‘Once in a decade opportunity’

<p>(Photo by Samantha Pogue) Heather Brown stands by one of her favorite and first colorful garden spots in front of her now award-winning home, which earned the September Garden of the Month from the Bittersweet Garden Club.</p>

(Photo by Samantha Pogue) Heather Brown stands by one of her favorite and first colorful garden spots in front of her now award-winning home, which earned the September Garden of the Month from the Bittersweet Garden Club.

Heather Brown often works at home, seated at a desk that allows her to look outside onto her beautiful corner lot property. The RE/MAX Jefferson City real estate agent knew shortly after she and her two boys — now 11-year-old Preston and 9-year-old Dawson — moved into the house, she needed to make that scenery through the window beautiful and colorful.

“My desk is in that corner and I wanted to look out the window and see fabulous,” she said with a smile. “That is why I have all the color in that area. … It is my favorite area.”

A large tree surrounded by a beautiful area of flowers, plants that attract pollinators, and gorgeous greenery and statues was her first focus and continually puts a smile on Brown’s face while quickly glancing up from her work. During those 13 months since the Brown family, including her boyfriend, Jason Menken, has lived at the Jefferson City home, Heather has developed 11 gardens in total throughout her spacious yard, been featured on the annual Home Builders Association Parade of Homes tour last fall, highlighted in Capital City Lifestyles Magazine and was recently awarded the Bittersweet Garden Club’s final 2018 Garden of the Month honor for September.

“The Garden of the Month committee was very happy to discover Heather Brown’s gardens. It’s fun that hers is a garden in progress, as she so excitedly showed us through her property, talking to us about what she has accomplished and what she has planned for the future,” said Linda Block, Garden of the Month committee chairperson. “Her home, being on the corner of two busy streets, gives those who drive by the ability to view all sides of her property and the beautiful gardens. She has a wonderful patio area, all ready for a relaxing evening with friends, overlooking her beautiful hard work. … Indeed, this property will be in the public eye in the future.”

Being a single parent, Brown was looking to find a home that would end the constant fixer-upper projects and expenses. Then she saw the listing for the home in Jefferson City’s northwest residential district — close by where her mother lives, near where she grew up and in the same school district for her children.

“I saw this house the first day it was on the market. I saw how everything was brand new — new roof, new windows, new air conditioning. Everything was new except two windows and the garage door. I loved the grey, which gave it a modern look,” she said, noting the home also had a fire, leaving the home vacant for about a year before the sellers completely renovated the house from head to toe. “I also liked finding a new house in an older district. I call this house, once in a decade opportunity. It doesn’t happen too often.”

Having an appreciation for gardening from early adulthood, Brown saw the potential her new home had in developing the landscape of her dreams.

“I was very blessed that the bones with this house were great,” she added.

One of the areas the previous sellers hired someone to create was a patio area that has a large deck off the first floor and covered patio area with rock landscaping down to the back driveway that goes to the lower level garage.

“They did hire somebody to put in the back patio and it is fabulous,” she said, noting that is one of her and Menken’s favorite spots to lounge outside by themselves, with the boys or their two dogs, Charly and Lexie.

While Menken worked hard to better grow and maintain their green grasses throughout the property and plant larger trees and shrubs, Brown delved into designing and planting her colorful spaces throughout the front, back and side yards of her home.

Often, she would go out in the middle of the night with a cave light to work on her designs, allowing herself the calming ease of her hobby and without distractions. During that time, she literally unearthed some amazing finds she now uses in her landscape design.

“I often use cave light at night and work on my garden. It is relaxing and helps me disconnect. … One night, I was out here with my cave light at about 11 p.m. and went to plant something (in the front entrance garden area of the home) and discovered this rock. I was so excited,” she said, pointing to a large boulder that has detailed craters and interesting patterns. “I thought it was really flat and I had my boyfriend dig it out; look how huge it is. It has so much character.”

Brown loves to include a variety of perennial flowers in her gardens, such as daffodils and tulips that bloom in the spring, as well as irises and petunias. They are often nestled around the rosebud or dogwood trees or line inviting paths or serene spots, like the front entrance area or front garden lined with generous green hostas, white natural stone pavers, a bench and water fountain. Yet, there is one flower that tends to be her “go-to” plant.

“I love roses. I could do without the thorns, but I love the pretty blooms. They are consistent. … I keep going back to them because what else blooms the whole season? I love other perennials but they might look good in just August. Or mums look good in the fall. I want pretty all season,” she said.

Visitors to her home and gardens can see roses are a favorite, nestled in many of her 11 garden spots and especially along a two-story storage barn that sits at the back corner of their property. The couple recently repainted the barn a light grey with a turquoise door, repurposed turquoise planters and turquoise accents, including a window box planter filled with even more colorful blooms.

Even though her rose of sharon bushes and many other pollinator friendly blooms have attracted a plethora of butterflies and bees, the unfortunate passing of her two butterfly bushes near the back patio area is a “blessing in disguise” for Brown.

“I have been wanting to include a water feature in the back area, but didn’t have the time or the place to include it,” she said. “Now I can remove those bushes and include a water feature and pond right there in the corner.”

Brown and Menken also have plans to include a vegetable garden near their storage barn and include a fountain behind her elaborate, adorable fairy garden off her downstairs patio, which they also hope to screen-in in the future. With some older trees needing to be uprooted, she has slowed down on purchasing flowers, a running joke in her family.

“I have a shirt that says ‘I have enough plants,’ and then in parentheses it says, ‘said no gardener ever.’ That is so me,” she said with a laugh. “Everybody in this house makes fun of me when I bring home another flower. They just rolls their eyes.”

Even though Brown has developed a green thumb through the years, she has learned a lot in continually crafting her home’s gardens such as to always be on the lookout for Japanese beetles and stop them quick, weed guard can be a big help and to stay on top of her watering.

“It takes me more than 90 minutes to water all the flowers, but I do it every day. …. I don’t care if it has rained, you can almost guarantee it wasn’t enough rain. You have to stay on top of your watering,” she said.

Brown is truly honored to receive the Bittersweet Garden Club’s monthly accolade, and recently joined the club in hopes to continue her tutelage in the hobby and support others in their gardening endeavors.

“It is good for people to, instead of looking in magazines, have someone local to get ideas from for their gardens and yards. I just joined the Bittersweet Garden club about two months ago. I am hoping to expand my garden abilities. (The Bittersweet Garden Club is) wonderful and I love what they do in the community. I used to live right by Memorial Park, and they have done an amazing job there,” she said.

“That is what this club and these gardeners get to do for people right here. I’m glad to be a part of that. It is such an honor, and all that hard work has paid off.”

Block and the committee — including Merrilee Holzhauser, Marilyn Holtmeyer, Linda Oligschlaeger, Jenelle Schwieterman, Delva Maier, Gail Cummins, Kathy Kolb, Janet Lepper, Sandy Hiatte, Ruth Buschjost, Rita Christgen, Alice Hansen, Stacy Landwehr and Pat Roberts — thanks the 2018 homeowners who received the Garden of the Month honor.

“It has been fun and rewarding for us to discover these gems in and around our beautiful city. All of the homeowners have been friendly and informative and definitely deserved the recognition they received,” Block said. “We strongly encourage the public when they see that ‘Garden of the Month’ sign in the yard to park their car and take the time to walk through the property and maybe see things that they, too, can do in their gardens.”