Curb Appeal on Courville

I found Bernadette Holloway engaged in one of her favorite pastimes recently – tending to her beautifully landscaped front yard on Courville St. She and her husband Ronald moved here 26 years ago from the west side, where she was born and raised. “We love the homes here,” Bernadette says. “Each one is different.” They have no intention of leaving she says. “This is our home,” she told her husband when he suggested moving a few years ago. “We’ve made this our home.” Indeed, it has become a gathering place for their large extended family, in which Bernadette is number seven of 17 children.

The home of Ronald and Bernadette Holloway. Image courtesy of Susan Newell

Their first attempts to grow a lawn years ago failed because of a large root system from the tree that was growing next door at the time. After trying grass seed and then sod, they decided to work with Mother Nature and find plants that liked that spot. It turned out to be a happy place for hostas and day lilies, which her husband calls “swamp grass” because they’re so resilient. “You can tear them down, run them over, and they’ll come back up.” Ronald and Bernadette have worked out a division of labor that works for them. He designed the yard, and she takes charge of maintaining it.

“I’ve always loved gardening,” she says. Her mother kept an award-winning yard. Gardening was her therapy, Bernadette says, and she passed that love along to her children. “Now it’s my therapy.”

Ronald is an Army veteran and retiree from DWSD. Bernadette will be retiring this month from her job as an administrator at Stinson Funeral Home. She says she plans to stay busy and is interested in getting involved with community gardening projects in Morningside. We look forward to seeing what Bernadette can do when she turns her talents to beautifying the rest of Morningside!