For husband and wife, Donnie and Pam Laird, yard work and gardening represent their passion as they enjoy their retirement years.
The couple moved to Winnsboro in 2000 and purchased a Victorian home that once belonged to the McMaster family.
The house was built in 1879 and the couple, who had renovated three homes in all, worked hard to make the landscaping compliment their home.
“When we moved in the back yard was completely bare of plants and overgrown in grass,” Pam said.
The two shared the gardening chores with his handling the trees, big shrubs and mulch and her focusing on planting and re-potting flowers.
The project has taken years, with the initial focus being on house renovations.
The first change was removing 30 logustrum trees, which they did with the help of friend, Danny Hope, who used his backhoe for stump removal.
They replaced those trees with 22 crepe myrtles and over 20 Hollywood junipers.
Other plants they added include knockout roses, spirea and Japanese maple trees. They also have hydrangeas and Cyprus trees in their front yard landscaping.
In 2008, they added the trees around the fountain. Hidden in the back of the garden is a cabin Donnie built as a gathering place.
About two months ago they added azaleas and the newest addition is a grove of European Sand Palm Trees.
The walkways through the flowers and shrubs contain other historic value. Donnie used brick from the CCI prison in Columbia for the walkway and other areas contain brick from Gibbes machinery in Columbia.
The Lairds moved to Winnsboro from the Lower Richland area and are thankful their home can add to the aesthetics as one drives by their home at 202 West High St. in Winnsboro.
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