Lynn and Dick Foltan have had 16 years to perfect their yard on Lake Murray Drive in the Lakes and Streams subdivision.
The front yard had only sod when they moved into the contemporary-style house. Their first task was to decide how to match the yard décor to the style of the house.
"We couldn't come to a decision so we split up the yard," Lynn said. "I took the front and Dick took the back."
Lynn gave the front yard a Floridian touch with different types of palm trees and several cacti.
Dick had the harder task. He had to develop a flat dirt space that slopes as it leads to the lake. He opted for a traditional feel instead.
"I wanted to keep it more waterfront-park like," he said.
Flower beds line the outer banks of the yard. Between the beds, by a dogwood tree, are wooden steps Dick built to create easier access to the lake.
"Even though it's wooded it's not wild," Lynn said. "We're always down there weeding."
Back yard flowers include hostas, lilies and lantana. A red maple tree is on each side of the path to the lake.
There is also a bird bath and bird houses. Lynn placed rocks in the bird bath after discovering that birds were not using it because the bath was too deep.
Another challenge was to create a transition between the formal lawn in the back yard to the "less formal" garden in the front, said Dick.
A gated entrance from the back yard to the front yard is decorated with an arch of ligustrum. It was Lynn's idea to train ligustrum to cover the arch, Dick said.
Lynn, who took a master gardening course to learn about native plants to the area, said she spent a lot of time sitting on the sidewalk to figure out what to plant in the front yard.
Keeping to their Connecticut roots, the Foltans mixed rocks in with the front beds. The rocks came from Connecticut because the Foltans said when they started looking for rocks in the area they couldn't find any good ones. The joke in Connecticut is that the state flower is a rock, Lynn said.
Front beds also contain a variety of manicured juniper and cacti.
With the yard mostly finished, Dick is beginning bonsai.
The Foltans said they are both obsessive compulsive when it comes to gardening, and that they refer to fall as "nature's messy season."
"It's worth it to us," Lynn said. "It's very satisfying, I think."
Reach Crystal Garcia at crystal.garcia@northaugustatoday.com.
LYNN'S GARDENING TIP
Go with plants that are native to the area.
