Marc and Karen McFall always knew that in retirement they wanted to move to Montgomery County, where Karen grew up. They did exactly that in the fall of 2021.
Their home in Cicero had a farm field behind it and they were looking for that same country feeling in Crawfordsville. They found it at 1251 W. Country Club Road.
The front of the house, which faces north, already had beautiful landscaping with large Hostas and Hydrangeas. The McFalls added additional plants such as an Oak Leaf Hydrange and Perennial Geraniums to make a fuller landscape. The real transformation of this yard happened in the back. When the they moved in the backyard was pretty much a blank slate. There were a few nice trees and a small flower bed. Although the backyard had good bones, Marc and Karen knew they needed to focus their attention here to make it their own.
The transformation began the spring of 2022. The first step was to have a fence built around the perimeter and two decks built. One deck on the house and one on the garage. Once this was done Karen could see her vision for the backyard. She wanted flower beds all around the fencing and several places to sit and enjoy the yard. There was a challenge though. Their previous yard in Cicero had a lot of mature trees so it was very shady. The new house had a very sunny yard. This required a whole new way of thinking when planning what to plant and where to plant it.
Karen brought many starts from their previous yard. Mostly shade loving Hostas. One tree in the new yard provided the shade needed to create a small Hosta garden. It wasn’t long before Karen realized she needed a deck with a swing in the shady area. Marc built that deck and provided Karen with her favorite place to sit to enjoy the whole yard. This year Marc added onto this deck to provide a play space for their granddaughter, Tinsley.
Karen has always loved Day Lilies. The west side of the yard provided the perfect place for a Day Lily garden. When the Day Lilies are in bloom it is a beautiful sea of color.Each year the McFalls plant more perennials. Marc likes the economics of more perennials and less annuals. Karen loves to see the flowers return each spring after a long winter nap. Impatiens are Karen’s favorite annual flower. In every bit of shade, in this primarily sunny yard, you will find red, orange, pink and white Impatiens.
Just south of the house you will find an area for birds with feeders and bird baths. The McFalls have frequent visits from a variety of birds such as woodpeckers and songbirds.
In the back part of the yard, you can enjoy a fire pit with swings all built by Marc. The back corner of the yard is devoted to Karen’s farming upbringing with a shed barn and windmill. The windmill brings back memories of long ago to the farm that Karen’s grandparents had near Crawfordsville.
Over the years the McFalls have enjoyed recycling old materials such as wooden fence boards and using them to create flower bed boarders. They also have used items in a different way then intended such as using mailboxes to store gardening tools. Basically, they enjoy using whatever material they find interesting to create a yard with different textures for example, using wood, brick, and rock to create decks and paths. The flower beds display decorative items that have been found at antique stores and flea markets. They love to fill the yard with things that make them happy.
By now you can see that the McFall yard is a collaboration between Marc and Karen. They hope visitors will enjoy a stroll through their yard and realize one thing is for sure, you can never have too many swings or flowers to make a yard feel like home.
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In addition to touring this lovely yard transformation; there will be a Master Gardener available to answer gardening questions you might be pondering about your own space.
