Pages

Sunday, November 3, 2013

San Antonio Watersaver Landscape Tour: Garden on Sun Oak

Each October the San Antonio Watersaver Landscape Tour showcases yards which have reduced the footprint of water-guzzling turf grass.  Some gardens stand out more than others, usually reflecting the distinct personality of the gardener.  I'll feature one garden which is definitely full of personality.

This colorful, cheerful garden  is on a corner lot and these steps ascend from the side street.  The gardens were listed by address and this one is aptly named by its Sun Oak location.  Plenty of sunny perennials lead the way up to the live oak shaded front yard.  The mostly blue and yellow garden matches the house trim colors.



Creative touches imbedded in the concrete steps.  Bienvenido!



...My Garden.  Hola! the garden greets you with a request to smile.  Who wouldn't smile seeing this cheerful welcome


Talavera tiles created especially for the Texas market.

  

It's a daily fiesta in this garden


More of that matching blue and yellow, a beautiful combination.




The homeowner found these discarded bricks already cut into triangles and used them for edging


View to the street


Mosaics around the well in the center of the yard.




Painted concrete pavers match the house.  Homeowner Pilar has been working on her garden for twenty years.


Of course there's a Texas stepping stone!

 
The dry garden along the driveway






 


Cute!


Around back is a cool and shady retreat






A large screened porch has been added to the back of the house



Only a small lawn here


Along the side more vignettes like this birdhouse on the corner.


The street view of the border


Details of found objects in the gardens




Agave Americana on the corner.  I didn't see the curled leaves until I looked at the photos, but it looks intentional for the safety of passers-by.



I noticed one visitor with a bouquet of succulents.  Pilar had broken them off and handed them to her when she asked about the plants in her garden. 


A true gardener's welcome.  Low water landscapes can be a lot of fun.  What would you have thought if this yard were a typical turf grass lawn?  Exactly.

18 comments:

  1. What a fun and colorful garden, full of personality and whimsical touches. Pilar must be a very interesting and kind person!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Her warm and welcoming personality really shines through in her garden.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. It was fun and visitors were definitely enjoying it.

      Delete
    2. What a happy garden! No doubt this is the one you said I'd enjoy seeing. I love her steps and mosaic touches. I see she's using papaya foliage to good advantage as I learned to do when it volunteered due to in place composting. I'd love to meet this gardener.

      Delete
    3. Yes, you would have enjoyed this one. It's not always easy to tell from the descriptions just what we'll find.

      Delete
  3. So those agave curls, can you tell how they were done? Did she stick the terminal spike into the fleshy part of the leaves? Creative solution and at least from your photo it doesn't look to have harmed the plant (scaring).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't tell how this was done since I didn't notice until later. I'll ask around and if I find out I'll let you know.

      Delete
  4. Any garden that eschews that awful turf grass is a garden I love. And this one also is just plain beautiful. How fine.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The generosity of gardeners never ceases to amaze me. It makes sense, because our gardens bring us so much joy and abundance that there is always plenty left over to share.

    ReplyDelete
  6. such a colorful and fun garden - you can tell she has been gardening there for so long.....there is so much love ....art.....time spent in that garden that shines through.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a cheerful and beautiful garden! I loved that blue ball on the plinth, think I will nick that idea! And I agree, visitors should always leave with cuttings from the garden, my visitors do if I can persuade them to :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think a shiny globe would be perfect in your small city garden.

      Delete
  8. Now that is a garden full of cheer and personality. It must make her happy every time she steps into it. Those curled-in agave leaves are unusual, and it does seem as if the agaves are trying to keep their terminal spines from poking anyone! Thanks for sharing this garden, Shirley. I look forward to seeing more from the tour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The most personal gardens always seem to be the favorites on tour.

      Delete
  9. What a fun garden! Thanks for the tour, since I couldn't make it. Will try for next year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll post a reminder and maybe even a preview next year.

      Delete

Thank you for stopping by. To comment simply open the Name/URL option, put in your name or initials and skip the URL.