Yard of the Month
Cheryl and Elliott Miller
12180 Mountain Laurel Drive
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I moved to Brookfield Country Club in May 1979. Raised my 3 children here, Brian, Chris and Amy Stillings. I was one of several mom’s that started the Brookfield Swim Association (c1986) and served on the Brookfield Board of Directors for 2 years. My 3 children were excellent swimmers, setting many state swimming records, and stayed active with their swimming for 15 years. Both sons graduated Roswell High School in the mid 90’s. My daughter went to Brenau Academy for high school and Mary Baldwin College in Virginia, then graduated Georgia State with a Psychology degree. My son Brian has an MBA, and Chris graduated with a BA degree from Western State College in Gunnison, Co.
My husband Elliott was a banker here in Atlanta for 50 years, recently retired, and we are the proud grandparents of 2 granddaughters. We are very active in their lives and they are frequently found playing here at our home. I have been an airline employee, stay at home mom, freelance make-up artist and a Realtor until 2012 when I retired.
For 42 years I have loved being a gardener, working hard in my yard, planting shrubs, flowers, trees, and maintaining the daily care until I turned the lawn care and maintenance over to Riverakhan Lawn care recently. I’m much happier being in my yard, overseeing its care than most women. I’ve planted most everything in my yard by myself. I’m very hands on! If I’m not working here in my yard you will find me at our mountain home in Highlands N.C. doing exactly the same thing!! I’m very fortunate to experience each season 2 times due to the difference in elevation between here and the N.C western mountains! I must pay tribute to my first neighbor, Mary Baker, who loved her yard and shared many plants and expertise with me as a young bride.
We feel we have one of the premier lots in Brookfield. We are situated on Hole 11, corner of Mountain Laurel and Green Chase court. View from our back deck is spectacular, and from the front street I have tried to make the view one that the neighbors would enjoy seeing too. We obviously love our neighborhood, the golf course, caring neighbors and can’t imagine living anywhere else!
JULY 2021
Shannon and Rob Vann
11990 Brookfield Club Drive
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Rob and I moved to Brookfield in 2003. We fell in love with the house and the almost 2 acre lot was a bonus! The white pool with cobalt blue tile and brick border with a stamped concrete deck and very little landscaping left a lot to be desired. But, our focus was on the interior of the house at the time and we really didn’t pay much attention to the yard. When we started having children, we put up a mesh fence around the pool because, you know, safety first! Fast forward a few years to a Hawaii vacation, where we got the awesome matching outfits (Lol! He’s a trooper, isn’t he?), we were inspired by the lush landscapes of the islands. We both grew up with green thumb parents and were not new to gardening, but it’s trial and error as to what is going to work for you and your style. We knew we wanted to get rid of the ugly, black mesh fence since the kids had become strong swimmers and next thing you know, we built a treehouse for them. We got the yard bug at that point and started renovating the backyard. Inspiration went in overtime and we went BIG! We completed our outdoor space in 2011 and continue to add to the yard annually. The outdoor space, with a gas grill, two eggs, and two burners, was designed by Rob and the only thing we would do differently, is make it bigger and add a bath house.
Rob is always looking for a project so he built a greenhouse a few years ago and started growing vegetables – tomatoes, squash, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, and more beans than I can name. That came in handy in 2020! Rob loves to cook with fresh ingredients from the garden. My job is clean up and keeping him hydrated. The outdoor kitchen is used on a regular basis, even more than the indoor kitchen (much easier to clean). We are wine enthusiasts and enjoy hosting friends and family. The fireplace makes it comfortable enough to use the space nine months out of the year.
We absolutely love our backyard and everything it has to offer and yes, we drank all the wine that make up the borders! I get that question often.
Our yard is very lush and full of life, just like us! I wouldn’t have it any other way!
AUGUST 2021
Lauren Bishop and Pam Weishaupt
1430 Oakhaven Drive
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Who knew leaving the sunny beaches of Florida would be the best decision ever! Work brought us to Alpharetta in 2018 where we settled into a townhome, thinking we were ready to downsize. Well, that sounded like a good idea at the time, but we missed being able to work in the yard and having side projects to keep us busy. By July of 2020, there were job changes and longer commutes. Timing was right for something different.
Our agent, Susan Jasper, was selling our place in Alpharetta. By coincidence she happened to be the co-agent of a ranch-style home in need of some TLC. Lickety-split we were planning a move to 1430 Oakhaven with plans for a full yard renovation.
When we first moved in, I told Jeremy with Brookfield Landscape that our goal was to win "Yard of the Month." He took our yard from weeds to grass, while Pam and I went to town on the shrubbery.
This community is great, and the neighbors have been so welcoming. We absolutely love it here. I'm glad to have a yard again and Pam is pleased as punch with a basement for quilting. When we're not at home or work, you can find us camping in our RV.
SEPTEMBER 2021
Kathy and Charles Curtis
600 Ridge Brook Point
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We bought our home in 1985 when it was newly constructed. At that time, we were in our early thirties, and our sons were 3 and 1. The things that appealed to us about Brookfield at that time were the same things that still attract young couples with kids – great schools, the club, Roswell recreation amenities and a sense of community. Never did we dream that 36 years later we would still be here.
Over the years we have renovated and improved both the interior and exterior of our home. When it was new, the landscaping was minimal with a few foundation shrubs. The driveway was narrow, aimed straight at the front door and had absolutely no guest parking space. After several years of installing some DIY plantings that never looked quite right, in 1993 we completed a major hardscape/landscape makeover using professional design and installation. We removed the concrete driveway and built a new concrete paving stone drive that was realigned and has generous parking; constructed a retaining wall in the back to raise grade around the basement entries; and implemented a complete landscape makeover with all new plantings, sod and an irrigation system. Later, during a major interior renovation, we added a large deck with pergola and screen walls which we consider a part of our outdoor space and landscape. As you can see from the “before” and “after” photos, that initial makeover has matured quite nicely over the years, and we’ve been very happy with the results.
In the last five years we have considered “downsizing” several times, but always decided to stay on our quiet cul-de-sac with lush landscaping, a great outdoor deck space and completely renovated interior. Brookfield is home, and we plan to stay.
Previous Yard of the Month Winners
| May 2021 | 1445 Lakemist Court | Patrick and Kerrie Furlong |
| April 2021 | 515 Millsbee Lane | Margot Mize |
| March 2021 | 1065 Mountain Ivy Drive | Jill and Mike Rohan |
| November 2020 | 11640 Mountain Laurel Dr | Al and Charlene Kinnear |
| October 2020 | 860 Hickory Oak Hollow | Tiffany and Andrew Gehl |
| September 2020 | 545 Millsbee Lane | Susan and Warren McPhillips |
| August 2020 | 230 Greenfair Trail | The Muir Family |
| July 2020 |
1155 Oakhaven Drive
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Christopher and Stephanie Zercher
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| June 2020 | 325 Coppertree Court | Barry and Jennifer Northenor |
| May 2020 |
12075 Brookfield Club Dr.
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Lene and Lars Agerskov
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| April 2020 | 11765 Mountain Laurel Drive | Roger and Gale Davis |
| March 2020 | 125 Farmstead Lane | Andy and Sally Kadrich |
| February 2020 | Brookfield Neighborhood Entrances | BCC HOA |
| January 2020 | 320 Wheatridge Drive | John and Debbie Harney |
| December 2019 | 795 Brookfield Parkway | James and Coley Chilton |
| November 2019 | 12185 Mountain Laurel Drive | Ken and Gabriele Slutzky |
| October 2019 | 785 Oakhaven Drive | Gary and Jennifer White |
| September 2019 | 1220 Oakhaven Drive | Pete and Marty Brenner |