Club Garden Club