Evolving landscape addresses constant challenges of central Texas
Spring Lake Garden Club’s October yard of the month outlines a transition from aging trees and a lawn of St. Augustine grass to a new landscape of drought-tolerant native plants and trees. Ben and Cori Schwartz settled on West Mimosa Circle in 2007 and began learning how Texas’ environment differs from where they grew up in Virginia and upstate New York, respectively. Their house, built in the early 1960s, was surrounded by several old shade trees, two magnolias and a lawn dependent on frequent watering in a time of increasing drought. This watering had encouraged especially shallow roots in crape myrtles and other yard shrubs, and the costly water bill was shocking. Reconsidering water use, along with the loss of large trees due to storm damage over the years, led to revising their view of an attractive-yet-sustainable front yard. Cori sums up challenges to Texas landscaping as “deer, drought, freeze and heat” and explains, “We decided to water trees, not grass.”
After removing damaged trees, Ben and Cori welcomed advice from Vincent Debrock of Heritage Tree care about resharon placements. They added three new elms and several hardy smaller-scale but drought-tolerant trees, including an arroyo sweetwood near the front walk, a golden ball lead tree near the driveway entrance and replacement crape myrtles in the mid yard. A mature anaqua (sandpaper leaf ) tree previously shaded by a felled elm now has room to grow at one corner of the house. Adding to the mix are numerous volunteer mountain laurels around the yard. Still, both younger trees and a large bed of pride of Barbados are surrounded by wire cages for protection from neighborhood deer, which bed down on the Schwartz property each night.
