5605 Vickery is a star. The grand old Prairie house has been seen in a Chase commercial and TV episodes. Built in 1911 as the first house in Vickery Place, it has been home to Bill and Alison Silliman since 2006. They live there with their two daughters, three rescue Dachshunds and a colony of ladybugs that dwell within the walls.

Ask a Silliman to name a favorite part of the house and the unanimous response is the front porch. In summer, ferns hang from the eaves and are maintained for sometimes well into December by an intricate irrigation system that runs almost invisibly across the porch and into each hanging basket and decorative pot.

In winter, pansies are planted in borders and pots. Along with well-placed daisies and ornamental grasses, they bring color and texture to the yard. Pansies are a winter favorite for southern gardeners. Best planted six weeks before the first frost, they will thrive in enriched soil with hearty applications of fertilizer every two weeks. These ‘monkey faces’, as they are sometimes called, love to be picked.

Bill hails from Indiana and perhaps it is his Midwestern fortitude that saw him after a recent frost fighting to save the live oak tree in his greenway. The ice had cemented the limbs to the street where they were bent and frozen. Applying water and hours of time, Bill was able to unstick the tree and save it. That alone warrants a prize.

Congratulations Alison and Bill. As with every Yard of the Month Award, North Haven Gardens is donating a $50 gift card.