Yard of Week Season Draws to a Close With Wally and Cindy Buhler's Payson Home

The Wally and Cindy Buhler home

The Payson Chronicle's 2012 Yard of the Week season wraps up with a whopper. The final award goes to a yard recognized for its stunning floral landscaping, along with a roadside mailbox that is a fisher's dream. It is the home of Wally and Cindy Buhler at 333 South 600 East, Payson.

The Buhler yard is a radiant picture to view while traveling along the Sixth East route to Payson Canyon. Rock landscaping carves into the sloped front yard, nestling beds from which scarlet, white, violet, yellow, and blue blossoms spill over, all the creation of Wally.

The plump green and white widemouthed fish mailbox near the street is symbolizes Wally's love for fishing. It serves as well as a landmark for those who plan to visit, according to Cindy. They simply tells folks to look for the “blue house with a yellow door and fish mailbox” when giving directions.

The property was originally owned by Cindy's great-grandparents, the late Mike and Mae Andrew. It had been an orchard, dotted with apple, cherry, and peach trees, before she and Wally built their home in 2000 and began landscaping the vast yard. The fruit trees may be gone, but a grapevine rooted in the property's origins persists as part of a decorative foundation near the front entrance and the flowerbeds carved throughout.

Wally fills these beds each year himself. He starts by planting the taller Salvia, followed by dainty Lobelia, and finally, vibrant petunias that grow in abundance. He started in May this year and took two days to finish planting Marigolds sprout here and there, but they became less prominent once the petunias took off.

Growing behind the scenes is a vegetable garden, another area overseen by Wally. Crops this year include tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, and peas. The latter may no longer be harvested, as peas do best in cooler temperatures, but according to Wally, they did especially well this year during their points of harvest.

Cindy's domain includes the flowering pots and decorative accoutrements sprinkled from front to back. Care has been made as well to maintain a space along the front porch from which the past can be recalled. Rocks and shells picked up during trips to Lake Powell are rest in a wide bowl. Pots hand-painted by the Wally and Cindy's grandchildren are displayed on a shelf; they hold plants and recollections of sweet tikes who have since become adolescents.

Cindy can recall taking photos of her grandchildren a decade ago, while they were young and the yard new. They have grown along with the evolving landscape, creating lovely memories to enjoy today.