The Rowes by any other name would still have green thumbs.

Mary and Harold Rowe work hard to keep their yard at 505 Red Oak Drive looking lush and lovely.

That’s why Ward 6 Alderwoman Shelley Harrigill chose the couple as the first recipients of her Yard of the Month recognition program.

The Brookhaven attorney met Mary Rowe last fall while she was campaigning for public office. She was enamored by how beautiful her yard was then.

“It was pretty even when it wasn’t growing season,” Harrigill said.

She decided that if she was elected, she wanted to spotlight homeowners in her ward “who are taking pride in their yards,” she said.

She hopes that through the recognition program, others will want to see their yards in the spotlight.

“Once your neighbor does it, then you’re inspired to do it,” Harrigill said.

Her plan is to spot yards worthy of recognition during her drives through the ward, but she also wants others to nominate yards they feel should be showcased.

Harrigill is looking for yards that are kept neat and inspire others to want to try their hand at recreating the design and color scheme.

Yards can be simple but well maintained or ornately designed with pruned, trimmed and shaped foliage, edged and defined lawns, borders and flower beds and an appealing facade.

In the holiday months, Harrigill will also be looking for appropriately decorated yards.

Nominations can be made by calling Harrigill at Brookhaven Law at 601-833-2711 or by leaving her a message on Facebook.

She said the beautification contest might also encourage neighbors to pay more attention to the people’s yards on their own streets as well as neighboring streets.

“We get in our own little world and don’t look around enough,” she said. “I just want people to be inspired by each other.”

By placing a Yard of the Month sign in a yard, she hopes to reward Ward 6 residents for their hard work in beautifying the city.

“We want people to notice that people are noticing their yards,” she said. “It’s fun to see other people’s yard work. Some people really go all out.”

That could definitely be said for the Rowes.

With neatly trimmed beds bordering their brick house, and splashes of color among the shrubs in various shades of green, the front of the Rowes’ home is picture perfect.

A pair of hanging ferns is the perfect decoration to welcome friends to their front door.

The lush green lawn also includes a huge flowering magnolia tree that towers over their home.

The Rowes have lived on Red Oak Drive for 18 years. Mary Rowe’s grandmother loved ferns so the homeowner has several that she babies to keep them full and green.

“I love my ferns but I like a little color here and there,” Mary Rowe said.

She keeps periwinkles in pink and white because they provide those pops of color she favors and come back each year.