Keep Carbondale Beautiful has introduced its Legacy Bright Spot Award, given to previous winners of the Bright Spot Award who have undertaken long term care of the property. From the press release
The Legacy Bright Spot award is an award
given by Keep Carbondale Beautiful to recognize previous recipients of the
Bright Spot award. This recognition is intended to encourage and maintain long
term care and stewardship to the local environment of Carbondale. One of the
missions of Keep Carbondale Beautiful is to preserve and maintain the local
natural beauty of Southern Illinois.
The inaugural Legacy Bright Spot award
winner is kicking off with 601 W. Walnut. Kathy and Austin Rigney recall
receiving the Bright Spot award in July of 2004. “A sign just showed up in our
yard one day, and that was the bright spot award” Kathy laughs, telling what
she remembers. The home was built in 1917 and has been added on to over the
years. They moved to the residence in 1988. Preparing for a growing family,
Kathy began gardening in the front yard. In this nesting garden, irises,
spiderwort and Pocomoke crape myrtle were planted. The oldest surviving plants
are Jerusalem roses, over 20 years old.
The May 8th storm
shifted their yard around, an 80 ft oak lodged in their attic. Getting the tree
out, “we were entertainment for the whole neighborhood” Kathy recounts. After
that, they had the bug for reorganizing the landscape. A white blooming redbud
took its place, casting its canopy over hydrangeas and boxwoods lining the
front of the home. A Japanese maple shades a horseshoe shaped garden with
English ivy and ferns. Around the side of the home is an oasis from the busy
city street, birdfeeders are set among a variety of herbs and large
hostas.
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