Harmonious Eclecticism

By Cindy Miskell – 

The yard at 1222 Bay Oaks is eye catching for its lush lawn surrounded by beds full of color and texture.  Donny and Angela Rollins have created a landscape with enough variety in plants and flowers to fill a nursery.  The main focal point of the yard is the lush curvilinear bed that hugs the south side of the driveway, wraps around a mature willow tree, and flows across the front of the house.  The bed is a mix of variegated and green plants and grasses, flowering shrubs and annuals.  Firecracker ferns, salvias, pink vinca and lilies provide seasonal color.  Multiple shades of green are displayed with Aztec grass, foxtail ferns and dusty miller and all are set off with a nice fresh layer of mulch.  Anchoring the south edge of the bed is lorapetalum and a sago palm, and from there the bed flows nicely into that of the neighboring yard.

Moving back across the yard and the stamped concrete driveway, Donny and Angela have continued the eclectic theme in a bed that runs the length of the front yard and provides visual interest with a variety of plants that includes ginger, sage, iris, roses, boxwood, foxtail fern and an orange bulbine.  The focal point of this bed is an Italian cypress which Donny planted for Angela to remind her of the country in which she was born.  There are also two smaller beds adjacent to the south side of the drive and the front porch.  All of the beds have been bordered with moss rock stones which lend continuity to the landscape and its variety of plantings.  And mixed in with the plants in the beds is river rock, again adding visual interest.  Donny and Angela haven’t neglected the backyard either.  Again, the grass is lush and surrounded by beds anchored by thriving variegated privets and showcasing lorapetulam, ornamental grasses and roses.

The Rollins have done all of the landscaping work themselves and certainly have a yard to be proud of.  But over the 9 years they have lived in Timbergrove, their DIY projects haven’t stopped there.  They are in the midst of an extensive home remodeling project in which they recently added a master suite as well as a fourth bedroom and bath.  Prior to this project, they had converted the garage to living space and completely gutted and installed new kitchen.

These two have more energy than I can imagine.  In addition to managing and/or doing much of the work themselves, Donny works in IT for National Oilwell Varco and also owns his own company providing e-commerce and web design services.  Angela recently passed her real estate exam and is set to embark on a new career.  They also tend to many rescue dogs and cats.  Regrettably, as I was getting to know Donny and Angela, they did share with me that they plan to move from Timbergrove to Richmond in the near future.  Though they love the neighborhood and have been very happy here, their next ‘project’ will be to start a family, and with that in mind they wish to move closer to Donny’s parents who live in Katy.  We wish you the best Donny and Angela – thank you for being part of what makes Timbergrove such an attractive and great place to live!