The New Smyrna Beach Garden Club awarded the January Garden of the Month to John Zehalka of Springwater Lane, Port Orange.
Mr. Zehalka is an avid gardener who has lived in Spruce Creek Fly-In with his wife, Jeanetta, for 14 years.
The front and side yard plantings of their home feature a striking combination of Hibiscus, an Indian Hawthorn hedge, Viburnums, crotons, Blue daze, Sun-patiens, yellow daisies, lantana and poinsettias that create a welcoming approach. There are also numerous decorative concrete planters filled with various colorful annuals, as well as potted Mandevillas.
Christmas palms accent their front yard. A beautiful tiered water fountain greets visitors on the left of the driveway, and colorful plants on the right side of the front yard create balance and flow. All garden areas are surrounded by landscape pavers that accent the plants and artifacts.
The Zehalkas enjoy the tranquil landscape surrounding their front porch garden room, which looks out to a large Robellini palm that is also a canopy for shade-loving hosta, colorful impatiens, coleus, asparagus fern and a large Boston fern atop a pedestal.
The large lanai is another garden room filled with decorative planters and large ceramic pots containing miniature philodendron, Lady palm and enormous coleus provide vibrant color, texture and variety as they accent the pool and the view into the backyard gardens. Outside the lanai, there are plantings of bright mixed annuals and perennials along the sides and the entire back edge.
Mr. Zehalka created a mixed flower and shrub garden among a cluster of palm trees, which he named “Ellen’s garden,” so his neighbor had a beautiful garden view from her house. A pond runs lengthwise along the back of the yard.
Originally from Connecticut, Mr. Zehalka’s most challenging feat was learning about the different shrubs, plants and trees that grow well in Central Florida.
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