The front yard of Linda Cumer's Emsworth home features a brick patio that changes seasonally. In the summer, it is highlighted by a large fountain, pictured above. Photo by Tom Steiner for The Citizen

Most realtors rank curb appeal near the top of the list of features needed to sell a house. Zero curb appeal -- nearly zero chances of selling the property.

Linda Cumer and husband Bill became exceptions to that rule when they purchased their Emsworth home two years ago.

“The house was nice. The yard was terrible. But I knew I could do the yard,” Linda said.

After moving in, the Cumers didn’t start doing any outside work until last spring.

“We spent all of our time working inside, painting and putting the house in order.”

But even though actual work was not being done, the ideas were forming in Linda’s imagination.

“I knew I didn’t want grass in the front yard. That’s all that was there when we moved in. I started looking around the local garden centers and one of them put me in touch with a young lady who helped me to select plants that would do well there. And then I started reading books on perennials so that I would be able to care for them.”

From sidewalk to porch, an approximately 20-foot space runs the width of the house. Linda has arranged that space in areas: red brick work between the street and sidewalk; a mound of grasses that leads to a low fence that borders the main section of the yard, another brick walkway set parallel to the house; and finally, a narrow planting area that runs the length of the porch.

The eye is drawn to a prominent feature of the yard, a column-like fountain at the center of a bricked circular area that accommodates Linda’s penchant for seasonal creativity.

“I like to decorate, so I’ll put a Halloween tree out there in a few months, and then a Christmas tree. Spring through fall, it will be back to the fountain.”

Prominent in the gardens surrounding the fountain are potentilla, a shrub-like flower; salvia, boxwoods and happy-return day lilies, which have a longer blooming season than other lilies. Purple coneflowers, Shasta daisies and Black-Eyed Susan add color and varieties of heights.

Some of the plants are organized almost English garden style -- boxwoods at each corner, day lilies, salvia planted in rows -- while others, such as the coneflowers and the daisies, are planted in somewhat random formations.

In the strip bordering the porch, Linda has planted hydrangea and dwarf lilacs, which have not yet taken off.

“I planted some coleus among them to fill in for now. But I wanted mostly perennials. I didn’t want the fuss with annuals each year.”

A local arborist pruning a nearly 50-foot tall tree, which previous to the garden, had been the only vegetation in the front yard, identified it as being a redwood.

“He said that it’s a very rare find in this region.”

Adding to the feel of its California origins, Linda planted a dozen or so hay-scented ferns at the base of the tree, along with a few rose bushes that she identified as “knockout roses,” a species that can bloom up to six months a year in this climate, is resistant to disease, and requires very little maintenance. A statue of St. Francis, a housewarming gift from Linda’s sister, keeps watch over this section of the garden,

But it was not just the planting that has given the garden its character. It also was the laying of hundreds of bricks between street and sidewalk and forming herringbone-like borders to planting areas.

“We found a newspaper ad for old bricks. We liked the weathered look, since it added a kind of charm,” Linda said. “We checked on the internet to learn how to place the bricks, and then we dug out the areas, leveled them with sand and laid the bricks out. We wanted to keep it simple.”

Now that the front is basically finished, Linda has turned her attention to the back.

“I like little corners, little areas. They make a garden interesting. And I’m thinking of some kind of a water feature. I plan to lay brick paths all through the back yard, too.”

At season’s end, Linda intends to keep the grasses as well as some of the plants that go to seed over the winter, not cutting back until March.

“They can look nice when snow-covered, and the birds sometimes find food there.”

Between the planting and the bricking and the planning, there is also the tending. But that chore can provide garden enthusiasts with some of their most enjoyable moments.

“Everyone in my family enjoys gardening. So far, I’ve kept this close to being maintenance-free, but often I start weeding and dead-heading at 5:30 or 6 in the morning. I just enjoy being out here,” Linda said.