No one was more surprised than the owner of Old Friends in Historic Downtown Mabank when the local Garden Club recently honored his antique store's front porch as the Yard of the Month. "When the woman from the Garden Club came in wagging the sign I thought, What in the world?" said Bill Boyd, who sells antiques, art and other gifts. "Isn't that funny? My cement front porch got Yard of the Month." The award "totally amazed and delighted" him, said Mr. Boyd, who often sits on the store's front porch on Market Street with his corpulent yellow cat Dexter. "I go out there quite a bit and sit," said Mr. Boyd, who opened the store three years ago. "Now, I wave to people and point to my sign." The choice of a front porch to be Yard of the Month might seem a little unorthodox, but Mr. Boyd's flower garden was the prettiest in town, said Jane Odom, the member of the Mabank Garden Club who scouted the town's yards looking for the best one. "I drove around Mabank looking at all of the yards, and there weren't too many pretty ones because of the drought," Mrs. Odom said. "I drove by his storefront two or three times, and I kept thinking that it was the prettiest one in town." Mrs. Odom said she asked Garden Club officers about the appropriateness of naming a store front porch as Yard of the Month and was told to use her own judgment. "They said I could give it to anybody I wanted so I gave it to him," said Mrs. Odom, who noted the award was given to a church once. A group of children who attend home school at Dancing Connection, a dance school next door to his store, helped him during their recess to keep the flowers and other plants watered, said Mr. Boyd, 82, whose mobility is limited because he must use an oxygen tank every day. Mr. Boyd said he has always loved to grow pretty flowers, and the children helped make it possible this year. City officials told him it would be OK to water the flowers with a container, even though Mabank and the rest of Cedar Creek Lake's towns are suffering from the drought and rationing water, he said. "The mayor said if it caused a stir just to let him know," Mr. Boyd said. Mr. Boyd said a woman visiting from Dallas and another woman who was a member of the Keep Texas Beautiful Committee came into the store to praise his flower garden after they noticed it while visiting Downtown Mabank. "They both told me how pleased they were to see someone in a little town who was so interested in appearances," Mr. Boyd said. As a result of Mr. Boyd's flower planting and suggestions to other Market Street proprietors that they follow suit, there are several front porches showing off living plants. "I just enjoy something living," Mr. Boyd said. "I love all of the old stuff inside, but I love watching flowers grow. I love the color. It changes daily if you watch it." In the spring Mr. Boyd grows herbs along with his front porch flower garden. Visitors are welcome to take sprigs of mint, oregano, basil and other herbs with them. "I think flowers and greenery make a street come alive," Mr. Boyd said. "I think they make Downtown Mabank inviting." Mr. Boyd said he loves people coming to his store to browse and chat, and the flowers help make it a more pleasurable experience for him and visitors. Dexter the cat is also the talk of the town because of his size and friendliness. The store address is: 119 E. Market St., 903-887-6333. E-mail: [email protected]