There’s still work to do, and painting the house is next on the list, but the hard work on their home in the 400 block of Midland Drive was enough to capture the attention of The Kewanee Voice Yard of the Month committee.
When Missy and Landon Horrie moved into their split‑level home, they recognized the diamond in the rough. With Windmont Park right in their backyard, it was hard for them to say no to the house, said Missy Horrie.
“That’s one of the reasons we picked this house,” she said.
The front of the house was first. The couple fixed their driveway and added several flower beds. With money left to her by her mom, Missy used that on special stamped‑cement pavers that line her beds. It added something special to the landscaping, she said.
The addition of a 1,200‑pound sign inscribed with “Horrie, Est. 2004” adorns the front yard. It reminds the couple of just how far their landscaping has come over the last several decades. The backyard is equally manicured and includes playground equipment for Missy’s daycare business, along with ample seating to sit and look out over the park.
Of course, the couple isn’t done.
This year there were new windows. Next year, it will be a new exterior for the house, including paint on the bricks and shake siding.
The July Yard of the Month recipients received a gift certificate courtesy of Sunnyfield Greenhouse & Garden Center, a certificate suitable for framing and a yard sign to showcase their yard this month.
Missy Horrie agreed to answer five questions from The Kewanee Voice about her award- winning yard.
Missy said she is most proud of the work around the big tree in her front yard because that is where all the landscaping improvements first began.
As with any yard, it really depends on the time of year. “Currently about an hour a day,” she said, “but many hours overall.” The beginning of spring and fall are the busiest times for her garden/yard work. Summertime is mostly maintenance.
Missy enjoys pruning the most. She finds cutting dead flowers and shaping fresh ones to be satisfying work.
Missy has a less common gardening task due to the slate rocks in place of where mulch would typically go. She has a tree that blows nuts into the rocks, and it is not so easy to just blow the nuts out, so she has to pick them out by hand which she says can take hours. Because of this, it is her least favorite gardening task.
Missy said she’s very proud and excited to receive the award and be recognized. She said a lot of people stop by to give compliments on the yard. “I worked for years to be recognized by Arrow Realty’s yard of the month but later found out I was ineligible to receive their award because my sister works for them,” she said. She’s happy to be able to receive an award now.
