Among the many homes displaying exceptional landscaping in Kingfisher, Kathryn Stewart Forston was pleasantly surprised to discover her home on West Fay Avenue was selected to receive the June Silver Spade award.

The Kingfisher Lions Club presents the honor each month during the summer season to a home exhibiting extraordinary landscaping and beauty.

“It was quite a surprise,” Kathryn said.

Kathryn and her late husband of 48 years, Jerry Stewart, were raised in the Kingfisher and Loyal area and, after pursuing job opportunities in other states for awhile, they returned to Kingfisher approximately 35 years ago.

Jerry worked in a variety of jobs and eventually retired from Pioneer Telephone. Also working several different jobs through the years, Kathryn said she was employed with Midwest Trenchers before retiring. After Jerry’s death, Kathryn was married to Bill Forston.

Along with four grown sons, Kathryn said she also has 10 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren (some she has yet to meet due to the pandemic).

The couple purchased the home on West Fay Avenue in 2000 and Kathryn said a deciding factor for Jerry was the vegetable garden plot in large backyard.

“He grew a lot of vegetables to share with others,” Kathryn commented.

Although Kathryn hasn’t continued growing vegetables, her green thumb is evident with vibrant flowers and verdant foliage thriving in numerous flowerbeds throughout the property.

A prelude to the flourishing flowerbeds surrounding the beautiful brick home is a curbside brick planter and flowerbed displaying a variety of colorful pink, purple and yellow flowers with decorative rock placed throughout.

A lush green lawn leads to a large flowerbed featuring a variety of pink, white and purple periwinkles, flourishing lilies, pink hydrangeas bursting with blooms and perfectly sculpted evergreens. Beautiful towering blue atlas cedars on each end of the front flowerbeds complement the landscape.

Near the entryway, a flowerbed boasts vibrant yellow marigolds, an array of various colored periwinkles and golden Stella de Oro daylilies surrounding a large rock centerpiece with water cascading through its crevices.

“I love things that are different,” Kathryn said. “When I saw that rock, I had to have it.”

The rock fountain has been a prominent feature of the landscaping for many years, Kathryn said, as well as the perennial flowers, but the rest of the landscaping takes on a new look twice a year, with the help of a local landscaping company, as different annual flowers are introduced.

Another feature always found among her landscaping is a decorative piece of petrified wood, a gift from one of her sons which Kathryn said is special and she has carried with her from place to place throughout the years.

Along the east side, intertwined morning glory vine and presidential purple clematis are flourishing from volunteer seed and beginning their ascent up a supporting beam.

In the past, Jerry planted presidential clematis in that location, Kathryn said, which completely covered a lattice and produced prolific “saucer-sized” purple, star-shaped flowers.

“Often people would stop and want to know what type of flower it was,” she said.

Through the gate, amid the sprawling backyard are more flowerbeds boasting an impressive array of thriving plants in all shapes and sizes. Beautiful trees provide ample shade as well as a resting place for a variety of birds, which Kathryn said she loves to observe.

A multitude of bird feeders as well as several bird baths beckon orioles, hummingbirds and other bird species to Kathryn’s backyard.

“I love to sit on the patio in the quiet of the morning and watch the birds as they fly in and out,” she said.

Other features in Kathryn’s backyard are a gazebo and swings surrounded by colorful flowers, numerous potted plants including bright red dianthus and geraniums complemented by seasonal patriotic-themed decorations throughout the landscaping.

Although she isn’t able to do as much gardening and yard work as she used to, Kathryn said she does what she can and finds a lot of pleasure in it.

“I enjoy working in my yard and relaxing in the beauty of nature,” she said.

When asked if she had any advice for future gardeners, Kathryn said: “Getting outside gives you time to think and can be soothing.

“If you love it, you need to do it.”