Blake and Carla Ryan’s Talents Bring Beauty to the Community, Both at Work and Home: Couple Awarded Yard of the Week

A playhouse out back is only one characteristic of this charming lot.

There is a hint of familiarity at our latest Yard of the Week.  Among its caretakers is one of the talents behind a large number of floral arrangements gracing the porches, walkways, and decks at homes throughout the community.  Including a few that have been named Yard of the Week.

This week, the award goes to Blake and Carla Ryan. There is a good chance that their lovely yard at 674 South 400 East, Payson, has already caught your eye.  If not, then you may have already seen the work of Carla, a florist at Olson’s Garden Shoppe.  She and fellow florist Diane Kitteridge create Olson’s signature custom made arrangements that can be seen all over town.

Springtime orders keep her busy, Carla noted last week, as clients arrive with their empty barrels, baskets, buckets, and pots to be filled with blossoms for another season. But Carla reserves some of this talent for her own baskets and pots she displays at the place she and husband, Blake, have called home since 1984.  

Their home was built in the late 1960s.  By the time the Ryans moved into it, the home had required a large sum of improvement, both inside and out.  They started on it right away, progressively altering it to its stunning state thirty years later.

Blake, who operates Crouch’s OK Service in Payson, is, in addition to a respected mechanic, a remarkable builder, having done much of the labor to the home and, structurally, to the landscape outside himself.  This ranges from the porch in the front and deck in the back, to the steps fashioned from old railroad ties that provide access to the different levels carved into their multi-tiered backyard.

He also built a nice playhouse, complete with quick access to playground equipment, a rock-climbing wall, and a slippery slide exit for the couple’s grandkids.  Carla has added her personal touch to the miniature home, adorning its small open windows with planters overflowing with impatiens.

While the sun provides full light to the front, eastward-facing side of the house, a place where Carla’s signature baskets and sun-loving flowers planted into the earth thrive, the backyard offers respite from the heat.  Trees planted here have expanded their capacity to provide shade along with their size.  Carla has had to adapt to these changes over the years and modify the plant life along the way.  Hostas, one of her favorites, are among those that grow exceptionally well in the backyard, out of the sun’s path.  Impatiens, yet another favorite, also grow exceptionally there. Her roses and daisies are not too shabby either.

Come to think of it, there is little if nothing that is shabby about their place.  It is beautiful.

Together, Blake and Carla have merged the talents they are recognized for in the community into creating a beautiful environment at home for family and friends to enjoy.  Congratulations to the Ryans, whose combined effort and creative talents have earned them the award of Yard of the Week.