Yard Contest

Each month the yards in our subdivision are judged. If the resident of the one that is considered to have the best display has not won the award within the last two years, is in good standing with the Association and agrees to accept the accolade, it is designated as the Yard-of-the-Month. A sign is placed in that yard throughout the duration of the month, a photograph and write-up are posted here on this web site and the winners are mentioned in our monthly newsletter.

The Rodriguezes have lived in the Settlement for 13 years and have one grown son and three grandchildren - two girls and a boy.

Frank, who is a commercial building contractor, and Malynn, a former Winborn teacher and current principal at Kilpatrick Elementary, say that when not working they enjoy house renovations, cooking, reading, and those grand-kids!

The Rodriguez's yard is beautifully designed and laid out to enhance the total beauty of their home. The yard and beds contain a large oak and pine, various annuals which include pink blooming azaleas, circular shaped boxwoods, Indian hawthorns, dwarf roses, asphagus ferns, foxtails and other seasonal plants. Their breezeway with its custom designed gate adds the finishing touch that brings it all together.

The Rodriguezes say they enjoy living in the Settlement due in part to it's quietness and their friendly neighbors as well as it being well established and family oriented. Also its location and accessibility from every direction adds to that enjoyment.

Congratulations Frank and Malynn on being awarded the January 2020 Yard of the Month. It is a pleasure to be able to begin our list of 2020 Yards of the Month with your beautiful home. Your ongoing effort in making your yard so attractive and admired by all who see it is greatly appreciated.

The Obert's have lived in the Settlement for 29 years during which time they have raised their son Doug and daughter Emily. They have 3 grandchildren; Ellie, Brody and Emma. Ellie and Brody live in Fort Worth with Emily's family, while Emma lives in Williamsburg Settlement with Doug's family and attends Winborn Elementary School.

Mike and Nancy are both retired which gives them, as Nancy puts it, “more time to hike, travel, eat and nap!"

The Obert's have loved living in the Settlement all these years in part due to their great neighbors and the Settlement’s location and well-maintained yards.

Both front and back of Mike and Nancy's yard are beautifully maintained and have a variety of plants including boxwoods, liriope, holly dwarf yaupon, asian jasmine, dianthus and pansies. All of these are accented with colorful dwarf snap dragons and the sweet smell of alyssum. One of Nancy's favorite plants named “yesterday, today and tomorrow” along with a variety of others help beautify their backyard.

Congratulations Mike and Nancy Obert on receiving our February 2020 Yard of the Month award. Thank you both for all the years you've dedicated to helping maintain the beauty of our wonderful neighborhood.

The Brewers have lived in the Settlement for 5 years. They have two married daughters, Karen and Erica both of whom are teachers. Karen teaches early childhood special education and Erica teaches second grade. John and Patricia have six grandchildren, Daniel, Faith, Hope, John, Eli, and Ty. Daniel and Faith, who are the two oldest, currently serve our country in the U.S. Air Force.

In their leisure time John and Patricia enjoy fishing and working at their farm near Yoakum and Hallettsville. John has worked for over 40 years in steel distribution for the oil and gas industry. Patricia is a retired realtor and enjoys working on home projects, gardening, and cooking.

After moving in they removed a lot of older landscaping and replanted for a fresh look with plants that would bloom with added color and require only low maintenance care. Two original pine trees on one side of their lawn are bordered with moss rock, surrounded by asparagus ferns, orange lantana, and red knock-out roses. The opposite side hosts a single pine tree surrounded by foxtail ferns, agapanthus and garlic plants, and a red Monrovia rose. The moss rock border along the flowerbed in front of their home contains a variety of plants that include liriope grass, pink azaleas, African daisy, variegated ginger plants, and a philodendron. A gold dust variegated aucuba grows near the front entry and has survived many winter freezes, while a planter near the front door holds a river fern.

After John's office relocated from the Woodlands, John and Patricia were drawn to the Settlement because of it being such a beautiful neighborhood with mature trees, amenities, custom built homes and easy access to I-10 and TX-99. “Turns out” Patricia says, “the neighbors are just as wonderful as the reasons we selected the Settlement”.

Thank you John and Patricia Brewer for being awarded our March 2020 Yard of the Month. The continued work you contribute adding to the beauty of our neighborhood is truly appreciated.

The Cookes have lived in the Settlement for 25 years and have 3 grown children. Billy is a retired engineer now spending his time volunteering at their church and professional organizations. Marsha, an adjunct professor at Houston Community College, is also involved in their church. Marsha and Billy say they were drawn to the Settlement and their home by the beautiful trees, how well established the neighborhood was and the fact that their children could remain in KISD schools.

Their front yard contains 3 large oak trees and a red bud tree, each having rock lined flower beds. These beds contain various bulb plants such as amaryllis, agapanthus, day and rain lilies and nandina shrubs. They also include a large leaf giganteum which blooms twice a year and is one of their favorite plants. In front of and accenting the border is a beautiful flat rock walkway from the driveway to their front sidewalk.

Marsha and Billy enjoy family, travel and the outdoors. Their backyard with its outdoor kitchen area where they spend lots of time has a natural look with vine blooming plants, passionflowers, wisteria, and aloe vera plants distributed throughout. These all grew from one plant that is over 40 years old. Add a small herb and vegetable garden, lemon tree, split-leaf philodendrons and the only thing missing are family and friends!

Congratulations Marsha and Billy Cooke on receiving our Yard of the Month award for April 2020. Thank you for your many years of contributing to the beauty of our neighborhood.

Jamison and Katherine, along with their 2-1/2 year old son Henry, have lived in the Settlement for the last 4 years. Katherine and Jamison both serve as Pastors. Jamison works for St. Peter's United Methodist Church and Katherine serves as a Chaplain for one of the local hospital systems.

Jamison, who actually grew up on Bucktrout Lane in the Settlement, says his mother still lives in the neighborhood. Growing up here and appreciating the beauty of the neighborhood with its mature trees, the character of the homes and the many friendly neighbors who live here was one of the reasons that brought him and Katherine back to the Settlement.

Katherine says that a friend in the landscaping business helped them design and pick the right plants that would enhance the long and low style of their home. They planted many dwarf sized bushes with lots of different colors and textures adding dark evergreens to contrast with the light brick of their home. Their favorite features and plants include dwarf bottle-brushes, foxtail ferns, bird of paradise, a very petite teddy bear plant and their magnolia tree. To help enhance the architectural design and interest of their home, they added a bench to accent the chimney area, several large and small sizes of cobalt blue pots at the entryway, and then painted their front doors a beautiful teal color to bring it all together.

Congratulations Jamison and Katherine Doehring for accepting the Williamsburg Settlement Yard of the Month Award for May 2020. The beauty you have added to our community is greatly appreciated.

The St. Amants have lived in the Settlement for 32 years. Married for 45 years, they have 3 grown children and 4 grandchildren. Dale graduated from LSU and Jerrie from USL. Both are from South Louisiana and are big LSU fans!

Dale retired 2 years ago from the IT Department of CenterPoint Energy. Jerrie retired from professional sales in the pharmaceutical and advertising industries.

Dale loves working out at the gym; however, due to the virus quarantine, he and Jerrie find themselves spending more time working in their gardens. They are avid bird watchers, and their large backyard has several feeders and bird baths. It is landscaped to attract birds, butterflies and hummingbirds. For years, Jerrie has nurtured special habitats for butterflies and hummingbirds there.

Dale and Jerrie enjoy gatherings of family and friends, reminiscing and laughing over funny family stories. They also enjoy nature walks, Bible study fellowship, Florida beach vacations and cooking creative healthy meals as well as Cajun indulgences!

They say that the Settlement being a well-established neighborhood with a great reputation, friendly neighbors, quality custom homes, large yards and trees and the fact that the elementary school is in the same neighborhood, makes living here so enjoyable compared to many newer communities.

Having a corner lot led Dale and Jerrie to design a meandering flowing style border anchored by two Shumard Red Oaks and a Drummond Red Maple. Scarlett’s Peak Holly are the columnar plants accenting the architecture of the house with other plants including Dwarf Drift Roses, Knock Out Roses, two Texas Mountain Laurels as specimen trees, Wood Ferns everywhere and a touch of Lantana to attract butterflies.

Congratulations on being our recipient for Yard of the Month June 2020. Thank you both for your many years for caring and contributing to the beauty of our great neighborhood. It is appreciated.

Burton and Diane have lived in the Settlement for 30 years and have been married for 43. They have two married sons and two 16 months old grandchildren who were born 10 days apart. Both of their sons attended Williamsburg Settlement Elementary now named Diane Winborn Elementary.

Diane is an educator, employed as the registrar at Memorial High School in Spring Branch ISD. Burton is a Senior Principal Consultant for Aspen Technology where he has worked for 39 years. The Balches say they both plan to retire next year. Burton and Diane are active members at St. Peter's Methodist Church. When time permits they compete as ballroom dancers and were named outstanding amateur couple at two national competitions.

They said that since neither of them are gardeners they opted for hardy, low maintenance plants that provide seasonal color. These they augment throughout the year with seasonal plants. Currently, caladiums and begonias offer a splash of red, azaleas and agapanthus bloom in the Spring giving way to crepe myrtles and plumerias in the summer. In the fall and early winter their ShiShi camellias begin to bloom and flower. Japanese boxwoods frame the other plants that accent their well-groomed yard.

Congratulations Burton and Diane Balch on receiving the July 2020 Yard of the Month. The beauty you add to our neighborhood is greatly appreciated.

Since 1978 Jack and Barbara have watched the Settlement grow section by section. They have three children, three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. One of their sons is employed with the Houston Police Department and one of their grandsons serves in the United States Navy. They say that a quiet neighborhood with beautiful homes and friendly neighbors continues to make the Settlement a beautiful place to live and raise a family.

Jack is the Founder and Executive Director of the Fun Fair Positive Soccer Organization. He loves working on and driving his Dodge Challenger. There's a very beautiful and humorous story Barbara tells on how Jack got his challenger. It’s one that will definitely make you smile. You should ask him! Barbara is retired and enjoys taking care of her grandchildren and gardening.

One of the first things you notice with Jack and Barbara's yard is that it is covered with a deep green Bermuda grass called Tifway 419, similar to that used on sports fields and golf courses. Maintaining its consistent lovely appearance is obtained by the use of a "reel mower", very similar to the kind many older residents may remember using as a kid. Barbara loves flowers and likes to have a lot of color in the front yard. Hibiscus plants, camelias, zinnias, vincas, gomphrena, and a large shrimp plant grow beautifully in the front garden. A Chinese Pistache tree, Red Leaf Maple tree and various planters filled with geraniums on the front porch, caladiums around the red leaf maple, and diamond Frost plants on the front walkway add more beauty to their home.

Congratulations Jack and Barbara Hendrie on being selected Williamsburg Settlement’s Yard of the Month for August 2020. Thank you for the continued beauty you add to our community and many thanks for all the years of joy and smiles you have brought to many of our residents during the special holidays.

The Andersons have lived in the Settlement for 26 years and have one grown son.

Their front yard begins with a large oval flower bed island with a stone border. In this bed a young water oak tree is centered between two sago palms, bordered by liriope plants and a comfy bench awaiting the cooler days. Mrs. Anderson says the young oak was planted by some of our neighborhood squirrels several years back! The remaining flower beds in front, bordered in stack stone, contain a variety of plants including boxwoods, knockout roses, white and pink azaleas and three well-manicured globe ligustrums. A large pine on the driveway side bordered by liriope brings balance to the yard. The Andersons well-kept yard continues in their back with another large oak tree, stone flower beds outlined with liriope, and five crepe myrtles of red, white and pink.

They say that their friendly neighbors, well-maintained yards, established trees, quietness with easy access in multiple directions have made living in the Settlement even more enjoyable.

Congratulations to the Andersons for being awarded Yard of the Month for September 2020. Your continue contribution of beauty to our community is greatly appreciated.

Grisel has lived in the Settlement for 13 years. She has 4 daughters: Addy and Abby who are aged 7 and 10, and twins Ally and Lexy who are 12. Lola their dog and best friend completes the family!

Grisel has been a hairstylist for 20 years and says that having her own business and being a Mom to 4 girls and Lola fills her days up fast. Having been born and raised in Katy, while she was growing up the Settlement had always been somewhere she and her family went to look at and enjoy the Christmas lights. She says that she has always liked how exclusive it felt. She enjoys family time, working in her yard and still looks forward to driving around our neighborhood enjoying the Christmas lights every year.

Grisel's front yard is very nicely landscaped. Several oak and pine trees fill the front yard with shade and between them is a bench for added enjoyment and relaxation. The flower beds are lined with stone rocks of various shapes and sizes creating a unique look that accents the boxwoods, foxtail ferns, sago palms, hibiscus and the many caladiums throughout her yard. Along the driveway side you will see ferns, Texas star hibiscus, and gardenias which are her favorites.

Congratulations Grisel Rodriguez on receiving our October 2020 Yard of the Month award. Your beautiful yard adds a pleasant view for those entering our community.

The Willis's have two children and have lived in the Settlement for 4-1/2 years.

Fred is the Senior Pastor at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church and Sarah is an Art Teacher at Katy Jr. High School. The Willises enjoy all types of games, art, and reading books.

Fred and Sarah's yard contains a variety of plants that include azaleas, lantanas, ruellia, pentas, burford holly, and pittosporum. There's a young oak bordered in flagstone, two vitek trees, and a tall pine bordered with wandering purple Jew. Sarah says they are beginning to make some early transitions with a plan for new plants in the spring of 2021.

When asked why they liked living in the Settlement, their reply was "We love the "settled-ness" of an established neighborhood with large mature trees, eclectic homes, and terrific neighbors”.

Congratulations Fred and Sarah for receiving the November 2020 Yard of the Month award. Your contribution to the beauty of our neighborhood is greatly appreciated as are those each of you make in your respective professions as you enrich the lives of those you touch.