The Columbus Garden Club chose the home of Ryan and Heather Thomas located at 1636 Front St. in Columbus as its December Yard of the Month. The planting beds surrounding the sides of this corner lot home look great year-round with a reliable foundation of shrubs, grasses and small trees. Eastern redbud trees with a spectacular spring display look great all year long, including their interesting structure in the winter. An espaliered magnolia provides evergreen beauty all year and interesting blooms after the redbuds fade. A diamond-patterned Belgian fence created from creeping wire vine adds architectural interest. Encore azaleas are flush with color in spring, summer and fall. Other hardy plants include feathery dark green Podocarpus, boxwood, azalea, variegated flax lily, and a variety of ornamental grasses that seed in the fall, bringing beauty and food for the birds. In addition to the landscaping tailored well for our hot, dry summers, the homeowners decorated the front porch to greet visitors for the holidays with a pair of life-sized toy soldier nutcrackers and massive jingle bells surround- ing tall glazed ceramic pots full of green-hued texture featuring flax lily, chartreuse sweet potato vine, foxtail fern, and vinca for a splash of white flowers. Courtesy photo
The Columbus Garden Club chose Kitchen Thyme located at 2002 State Highway 71 South in Columbus as its recipient of the December Community Beautification Award. Kitchen Thyme owner, Julia Hill, curates a delightful shop full of kitchenware and accessories as well as gourmet foods, coffees, teas, and wine inside in the unique Quonset building clad in a vivid sky blue. The blue offers a harmonious backdrop to the tall green ceramic fountains and specimens of roundly manicured boxwoods and mounding ornamental grasses that punctuate the grey river rock bed. The colors and rounded shapes of the plantings and building create a welcoming storefront. Courtesy photo
