The Grogan's Mill Village Association would like to show its appreciation to those homeowners who love and take care of their homes. In the past GMVA board members have tried to drive around the community to determine which the most deserving homes were.

Now we would like residents in the community to tell us whom they think has the most beautiful yards. You can suggest a neighbor's home or your own. It would help if you can include some digital photos of the home and yard along with information on the address.

Please note that only front and side yards visible from the street can be eligible. A committee of the GMVA Board will look at nominated homes and select the winners. Each month's winner will get a $25 gift certificate to a store of their choice in the Grogan's Mill Shopping Center.

To nominate a yard, please include this information:

Home owner(s)
Home address and neighborhood
Your phone number
Brief description of landscaping (reason for nomination)
Pictures (digital) to support the nomination

E-mail nominations or questions about Yard of the Month to: webmaster@grogansmillvillage.com

October 2009
Hazel Coulson, Autumnwood Way

Hazel Coulson and her late husband, Judge Ed Coulson, moved to their Autumnwood Way home in 1982 which they selected because of the unique lot which has frontage on three streets. They utilized a professional landscape contractor to complete their lawn. Since then, the landscape has been neatly maintained, upgraded when needed and added to on occasion.

Hurricane Ike took down a 12' caliper Pecan tree, and was replaced by a Live Oak. Next, a Bradford Pear at the front door developed a disease and had to be removed. A complete spot makeover where the Bradford Pear was resulted in a new fresh look which includes the centerpiece fountain, an ortamental iron trellis, a beautiful Camellia Sasanqua, Japanese Boxwood, Asian Jasmine and highlighted by fall garden mums in clay pots. The yard is enhanced with Pink Crepemytrles ("my favorite color" adds Hazel), Magnolia Solangeana (Pink Magnolia or Tulip Tree by other names),Indica Azaleas,Chinese Wisteria on a back wall, showy White Azaleas along the north wall, a formal planting of Dwarf Buford Holly, spreading Junipers and Asian Jasmine groundcover bordering the driveway and a massive Brown Turkey Fig as a centerpiece to the circle flagstone walk in the front yard.

All of this beautiful, well maintained landscape comes alive at night with the landscape lighting which was added this past spring with light fixtures highlighting the upper branches and trunks of the Live Oaks, a single light illuminating the intricate branches of the Brown Turkey fig (10' tall x 12' wide), walk lights and a single light spotlighting the beautiful fountain.

Hazel encourages visitors to drive by and admire her landscape both day and night ("With the lights the night view is wonderful"). "I am thrilled to have been selected as Yard Of The Month".

The October 2009 Yard of the Month home. Franklin Palmer, Hazel Coulson,
her dog--Isabella, and Jim Upham.

September 2009
Margaret and Scott Chickering - Breezin Court

Margaret and Scott Chickering moved to Grogan’s Mill in the summer of 1996. They were happy to be moving back to Texas, but after having done gardening in Pennsylvania for the prior six years, they realized that they needed to plant things that would not require a lot of attention during the hottest period of the summer. They also considered that it would be necessary to deal with shade as well as sun. They have planted azaleas, pear and flowering guava for spring blooms. The summer brings blooms from crape myrtles, lantanas, day lilies, gardenia, oleanders, little gem magnolias, hibiscus and knockout roses. These are augmented with a few perennials, ferns, sago palms and rocks. With a heavy layer of mulch, very little attention is required during the hottest months, except for watering.

The September Yard of the Month was selected by Donna Gossett.

August 2009
Jane & Tom Clements - Foxtail Place

Jane and Tom Clements moved to The Woodlands 33 years ago to a new house with absolutely no landscaping. They loved the idea of living in the natural beauty of the forest so they have kept the yard pretty much natural. Since becoming a Master Gardener in 2002, Jane has focused on incorporating more Texas natives into the landscape. Hinckley's Columbine, Gulf Coast Penstemon, Louisiana iris, and arrowood viburnum bloom in the spring, followed by lanceleaf coreopsis, elderberry, Texas lantana, cardinal flower, turk's cap and crinum lilies in the summer. Inland seaoats, chile petin, strawberry bush and American beautyberry ripen in the fall. Also, an advocate of organic gardening, Jane wants their yard to be a welcome oasis for area wildlife. The Clements enjoy sharing their yard with all sorts of birds and butterflies, anoles and geckoes, several box turtles and a pesky armadillo. Pictured is Franklin Palmer, Tom Clements, Jane Clements, and Jim Upham.

The Yard of the Month was selected by Bill Sargent.

July 2009
Lisa Lawson - Rolling Links
Lisa says she does all her own planting and likes to work in the garden.

The Yard of the Month was selected by Virginia Dellinger and Pat Goodpastor.

June 2009
Tony & Laura Catania - South Red Cedar Circle
Tony & Laura Catania have lived in Grogan's Mill since February 1978. Hurricane Ike did extensive damage to their yard. Laura, with the assistance of their good friend, Heather Wassaf, redesigned their front yard layout and they are looking forward to watching it develop over the coming years. Yard plantings include: Red Oak, Chinese Pistash, White Dogwood, Wax Myrtle, Encore Azaleas, Gardenias, African Iris and Loropetalums. Congratulations to the Catanias.

The Yard of the Month and yards for recognition were selected by Chris Wren

The June 2009 Yard of the Month home. Franklin Palmer, Cris Wren,
Jim Upham, Laura Catania, and Tony Catania.

May 2009
Sue & Russell
We have lived here for 27 years. We mowed, edged, pruned, took care of brown patch and other infestations; however as time went on we had to change. When the trees got bigger and the roots took over we had to plant upward so we had a couple of tons of rock put in, 10 yards compost.

Now we have Holly Fern, Agapanthus, butterfly bushes, fern berry, Split leaf philandern, and monkey grass for our border. Thank you for this honor, we will display our Yard of the Month sign with pride.

Yard picked by Franklin Palmer & Jim Upham.

The May 2009 Yard of the Month home. Franklin Palmer, Sue, and Jim Upham.
Photo by Anne Upham

April 2009
Pearl & Bob Brisson have lived in their home on South Millbend Drive since 1991. Pearl can take full credit for the amazing yard she has strived to achieve. She has spent years of snipping and clipping and trying different plants to have color of some kind year round. She has the greenest thumb of anyone I have known. She continuously tries to bring in new plants and nurtures those that are having a hard time with our weather and somehow she manages to pull them through.

Pearl enjoys the positive comments from neighbors and passersby and gets a fulfilling feeling from bringing joy to those people. The thought of being awarded the Yard of the Month has never even entered her mind but this becomes the ultimate compliment and highest honor she could have received.

selected by Jim Upham

The April 2009 Yard of the Month home. Franklin Palmer, Pearl Brisson,
Bob Brisson, Jim Upham

A wide assortment of ornamental trees, shrubs and flowers decorate the Verhalen's shady yard. Among them are Impatiens, Potato Vine, assorted Ferns, Iris, Camellia Japonica, Camellia Sasanqua, Goldust Aucuba, Azaleas and Aspidistra. For the more sunny locations in the yard, Linda selected Nandina Compacta, Brunsfelsia (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow), Viburnum, assorted Liriopes, ornamental grasses, Knockout Roses, Iris and for annual color she chose Petunias, Zinnias and Silvia, among others.

It is evident the Verhalens take pride in their house and yard and encourage others to "Take Up The Banner" and show pride in The Woodlands by keeping their yards neat and clean. Also, be safe by meeting and greeting the neighbors and appreciate all of the opportunities available in The Woodlands. Congratulations to Steve & Linda on their award.

The October 2008 Yard of the Month was chosen by Sally Johnson.

September 2008
Dan and Judy McCarty have lived in their home on Watertree Drive for 8 years. One of the first things they tackled upon moving in was to clear many of the immense pines and the brush which were blocking the view of the front of their house. Still the front does not receive much natural sunlight. Because of this, the landscape mainly consists of plantings of low lying junipers, variegated gingers, azaleas and iris in spots where the sun does shine, with the sidewalk bordered in lirope. A regiment of fertilizer, along with keeping the fungus and pests in check helps to maintain a beautiful lawn.

August 2008
Homer and Cheryl Dunn have lived in their home in Grogan’s Mill for the past eight (8) years. Cheryl reports that Homer deserves all of the credit for their yard. He spends many hours gardening and is creative with spot watering. He uses soaker hoses and containers to insure deep water to plants that need it while not watering the yard as a whole. He chooses plants with an eye to color throughout the year. He, also, incorporates an herb garden in the front yard to provide fresh herbs for cooking during the spring and summer months. This year his herb garden included Basil, Silver Lemon Thyme, Dill, Texas Tarragon, Pineapple Sage, Italian and Greek Oregano, Rosemary and Lemon Balm. August is a challenging month for the yard and time is spent keeping things alive as well as preparing beds for fall plants. Homer is proud of this work, but states that he is fortunate to live in an area where many people take pride in their yards and work very hard to make the neighborhood look lovely all year long. He enjoys sharing plants and information with neighbors.

The August 2008 GMVA Yard Of The Month was selected by Donna Gossett.

July 2008
The winners of the July 2008 Grogans Mill Yard Of The Month are Ron, Julia and Kevin Lassater who reside on Wishbonebush Rd. The Lassater family has been in The Woodlands since 1976 and has lived in their present home since 1988. They enjoy landscaping their yard with assorted ferns, tropical plants and very unique plants. Roses and an assortment of plants with purple flowers give the yard the look of an English Garden.

Julia always enjoys attending Earth Day and Wildflower Day where she looks for native Texas plants from her dear friend, Diane Cabiness.

The July Yard Of The Month Was selected by Virginia Dellinger.

June 2008
Grogan's Mill Village Association congratulates Violet Hargrove on winning the June 2008 Yard of the Month distinction. She received a gift certificate to the shops at the Grogan's Mill Village Center. Violet Hargrove's home is located on North Red Cedar Circle and is an inspiration to us all. While handling her job as an accountant and watching over her grandson, Violet does her own planning and planting, with the exception of mowing & edging. She has lived in this Grogan's Mill location for ten years and has built her landscaping as she has time. Among raised beds surrounded by red sandstone, you will find begonias, roses, lily of the Nile, various shrubs, scheffelera and numerous other healthy, beautiful plants. We can all find motivation & inspiration in Ms. Hargrove's efforts. Congratulations Violet!

May 2008
The GMVA has selected the home of Valerie Silva who lives on Laughing Brook Court as the May 2008 Yard Of The Month. Here, Ms. Silva receives a gift certificate to the Grogan's Mill Shopping Center from Jim Upham (left) and Franklin Palmer (right).

She writes about her yard: I have lived in the High Oaks neighborhood for sixteen years. When landscaping I made sure I picked plants and ground covers which could take the extreme Texas heat and droughts.The large bushes in the front are red tip photinia and provide not only shade from the heat of the evening sun, but privacy as well. The extensive creeping jasmine ground cover keeps the soil from eroding and retains moisture for the beds surrounding the house. I have extended the mulch beds over the years. This makes the yard not only easier to maintain, but also cuts down on watering.I have used rocks from the Hill Country to further enhance the landscaping and river stone to help with drainage. I have beautiful orange lilies and purple Mexican heather that provide color several times a year.

I take great pride in my yard and love working in it. Whenever I am out in the yard I always have someone stop and comment about how nice it looks, so all the sore muscles and hard work over the years has all been worth it. This is a very big honor for me.

April 2008
Grogan’s Mill Village Association congratulates homeowners Lee and Debbie Stoerner on having the Village’s April 2008 “Yard of the Month”. Lee and Debbie Stoerner have lived in the same home on Brookflower Road in The Woodlands since 1987. Their front yard faces west so they have full sun all day. They have tried various types of plants and hedges to see what would do the best. Their large green plants are Split Leaf Philodendrons started from small cuttings in 1997.

They have found so far that in their large rounded flower bed Schefflera and Hibiscus plants do well. They try to keep small seasonal plants close to the scalloped edging for color. Along the front and side against the house Red Photinias do very well. The more sun the better they do. They also keep regular hedges trimmed to about two feet in front of the front Photinias for more green color. The grass has been their biggest problem. They have had bare spots, brown patch and various other hindrances including strange weather conditions from drought to constant rain. They just treat, maintain and replace sod as needed.

They enjoy working in their yard as weather and physical conditions allow.

Grogan’s Mill Village Association congratulates homeowners Chris and Jennifer Laughman on having the Village’s September 2007 “Yard of the Month”. Chris and Jennifer Laughman and their 6 year old daughter, Madelynn, have lived at on Deerfoot Circle in The Woodlands for the past 8 1/2 years. In 2006 they re-landscaped their front lawn. They installed St. Augustine grass and planted tropical hibiscus, crepe myrtle and desert rose plants. They have found that these plants do very well in the Texas heat and humidity. They are also fairly drought tolerable. The lawn is a blaze of color in the Spring. In the future, they plan to plant additional tropical hibiscus.

The September 2007 "Yard of the Month" home. Jim Upham, Chris Laughman,
Jennifer Laughman, Madelynn Laughman, Franklin Palmer