Heather’s Favorite Things: A Yard Worth Coming Home To

I have a confession: I want a yard that looks like I have a green thumb. I do not actually have one. I can appreciate a beautiful garden, picture exactly how I want mine to feel, and still stare at a shrub wondering when — or how — it should be trimmed. That is why I called my friend Chris H. Olsen of Botanica Gardens.

My request was simple: The shrubs needed shaping, the flower beds needed refreshing, and the whole yard needed that little bit of attention that makes you pull into the driveway and think, “Oh, I love it here.” You know the jobs I mean. They sit on your to-do list while you convince yourself you will get to them next weekend. I have had several of those weekends.

Before and after

Chris understands that a yard does not have to be a huge project to deserve expert care. His team can come in for a one-time cleanup, prune and trim what needs it, tend to the beds, and add seasonal color. If you want regular help keeping everything beautiful, they offer that too. Sometimes all you need is for someone with an actual green thumb to take one look and know what to do. For me, that someone is Chris.

Chris H. Olsen

Then again, if you have been dreaming about a complete transformation, Chris can dream big with you. Botanica Gardens designs and installs landscapes for homes and businesses, and the team works on outdoor living spaces, hardscapes, fountains, pools, irrigation and drainage. I love that range. You can call about the shrubs that have gotten away from you or the backyard you have been imagining for years. Either conversation is welcome.

What makes Chris special to me is that he sees more than plants. He sees how people want to live. Do you want a front entrance that feels welcoming? A place to sit outside with your family after a long day? Flower beds that give your home a little personality? He understands that a beautiful yard should feel like your yard. His eye for color and design brings that sense of possibility to spaces we walk past every day.

If you have ever driven by Chris’s own property, you know what I am talking about. It is the kind of place that makes you slow down and look. Frankly, I think I just want to hang out in Chris Olsen’s yard. I would bring the conversation; he could handle the horticulture. That seems like a fair arrangement to me.

I am passionate about the way we care for our Arkansas homes. We are lucky to live somewhere where we can enjoy the outdoors through so much of the year, whether that means sitting on the porch, welcoming friends over or simply seeing something lovely when we walk outside. Your yard is part of that life. It deserves to make you happy.

That is why Chris and Botanica Gardens are one of Heather’s Favorite Things. There is real joy in getting the little things taken care of, and there is just as much joy in letting yourself imagine something bigger. Either way, you get to come home to a place you love. And if anyone compliments my flower beds, I promise I will tell them who really deserves the credit.