Ricardo and Teresita Silva
10135 Bishop Lake Road

A Deer and Frost-Resistant Home

Ricardo and Teresita Silva moved to Michigan from Puerto Rico when Ricardo attended medical training there. In 1999, Dr. Silva received a fellowship in endocrinology at UF Health downtown, so they purchased a lot and built their home in Deercreek. Their daughters, Monica and Adriana, attended St. Johns Country Day School. Their girls relocated to South Florida after finishing their education and Monica recently married in Miami.

Teresita, a keen gardener, filled their property with lovely blooms and variegated plants–until she met the deer. Their home sits in the middle of the large natural area at the 17th tee. When they moved in, tons of deer lived in the nearby woods and roamed in their yard. Teresita swears they invaded her beautiful yard nightly and gobbled it all up—so she replanted with boxwood, viburnum and the like.

When asked about their favorites, both she and Ricardo chose their orchids, which hang in the large shrub by the sidewalk. Neighbors enjoy the lovely blooms from mid-March to the summer. These are the only plants that are taken inside when the danger of frost occurs. All other plants are never covered or moved.

Their second favorites are the two topiaries (ornamental plants, clipped into a decorative shape) that flank the garage doors. These evergreen yews are shaped into two large round balls with stems visible between the two balls. Most evergreens are not bothered by frost or deer. This writer favors the topiary as the best. Orchids are easily replaced. Teresita has maintained the topiaries perfectly, trimming them when ‘shaggy’, for 25 years. Even Disney can’t top that!