With the creative eye of an artist, Sue Durlam has used planters and containers overflowing with colorful blooms to intersperse with foundation plantings and perennials to delight the eye throughout the yard. At Sue and Jeff’s home at 300 E. Harrison St, her vignettes of bright petunias, richly hued coleus and other colorful plants blend artfully with tall trellises of perennial clematis and annual black-eyed Susan vines.
The front arbor, easily visible from the street, is just the beginning of the surprising array of color and variety of plants Sue has used in the landscape, on the porch and around every corner of the home. She loves to shop for plants and has several that are new cultivars this year. A secret to her healthy and profusely blooming plants is regular fertilization which she does approximately once a week. Jeff helps with bigger jobs in the yard as well.
The Durlams have lived in the home, built in the early 1900’s, for 36 years. It was originally gray stucco and located on S. Chestnut and had been converted into seven apartments. Over the years, Jeff and Sue completely renovated the interior of the home and recently had the siding painted a lush dark gray-green. She chose copper gutters and downspouts to harmonize with the brick used in the foundation, chimney and porch.
