After 20 years in their home on West Fay Avenue, Kent and Dianna Weems decided it was time to move.

Temporarily. The couple moved out in order to fulfill their desire to transform their home into something totally fresh and updated.

Mission accomplished, they moved back in last September and set in motion a plan to also upgrade their landscaping.

With the help of Mulherin Outdoor Services, new flowerbeds were installed throughout the property and filled with brightly colored perennials and other low-maintenance plants, shrubs and trees.

Recently recognized for their efforts, the couple was awarded the season’s first Silver Spade Award for the month of May.

The Silver Spade is an honor presented by the Kingfisher Lions Club during the summer months to homes with extraordinary landscaping and beauty.

An unexpected, but pleasant surprise, Kent jokingly said their longtime friends and neighbors across the street (and his former coworkers at Pioneer) may have expressed a little jealousy over the shining silver spade prominently displayed amongst their new landscaping.

With a total transformation, the red brick house now radiates a bold white brick exterior with black trim surrounded by neatly designed flowerbeds boasting a variety of pink, purple, red and a splash of yellow blooms contrasted by multihued foliage and evergreen shrubs spaced throughout.

“I love the way it looks,” Dianna said. “I also love that it’s very low-maintenance.”

A continuous rock border encircles the ornamental vegetation, breaking only to accommodate the curving pathway to the front entryway.

At the doorstep, a black planter spilling over with dainty pink and yellow calibrachoa blooms and a matching outdoor bench present a welcoming presence to the home.

With a passion for rich purple, pink and red hues, Dianna said the flowerbeds exhibit a repeating theme of those colors in the salvia, crepe myrtle, dianthus, drift roses, Indian hawthorn and other plants just beginning to put forth their blossoms this season.

A young magnolia tree stands at one corner of the flowerbeds and a weeping spruce at the other, with varied evergreen shrubs and large landscaping boulders resting throughout.

On the south side, a weeping ornamental peach tree adds a striking touch to the landscape.

As abundant spring rains have created a lush green lawn, Dianna said she’s anxious for the sun to shine, bringing forth the colorful blooms she loves.

Nestled just beneath the weeping peach tree, a pink peony is one of the most sentimental features of the landscape.

Recalling her mother’s “crazy love of plants,” Dianna said they transplanted the pink peony from her garden in 2020 and it produced its first blooms on Mother’s Day last year.

With her own love of plants, Dianna said gardening is therapeutic for her.

She also said she wanted to incorporate a variety of plants which thrive in Oklahoma’s climate, but would require minimal maintenance.

In the backyard just beyond the swimming pool, many of the same plants grace a spacious flowerbed, creating a consistent scheme throughout, but with a welcome addition of several Nellie Stevens holly shrubs.

Another feature throughout the front and back yards are garden spotlights and other soft outdoor lighting illuminating the rich and bountiful flowerbeds.

As the backyard is a work in progress, Kent said he hopes to add a water feature, fire pit and turf putting green in the future.

With a small pool house in the back, which also serves as an office, Kent enjoys working from home most of the time for his job.

He is currently in his 40th year with Pioneer and also has been officiating OSSAA basketball games for 32 years.

A former middle school math teacher at Kingfisher Public Schools, Dianna served the district for 36 years. She retired in 2020 to assist her dad who was in bad health and, after his passing, returned to teaching part-time at Dover Public Schools last August.

The couple have three grown children – Melissa (Javier) Calamateo, Whitney (Richard) Mathes and Ryan (Brittany) Weems, as well as eight grandchildren.

Very pleased with the results of their renovations, the couple agreed they now enjoy spending more time on their back patio taking in the peaceful surroundings.

As the flowers begin to thrive, Dianna said she’s excited to be able to enjoy vibrant pink, purple, and red blooms…especially purple.

“I will probably add more salvia,” she said. “I just love purple.”

Enjoying the lights which illuminate all the new vegetation, Kent said, “The lights are really pretty at night with their soothing glow and it’s really peaceful just relaxing and listening to occasional birds chirping nearby.”