Garden fairy

A sign in the backyard garden of Robin Peckover’s East Dallas home pleads with guests: “Don’t piss off the fairies.”

Peckover, an Australia native turned Texas transplant, says she needs all the magic she can muster to ready her garden for the White Rock East Garden & Artisans Tour on May 17.

“When I moved in five years ago, there was nothing,” she says. “Absolutely nothing, just a plot of dead grass.”

She chose her property because of three wrinkly old live oak trees in the backyard, which she says remind her of “magic forest trees.” Then she began spending most of her spare time with her fingers in the dirt, making her garden as enchanting as possible.

With a little help from the fairies, of course.

“I love fairytales,” she says. “As a child, I used to go out into the garden and look under every flower to find a fairy, and I still do think I’m going to find them here.”

If fairies were to hang out anywhere, it would probably be in Peckover’s garden, which is overflowing with beautiful rose bushes and ivy. Everywhere you look, tiny creatures made of stone or metal are frozen in motion, and decorative mushrooms and other knick-knacks are scattered throughout.

“Gardening is in my blood,” she says. “I see it as giving back, a thank you note, to all that the Earth has given us.”

Aside from being a gardener, Peckover also makes mosaics, which will be on display during this year’s White Rock East Garden Tour & Artisans.

Hers is one of eight gardens on the tour, which comprises everything from elaborate grounds in Little Forest Hills to lush green spaces in Forest Hills. Check out some life-size sculptures and collect a few tips from the “master composter” of East Dallas. —Brittany Nunn FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit whiterockgardentour.org.

Trinity toll road: Why should we care?

As the local election approaches, the most heatedly discussed topic is the Trinity toll road. But how much does the Trinity toll road issue impact the White Rock area?

The current version of the toll road plan has been a headline mainstay since the first public vote in 1998. In this Dallas City Council election, 17 years after the electorate first approved the concept, where does it sit in the collective minds of the voters of East Dallas’ District 9 and the candidates vying to represent them?

“When I have walked the neighborhoods of District 9, the people I have spoken to want to discuss White Rock Lake, streets, and police and crime,” says Christopher Jackson, candidate for District 9. Jackson says he is a supporter of the Balanced Vision Plan and aligns with Mayor Mike Rawlings’ support of the road. “Other things are on their mind,” he says of District 9 voters.

Mark Clayton, another candidate for the open seat in District 9, sees it differently. At the East Dallas Chamber of Commerce candidate forum in March, Clayton was clear: “The first thing I will do is kill this project.” Earlier that day at a different venue, Clayton called it “a litmus test” for this race and said: “Dallas should not be a truck stop for the entire region. Creating jobs and a larger tax base in the southern sector of Dallas will mean more money for parks and streets in our district.”

Sam Merten, another of five candidates for District 9, paints the issue similarly. “Although the Trinity toll road may have no direct impact on our district, it is an important issue for the neighborhoods — it’s a reflection of how a candidate feels about the city.” Merten acknowledge that “it’s rare when people say anything about it” when he is door-knocking, and it’s not nearly as important as streets or crime from his walks, but he believes that the toll road issue is a measure of the “old mentality of using concrete to solve our traffic problems.”

Another candidate for District 9, Darren Boruff, doesn’t believe it’s a neighborhood issue. To Boruff, the issues are “schools, green space and appropriate economic development.” Boruff note that when he is talking to voters, “it’s just not at the top of their mind, for the people I have spoken to. And when I walk, I am there mostly to listen.” Boruff also is on record as supporting the Balanced Vision Plan.

Rounding out the field for District 9 is Will Logg. His take is that “the toll road shouldn’t be an issue, but it apparently is as our tax dollars will pay to fund it. It is important for District 9 to get out and fight it.”

So back to the question: Is the Trinity toll road a neighborhood issue for East Dallas? As the races heat up, what initially is a street-and-parks-and-schools debate may well be shouted down by a proposed road that doesn’t come within 10 miles of our neighborhood.

Maybe Boruff summed it up as he paused before answering: “It’s complicated.” —Sam

Gilespie

Watch Us Grill The Candidates

This game-changing city council election has five men vying for East Dallas’ District 9 seat. But how would they actually govern? In a series of quick-hit videos, we’ve cornered the candidates with questions that go beneath the surface We test their knowledge of the neighborhood, gain insight into their personalities, and find out just what kind of leaders they are

DON’T MISS AN EPISODE.

9562 We get it.

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