Scene on the street: Gardens of Southtown

While in the Southtown area of San Antonio for a stop on the Herb Society Garden Tour last week, we took a little time to walk the block to check out neighboring houses and front gardens.  Southtown is a neighborhood of artists studios, local restaurants, and contemporary shops which are revitalizing the area.  It's very close to the popular King William Historic District and is a less expensive option for those who choose to live in town or establish a new business.

Next door on the west side of the "Urban Chic" house shown on tour is this charming cottage with a beautiful coral vine blooming along the fence and a contemporary kinetic sculpture in the yard.

The San Antonio Herb Society Garden Tour: The "Wildscape" that wasn't

We had a great time on the San Antonio Herb Society Garden Tour last Saturday.  It was a tour of real gardens done by homeowners throughout our city and they, along with knowledgeable vounteers, were on hand to answer questions.  Many provided handouts describing the theme of their gardens complete with plant lists.  To see the first five gardens on the tour start here.

Although I prefer to show my city at its best, I must also call them as I see them.  We toured six gardens but this final one was not worthy of being on this tour.  Sorry to say that this one garden was a complete waste of time.

Garden Tour San Antonio Style: The Re-purposed Garden

This week I'm posting gardens from The San Antonio Herb Society Garden Tour. The fourth garden on our tour is the "Re-purposed" garden located in the suburbs west of town.

My friend Ragna accompanied me on the tour and we had fun visiting this colorful garden full of ideas for recycling and reusing found items.

Garden Tour San Antonio Style: Urban Chic in Southtown

The Herb Society of San Antonio held a garden tour this past Saturday and friend Ragna and I took the opportunity to check out some special gardens in our city.

"Urban Chic" is the third garden on our tour.  Located in the Southtown neighborhood of older homes near downtown currently undergoing revitalization, this house was built on an empty lot and completed in March 2010.

Garden Tour San Antonio Style: Texas Eclectic Garden

The second garden on The San Antonio Herb Society garden tour is the "Texas Eclectic Garden" located in a tree-filled older neighborhood northeast of downtown.  The brochure promised a bit of everything and we were not disappointed with lots of ideas to add to our garden.

A welcoming Texas-style porch and shady front garden greets visitors from the street.

Garden Tour San Antonio Style: Cactus Marty's Collection

This past weekend I attended the first annual San Antonio Herb Society Garden Tour along with my friend Ragna.  The tour showcased a wide range of neighborhoods and gardening styles with enthusiastic owners and volunteers ready to answer questions from visitors.  I'll share gardens from the tour throughout the week.  The first garden is a colorful cactus garden in northeast San Antonio. 

Marty Ruona is known as "Cactus Marty", so when we saw his garden would be on the tour, we could hardly wait to visit.  It was even better than anticipated because there's a lot more to his garden than cacti, succulents, and palms.

From the street the garden is beautifully designed and, despite the prickly plants, invites you in. 

Traffic cones in front of the house meant the full effect of the street view was not blocked by cars.  The manicured lawn is a lush counterpoint for the all his spiky plants.

The side yard is just as uniquely impressive

One of several carved opuntias on display

 The front walk

Colorful containers painted by Marty are featured throughout the garden.  These are along the driveway.

 

  The front yard from the side manicured lawn with a colorful tire planter, the best I've seen.

Marty was there to greet visitors and answer detailed questions.  Here he is with Ragna.

Turn up the volume on Waylon, Willie, and the boys.   We're headed around back to the party zone where tequila tastings are a regular event.

When he's not working on client's projects for his landscape design business, he's using reclaimed wood to build colorful garden furniture and plant displays.  The vintage turqouise Weber grill is one of a collection on display.  The house is painted with 13 different colors.

A shade house converts to a greenhouse in winter.  Marty purchases plant collections from those who can no longer keep them.

The back of the greenhouse is landscaped like a botanical garden

At the end of the trail is a place to sit while admiring an enormous beaucarnea and the rest of the collection.

Desert garden humor

Agave Viloriniana is impressive

Hanging basket Marty style

My thanks to Ragna for sharing her photos of some of the details of the shadehouse, including this miniature "Cactus Marty sign below.

The San Antonio Herb Society tour benefits culinary scholarships to St. Philip's College here in San Antonio.  The San Antonio Herb Society also holds is one of the sponsors of the popular San Antonio Herb Market event held each year by the Herb Market Association.  This year the market is on October 20th at The Pearl.

We visited six gardens on this tour and tomorrow I'll share the "Texas Eclectic" garden.