Three residents recognized with Home Beautification Awards

Home is where the heart is, and these three Independence homeowners have put their hearts – and quite a bit of hard work – into their properties. The results have wowed friends, family, neighbors and members of this year’s Independence Home Beautification Awards Committee.

On Aug. 1, three properties were selected by the committee, which is made up of one city councilperson or council appointee, two Independence residents and two garden club members. They carefully consider each nominee’s landscape design, including curb appeal, property maintenance, combination of plants, originality and friendliness to the environment.

Each winner receives $100, a decorative yard sign and public recognition at Home Days, the August city council meeting, on the city’s website and in the city’s September newsletter.

A neighborhood affair

For Terri Pawelec, maintaining more than 47 types of flowers in her yard at 6981 North Renwood Rd. has become a neighborhood affair, with many stopping over for pointers or to comment on her hard work.

“It’s just a love and something I enjoy. I think it brings enjoyment to the whole community, our whole block,” she said. “People walk their dogs and stop and say, ‘Oh I like it this year. This looks good!’”

In fact, Pawelec’s neighbors love her display so much, they offered to water while she was on vacation.

Her yearly assortment of annuals has inspired others on her block to try out their green thumbs. Even her 97-year-old neighbor, who has never gardened before, got in on the fun when Pawelec took her to pick out some plants for pots of her own.

“It’s become a neighborhood thing, and it’s been a lot of fun,” she said.

Pawelec learned her love of gardening from her mother, who always had a garden.

“I just think that the splash of color in the summer is so pretty and so enjoyable,” she said.

The beautification committee noted her stunning, colorful landscape with varied plants and containers that create movement and visual interest.

This year those varied plants include a bright mix of impatiens and vinca.

“The deer don’t eat the vinca, so they stay away from the impatiens,” Pawelec said.

Along the side of her house is a display of red, white and blue, and throughout her yard Pawelec uses pots filled with different varieties of blooms to create borders. Those pots also save her time when it comes to weeding.

“I usually pick different flowers to go in different pots,” she said. “Sometimes they turn out great and sometimes I say, ‘Oh I shouldn’t have put those together,’ but it’s always fun to try.”

One thing Pawelec tried this year was planting two hibiscus trees, which have grown exceptionally well. They’ve become a personal favorite of hers.

Pawelec was pretty excited to have her property chosen for a Home Beautification Award.

“You don’t it for the recognition, but it sure is nice to get it,” she said.

She added that the award is an amazing thing for the community, and that she hopes it inspires others to plant more and show a bit of personality through their gardens.

Bursting with begonias

“There’s a tremendous number of begonias that we plant in the front, in the back and on both sides of our property. It’s just amazing how many begonias we have,” said Mickey Rodriguez of her property at 6928 Brookside Rd.

“It’s not just one row of begonias, it’s two and three rows, so it fills in,” she added.

The bright display also incorporates petunias and spiraeas. From the big pots planted around Rodriguez’s brick patio and up onto her deck to the front of her home – it’s simply framed in red blooms.

“We like the red, it’s my favorite color,” she said.

Rodriguez said she began planting mainly begonias about five years ago, when she found that the deer didn’t seem to bother them too much.

“We would plant in the back, and then we started planting in the front, and then we planted on the side,” she said. “It got to be more and more.”

Now she plants at least 70 flats each year.

“There’s a lot of watering, I will say that,” she said. Rodriguez also uses Miracle Grow and liquid fence to maintain her property.

This isn’t the first time the committee has recognized the hard work Rodriguez puts into her yard; 2019 marks the third time she won a Home Beautification Award.

“The person who placed the sign said, ‘We should just keep this here,’” she laughed.

This year, the committee said her yard stood out because of its use of eye-catching curves, which produced a cascading effect. The different levels of flowers surrounding the stairs came together nicely to contribute to a beautiful front yard.

Historical charm

In one year, Bob Edwards has lovingly revived his historic property, located at 6895 Brecksville Rd. The house had been owned by the Sperik family since it was built in 1923. When its former resident passed away, it sat empty for about five years.

“It had really been run down,” said Edwards. “The yard was a mess.”

But it was just the challenge he was looking for. So, when the home hit the market in April 2018, Edwards made an offer. He moved in by the end of July.

“The first thing I did was start working on the outside, that is what I like to do,” Edwards said.

He built islands around many of the trees on the property using mulch and river stones, but his favorite is the one facing Hemlock Road.

The space was formerly a 30-foot by 10-foot mass of trees, littered with ivy and garbage.

“It was a real throw away area,” Edwards said.

But he cut down the tangled trees, laid topsoil and stone and placed plants and bushes, rebuilding the space into a really nice-looking island.

“I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it,” he said.

Edwards’ favorite island also features a wrought iron bench and a Shepard’s hook with a hanging plant and birdfeeder.

“It’s just a homey, comfortable little area,” he said. “What I wanted is something nice for people to look at when they turn down Hemlock.”

The island also caught the committee’s eye. They said the varied plant heights are striking and create an eye-catching landscape for those driving down Brecksville Road.

In addition to creating the islands and planting well over 100 plants, Edwards has also been hard at work stripping, sanding, priming and repainting wood on his home. He’s repaired a lot of the brick as well, with the help of a neighbor who is a retired mason.

In September, Edwards planned to build a brick patio around one of the two old wells in his yard with a sidewalk to the garage and driveway. He also has plans to refresh his wooden shed, which actually used to be a chicken coop, and to get vinyl siding for his garage.

Edwards says all of his efforts are to preserve the home, and he’s actually stayed in touch with the former owner’s daughter.

“She stopped by to see us a couple of weeks ago, and in the mail she’s been sending us pictures from the 1920s of her mom and grandmother, old cars in the driveway, what streets used to look like and the neighboring properties,” he said.

Featured image photo caption: More than 47 types of flowers bloom in Terri Pawelec’s North Renwood Road yard. Photo courtesy city of Independence