Yard of the Month - 719 Bayland / by Ryan Taylor

Patricia Schaeper has lived in her Bayland Bungalow surrounded by gardens for the last 25 years. Originally from Canada, she was unable to bring any hand-me-down plants with her; however, she did bring her green thumb and Master Gardener Certification.

Her favorite plant stores, Another Place in Time (where she volunteers and the owner is a friend) and Treesearch Farms, have both helped her fill her flower beds with plants she likes. Native plants you'll find in her gardens include Greggi blue mist, wood ferns, and milkweed. Other plants include Peggy Martin roses, Salvias, Carnations of India, Pavonia, Shrimp plants, Camellias, Philadelphias, Cleome, Clivia, Firebush, Meyer lemons, Gardenias, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, and Mallow. For cold-weather plants, she likes tulips, daffodils, peonies, and hydrangeas.

The combination of plants she has in her garden provides an oasis for hummingbirds, woodpeckers, birds, and squirrels.

When asked about the amount of time she devotes to her yard and garden, she says,

"Probably an hour, sometimes more, but who's counting?"