The Fannie Marchman Garden Club has selected the home of Jeanne Rowland as its August Yard of the Month.
When Rowland began searching for a home in Mineola in 2017, she was immediately drawn to the white cottage on County Road 2311. Nestled atop a hill and surrounded by lush landscaping, the property quickly felt like home.
Having grown up in a military family and moved nearly 30 times throughout her life, Rowland purchased the home and began transforming it into a peaceful sanctuary. She updated the interior and added a screened-in porch with a cathedral ceiling overlooking a backyard filled with azaleas, ferns, hydrangeas, cannas, elephant ears, red crape myrtles and a variety of mature perennials.
She also installed two raised vegetable beds that produced cucumbers, jalapeños and an impressive 70-pound potato harvest this year.
Near the back patio, bird feeders and a three-tiered fountain attract a variety of songbirds. Surrounded by the sounds of nature, Rowland enjoys spending quiet mornings on the porch with a cup of coffee, finding both inspiration and spiritual comfort in the peaceful setting.
An avid gardener, Rowland avoids using harsh chemicals whenever possible. To help repel mosquitoes, she mixes 1 teaspoon of vanilla with 1 quart of water. Another homemade remedy combines orange peels with vinegar. She said both mixtures are pleasantly fragrant alternatives to commercial products.
A strong advocate for sustainable gardening, Rowland uses a composting system to enrich her flower beds and vegetable gardens. She also sprinkles used coffee grounds around plants to help deter insects. To control weeds, she installs landscape fabric around plants before covering it with mulch.
One of the property’s most eye-catching features is the series of four terraced flower beds that stretch the length of the front of the cottage. The upper terrace near the porch is planted with nandina shrubs. Below it, red azaleas, which happen to be Rowland’s favorite garden color, create a vibrant display. The third terrace features white dianthus, while the lowest terrace is filled with colorful annual vinca.
Although she incorporates annual flowers throughout the landscape, Rowland has grown to appreciate perennials for their beauty and the convenience of planting them only once. The front landscape also features a Japanese maple, a mature white crape myrtle, cascading Asiatic jasmine, fragrant star jasmine, red Drift roses and a variety of other flowering plants.
The gardens along both sides of the property add texture and color with pampas grass, ferns, azaleas, red Drift roses and many other ornamental plants. Towering shade trees frame the landscape, while a lush carpet of St. Augustine grass is maintained at approximately four inches to help protect the root system during periods of extreme heat and cold.
Rowland, a retired senior national sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics, has created a peaceful hillside retreat that reflects both her love of gardening and her commitment to sustainable living.