Diane and Dave are both retired and have lived on Jones since 1989. They weren’t going to decorate this year, but they received so many requests from their neighbors that they felt an overwhelming urge to do so.

During the storms, they lost the palm that held Mr. and Mrs. Claus’ clothesline, so they replaced it with an elf train since David loves trains. Diane went through a lot of trouble to prop the train up on mulch bags so that it could be seen from the street. She covered the bags with a train track to hide them.

A red Ford antique pickup covers their garage door and looks like it is parked in their garage. They hung decorations above the garage and illuminated it to look as realistic as possible.

They have blinking carolers in the center of their driveway with a bubble maker to look like snow while music is playing. It looks like the elves are blinking to their Christmas music.

They host a get together during the Christmas Light Tour; they set up chairs, play Christmas music, and serve food. They love entertaining their friends and neighbors during our parade.

The Nativity is very important to them. They are proud Christians and want people to recognize the true meaning of Christmas. At the same time, they want their yard to be fun for all, so they decorate the rest of their yard with something fun and entertaining.

Congrats to our Spring 2024 Yard of the Season WINNERS – Mitch Dunasky & Donna Shelley who live at 2214 Davies Ct. The competition was really tight this time as there were many amazing yards to consider. Derrick & Nicole Beland, co-chairs of the YOS committee with me, interviewed the winners.

Mitch and Donna moved here in 2016 from Chicago when Mitch was offered a job transfer. He is a Software Salesman and Donna owns and operates her own business. They have no kids or pets to speak of. Mitchell enjoys watching the Tampa Bay Lightning and saltwater fly fishing. They both enjoy relaxing in their backyard oasis which is also beautifully gardened. They proudly fly an American and Tampa Bay Lightning flag!

The house colors were chosen because they were bold, but not pastel and they wanted a good contrast so that their plants would stand out. When they moved here, the house was brick red and the gardens were landscaped with red mulch and more red bricks (two photos from their listing when they bought it in 2016 are included). They felt like any plants or gardens were lost in all of the red and they wanted something more natural in appearance, so they replaced the mulch with shell and bordered their gardens with natural Florida limestone.

While they planted and continue to maintain all of their gardens themselves, they ran into a problem early on when they switched the plant bedding out and decided to call in an expert. They offer this tip: some plants need the natural moisture retention and heat protection that pine bark and mulch offers while rocks and shell do not. So, they laid down pine bark to the edges of the garden drip lines and finished the edges with their shell.

They also struggled with plants in island/circle in the middle of their driveway early on as there is absolutely no shade on this section and the hottest part of the day receives direct sunlight. They did some research on full sun gardening and are delighted with the flowering plants they selected and how many butterflies they attract. Some of their favorites are Gold Mound Skyflower, Lantanas, Texas Sage, Ruellia, and Fan Flower. Their palms are Phoenix, Roebelinii, Sago, European Fan Palms, and Paurotis.

Here’s another tip, if you’re struggling with plants in a certain area of your front yard, ride around and look at your neighbors to see what is thriving, but make sure they face the same direction as you and have similar shade. Plants that do great in 4 hours of morning sunlight might not do the same in 4 hours of afternoon sunlight.

Congrats again Mitch & Donna! Thanks for your amazing yard and contributing to the Beauty in our great community!