After a month of heat waves and extra watering, flowers are still blooming and moving at a home on Lynn Road, where Bill and Cathy Manley have been named July’s winners of Thrive Excelsior’s Curb Appeal Award.
The Thrive Excelsior Curb Appeal Award honors homeowners who bring added beauty to their neighborhoods through personal landscaping, and give an immediately positive impression to passerby and neighbors.
This month’s award was sponsored by Beacon Realty, with broker Cora Boothe helping in the award presentation. Joining her was Excelsior Springs’ Neighborhood Specialist Laura Mize, who is a primary organizer of the competition. They joined to congratulate the Manleys in person, and Cathy Manley, who spends hours each day outside tending her garden, said the award came as a complete surprise.
“I was totally shocked,” she said. “I was not expecting anything. But I was very pleased. Flattered, really.”
While the front yard offers tidy landscaping and subtle decorations, Cathy explained that most of her time is spent in the backyard. Still, it was the view from the street that earned her the award, including a well-kept lawn, colorful blooms, and thoughtfully placed garden ornaments.
“I love my flowers. I am outside every day,” she said. “Even when it is hot, I will just come in, cool off, and go back out.”
She estimates she spends about three hours a day working in the yard, even during the harshest heat waves of July. Her routine includes watering, weeding, replanting, and rearranging; she often moves plants from one spot to another until everything feels right. “If I think something would look better over there, I just move it,” she said. “I make mistakes, and I learn. I just like to do it.”
Cathy shops for plants at Family Tree Nursery in Liberty and Ace Hardware in Excelsior Springs, and she is always eager to stop by early in the season for the best selection. Among her favorites are the catmint surrounding the mailbox, bright purple phlox, and yellow daylilies that she trims to the ground after their first bloom so they can return later in the season.
Cathy’s yard is just one example of the care and intention homeowners bring to their properties. To celebrate neighbors like this each month, a committee of local business and community leaders reviews nominated yards across Excelsior Springs.
According to Neighborhood Specialist Laura Mize, the winning home is selected based on strong first impressions, overall appeal factor, and how well the space is put together. Mize also shared that homes nominated for the monthly Curb Appeal award only qualify if their residence is up to local ordinances and code, so she recommends that homeowners make sure to check for things that may disqualify a nominee, like trailers in the front yard.
Follow Thrive Excelsior on Facebook for open nominations announcements for the next standout yard in August!
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