Yard of the Year

About Yard of the Year

On a June Saturday the families come and go from Natural Springs Park all morning, and the drive home takes them past every front yard in Anna in full daylight — no hiding a ragged edge at that hour. A yard that stands out is not complicated, only consistent: mowed at the right height, edged so the walk has a defined border, trimmed close where the mower cannot reach, and cleared of every clipping before the day is done. The beds get tidied so the lawn has something to end against. On this prairie, where summer is long and demanding, keeping that standard week after week is the actual work. The yard people slow down for is simply the one that never got let go.