Just outside the east edge of the village, next to the gas station at the corner of Phillips Rd. and Ridge, sits a little house. If you’ve ever had the occasion to walk, ride or drive by, I’m sure you’ve noticed it, because it’s surrounded by some of the most beautiful gardens in Webster.
I do pass by the house regularly, and have long admired the gardens. They always make me pause, especially when I see something new. I’ve often stopped to literally smell the roses (or lilacs, depending on the time of year). I would occasionally see the homeowners outside watering or weeding or planting, and wave a friendly hello. Finally, a few weeks ago when I saw the Mrs. outside again, I stopped and introduced myself as her gardens’ biggest fan. Her name is Maria; she was kind enough to give me the full garden tour and agreed to let me write about her, her husband Pedro, and their amazing gardens.
Maria and Pedro Blanco have been Webster residents since 1980, when they moved from their home in the city (which didn’t have much in the way of gardens). When they purchased their Phillips Rd. home, evergreen bushes stretched all across the front of the house.
It didn’t take before they’d removed those bushes, and little by little, Maria started to create her garden paradise. She’d tend to the gardens after work every day, and early in the mornings. Then of course, after retirement she could really start focusing on what has become her lifelong hobby.
Through the years, those front gardens expanded to the back yard and both side yards, plus two dozen hanging baskets and more potted annuals than I could count. She has so many different varieties of annuals and perennials, shrubs and vines that she has trouble remembering what they’re all called.
The ones that she could remember included: lilacs, Rose of Sharon, Stella D’oro, guara, daisies, daylilies, roses, sweet Williams, maelstrom, clematis, canna lily, brown-eyed susan, black-eyed susan, buttercup, phlox, hibiscus, hydrangae, and miniature morning glory. Everywhere you look there’s something blooming or about to bloom. Fanciful flower pots and decorations, many crafted by her very artistic daughter Glenda, make the entire scene even more beautiful.
In the backyard, hidden from view, Maria and Pedro have created their own little peaceful oasis: a small canopied patio which insulates them from the busy and noisy roadways that surround them. Pedro’s contribution to the gardens is there, too: a small vegetable patch with tomatoes, peppers and lettuce.
I’m not the first to bring attention to Maria’s gardens, by the way, and I might not actually be their biggest fan. She said that others have stopped on their runs and walks, or slowed in their cars to admire them. And in 2019 she even won an award from a local garden club.
Maria’s passion has remained strong through the years. Weather permitting, she’s out working on her gardens “all my free time,” she said.
“Sometimes I don’t go inside my home for hours.” After she’s done all the watering and weeding and transplanting that needs to be done, “I sit out under the canopy and start admiring my job. Then I get up to change something.” She doesn’t even like to leave home for any length of time because, “No one can take care like you do. When I come back, everything is a mess.”
“The plants are my babies.”
So next time you’re heading south into the village via Phillips Rd., take a look to the west just before you hit the intersection with Ridge. It’s a beautiful, floral-ific welcome to our little town.
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