Jamie and Chris moved to Fairway Estates in 2018 from Clearwater, needing more space as their family grew. When their home appeared for sale online, they wasted no time making an offer—and the rest, as they say, is history.

After sustaining significant damage from last year’s hurricane, the family decided this year’s theme would be all about color and fun and it became a true family project. Their oldest son, Julian pitched in while home from college and 15-year-old McKinley reached a milestone, climbing on the roof solo to hang lights. Daughter Charlotte also pitched in, carefully lining the front sidewalk with lights to complete the display.

The Mills home is a showstopper, drawing the eye from the glowing roof line down to the beautifully illuminated trees. Icicle lights installed along the front and side of the house and draped across the majestic camphor trees create a magical look. Under one tree is a Nativity setting, showing the true meaning of Christmas.

One of the most charming elements—dreamed up by the kids—features deer gathered around a glowing blue “water” feature, giving the illusion they’ve paused for a refreshing drink. The pool effect was cleverly created using rows of blue lights placed side by side.

The sidewalk up to the front door is lined with alternating red and green lights. That was another kid-inspired idea, designed as a festive runway for Santa and his sleigh.
Perhaps the most meaningful element of all is the staghorn fern hanging from an oak. It once belonged to Jamie’s 96-year-old grandmother, and in a touching tribute, the children suggested lighting it in their great grandmother’s honor—adding a heartfelt and meaningful layer to an already unforgettable display.

Who still lives in their first home since they were married? Linda and Mark do, and have enjoyed their house and yard at 1341 Fairway since 1990. The home and yard have evolved over time. Citrus trees originally shaded their yard and they remember putting their extra fruit out for neighbors to take. But as the years passed and trees aged out or grew too big, they were removed. Linda used to live in Hawaii as a child and they both have enjoyed visiting Hawaii and many other tropical locations; so their yard is now lush with Florida tropical palms, plants and a relaxing ‘island’ atmosphere.

Living on a corner gave the Dremstedts 2 front yards. To provide privacy on one side, they built a flagstone covered short wall with gate onto their patio leading to the grilling area that sits under a mature camphor tree. Areca and Christmas palms are planted along the perimeter fence with colorful cordyline (ti) plants, and grounded with variegated dwarf scheffleras. The palms provide privacy from the neighbors’ yards and really create a cool oasis, even in the summer.

The flagstone wall coordinates with the flagstone front walkway and mailbox base and the screened room – much more than a patio, that was added 8 years ago.
A colorful, personalized locationn sign nestled under the palms lets you know their favorite vacation spots – all tropical.

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!