Fences (and a few gardens) along King William Street

Some streets are meant for walking and King William Street in the heart of the King William Historic District is just such a street.  In my last post I shared a corner garden anchored by a striking morning glory vine.  I mentioned that I kept on walking along the street to take a look  The house next door had a nice fountain full of plants but that was about it for gardens.

Since the gardens weren't all that fascinating I enjoyed checking out the fences and gates.

A good fence is a necessity with frequent walking tours, street festivals, and parades along King William Street.

Two homes on the street are open as museums--Villa Finale and The Steves Homestead.  I didn't take photos of either but you can find more on their websites.  King William was the first designated National Register historic district in the State of Texas.  

Scrolled ironwork fence with roses

These photos are not necessarily in order as I walked back and forth across the street to take closeups and long shots.

Once farmland for Mission San Antonio de Valero, known popularly as The Alamo, the neighborhood was first divided into lots in the 1860s.



Shrub roses add privacy to a large garden.



Not all roses, fuchsia Bougainvillea drapes a side street fence.

In the early 20th Century most of these homes were divided into apartments and boarding houses.  The neighborhood became quite rundown until the 1950s when restoration began returning these homes back into single-family residences.

If I remember correctly the porches were literally falling off this home just a few years ago.  Now freshly restored it awaits a garden (we hope).

Here's a garden to check out along the street.  No lawn with easy care plants in a very casual streetside planting for such a formal style house.  Their little wire fence is not so sturdy as most.

Topiary on the porch adds a touch of formality.

Nice, except for the clouds of invasive Nandina and red mulch.

Oh well, we can always take the long view.  It's a beautifully done restoration.



That concludes my walking tour of King William Street.  If you are visiting San Antonio and looking for a break from the River Walk, it's an easy walk from town.

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Pam Penick is set to speak tomorrow at Festival of Flowers at 10:45 am.  Her talk is "Hold the Hose", a presentation on saving water in our gardens.  After the talk Pam will have her latest book  The Water-Saving Garden and her first book Lawn Gone! available for purchase and signing.  Vendors from all over our region will be there so you get a lot of access for the low admission price of $6.00.  Look for me attending Pam's talk, volunteering at the SAWS butterfly garden display, shopping for plants on the vendor floor, and/or taking part in the City-Wide Plant Swap!

Morning, Glory

After visiting Chris Park I headed into town by way of the King William Historic District with no plans to stop...until I spotted a bright morning glory vine in full bloom on a corner fence.  I haven't seen many morning glories around San Antonio.

Two-hour free parking is easy to find during weekdays and guided walking tours are common so my taking photos attracts little if any attention in the neighborhood.

A few moments observing a busy solitary bee at work.

Intense color with blooms beginning to close as the sun arrived.

I'm inspired enough to try planting a few seeds on the east side of my garden next year.

What about the rest of the garden?  I knew you would ask so I took more photos.  Casual and fun with great plants were my impressions.  South of downtown and near the river provides an ideal growing environment for a garden.



Purple echoes morning glory colors.

"Tin Man" next to Strelitzia and I'm pretty sure that's a floor lamp way back in the patio area.

Papaya ripening on the tree.

The house looks like a small cottage from the front.  The front walk features a nice gate and a bit of lawn edged with tufts of flowers.  I'd enjoy visiting this garden if it were on tour.

Picking up the color theme is a curbside planting of Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) in combination with one of our native tradescantia or spiderwort.  It's interesting to see this happens in gardens other than mine.  The purple heart plant is native to Mexico and usually planted intentionally while the latter (green leaves with blue flowers) just seems to show up wherever the purple is planted.

Intrigued, I continued walking and I'll have more photos in my next post.

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Pam Penick is set to speak at Festival of Flowers on Saturday, May 28th at 10:30 am.  She'll present "Hold the Hose", a presentation on saving water in our gardens.  After the talk Pam will have her latest book  The Water-Saving Garden and her first book Lawn Gone! available for purchase and signing.  Vendors from all over our region will be there so you get a lot of access for the low admission price of $6.00.  Look for me attending Pam's talk, volunteering at the SAWS butterfly garden display, shopping for plants on the vendor floor, and/or taking part in the City-Wide Plant Swap!