Winter yard recognized by Garden Club

L-N Photo by Quala Matocha Youngs At Home Beth and Richard Young stand beside a massive crape myrtle tree at their home at 2514 Myatt Lane. The El Campo Garden Club chose the couple for December yard honors. Unlike some of the previous award winners, Richard does all of his own yard work. With Richard's position as executive vice president and nursery manager at Greenleaf Nursery, he is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to choosing plants ideal for El Campo's climate.

By QUALA MATOCHA lifestyle@leader-news.com When Richard and Beth Young moved into their El Campo home more than 14 years ago, much of the yard was overgrown. It has been persistence and hard work, not to mention Richard's work for a local nursery, that has transformed their outdoors into a place of relaxation. Richard is executive vice president and nursery manager of the Texas division of Greenleaf Nursery.

"He has been growing Greenleaf plants for almost 29 years," Beth said. "He has been at the Texas nursery for 25 years."

The Young's landscaping efforts have not gone unnoticed either. El Campo Garden Club members Ann Strarup and Grace Vaclavick awarded them December Yard of the Month honors based on the yard's appearance and the fact the Youngs do their own work.

"Spending regular and consistent time in the landscape," Richard noted, is the main reason for having a well-maintained yard. "And having access to Greenleaf Nursery plants doesn't hurt," Beth added.

"We felt very honored since El Campo has many beautiful yards," Beth said. However, she admits she has very little to do with its upkeep.

"Richard does the yard work entirely on his own," she said. "I think it's a form of stress release for him, plus sometimes our yard is like a test plot for new Greenleaf plants."

Little by little, the Youngs incorporated those test plants, as well as some tried-and-true plants and shrubs suited for South Texas' ever-changing climate, into their landscape design.

"Since the home was built by the Shult Family in the '60s, much of their landscaping was overgrown, so year by year we have slowly removed most of the old landscaping and replanted," Richard said.

There are some future plans, too.

"The south-side beds are the next project in the planning stage," he said.

Despite the weather and time of year, there is plenty of yard maintenance to do.

"December is generally a difficult month in South Texas landscapes," Richard said. "The season is slowly changing to winter, with lots of cleanup time and little growth of plants. The use of some items that perform well in late fall and early winter, such as encore azaleas, camellias, snapdragons and petunias, help to add color and may have caught the judges' eye."

While there are several spots of interest, the most-loved site happens to be a shared flower bed.

"Our favorite area probably is the newest area to be landscaped on the north side of the yard that we share with Mary and Tommy Johnson," she said.

"This was an overgrown area of 40-plus-yearold wax leaf ligustrum that blocked the view down the street. Their sons Hunter and Thomas provided the manpower to clean out the old plants and Richard re-landscaped."

This area includes Encore azaleas, camellias, ixora, day lilies, begonias, petunias and plumbago.

The Youngs have two daughters: Karalisa, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, and Kaylyn, a senior at El Campo High School.