June 2026 honoree
Jimmy M.
Resident since 1985
2706 Maple Springs Blvd
The Maple Springs Neighborhood Association's Garden Club is happy to announce its first Yard of the Month. Longtime resident Jimmy Morrow transformed this historic property into a remarkable garden filled with mature trees, winding paths, and decades of care. The space became both a labor of love and a place of renewal.
A Historic Home
Longtime resident Jimmy Morrow has lived at 2706 Maple Springs Blvd for more than 41 years. He and his husband, Bobby Dodson, bought the home in 1985 and were only the second family to live in the 1926 built home.
The three quarters of an acre property, sloping all the way down to the creek, was nothing but dirt, front to back, when Jimmy & Bobby moved in. There were two magnificent 250-year-old native pecan trees, as old as our country, (age certified by an arborist) and three majestic 150-year-old grand Magnolia trees, all still exist. And lots of bamboo on the creek beds.
Bringing a Vision to Life
But Jimmy had a vision for this expansive property, and sketched out on paper the layout for the gardens. He faithfully followed his original plan and worked for nine years to bring it to fruition.
He and Bobby started planting his favorite shrubs and trees from nandinas to boxwoods, burford holly’s, savannah hollies, palm trees, fig trees, Japanese maples, dogwoods and redbuds. The gardens were beginning to take shape.
He and Bobby traveled the country and brought back beautiful classic pedestal pots and urns and statuaries to place around the grounds. Jimmy would fill each pot with flowering annuals, especially the colorful impatiens which did beautifully in the shade.
A Garden Through Seasons of Life
The garden became his haven from the world and he would spend hours watering, weeding, planting and replanting. As all gardeners know, there is always loss; the terrible freezes and brutal heat can wreak havoc on your garden.
There was also personal loss in his life. His husband was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017. Jimmy retired early from Amazon to care for him during his illness, and the gardens were left alone. After Bobby’s death in 2022 Jimmy stayed away from the gardens for another three years.
Renewal and New Growth
But slowly, spring came and life was coming back to the garden. Jimmy ventured back into the garden and was inspired by the new growth around him. He began to replant and restore the garden from eight years of neglect.
Today it is resplendent with every pot and urn planted, every flowerbed immaculately groomed and beauty everywhere you look.
So, walk by and admire his vision and feel the power of his garden. Maybe you’ll be inspired to find your own vision of what your garden could become.