May Residential Award - 4640 Mint Lane, 93110

Paige and John Shields,owners

Homeowners Paige & John Shields wanted more than a rose garden for their front yard at 4640 Mint Lane, so they transformed a nice yard into anoutdoor living room. They teamed with Carol Ordney of Harmony Landscapes to create a garden park that incorporatedareasforplay,entertaining and visual enjoyment. With over 45 varieties of succulent & desert plants, the Shields' front yard is low maintenance, as well as child friendly, providing hideouts in tall grass and boulders for climbing. The many varieties of Aloe, including Aloe Johnson Hybrids, provide texture and color, along with plantings of Aeonium, featuring the locally named "Alice Keck Park". Bunches of Muhlenbergia lind heimeri grass and groupings of Crassula capitella "campfire" add height. The bright blue wall that encompasses the garden has a curve and slope that matches the modern lines of the home and is a fun place for their son and his friends to roll their toy cars. Another feature, unique to this living space, is the sparkling concrete aggregate pathway seeded with multicolored recycled glass that leads from the driveway to their front door and into the garden. While the majority of the planting was completed by Cicelio Landscaping in 2007, the Shields family continues to add new features to their garden,including small statues of lizards & rabbits, a cast iron ant, and even a few new carefully selected plants to add to the creative and frivolous nature of their neighborly garden. Goleta valley Beautiful is proud to recognize the Shields' home as the May Residential Award recipient.