Spring Lake Garden Club’s January yard of the month offers an unusual mix of formality and native plantings at the home of Martell and Bonita Teasley on Summit Ridge near the intersection of Stagecoach Trail. The circular drive in a large front yard encompasses oak trees set apart from the lawn in a rocklined mulched bed including native plants and large decorative pots.
The oaks provide welcome shade but are trimmed up to allow ample light to plants in the bed below. Bordering the house, Texas persimmons in a mulched bed are also trimmed up and shaped to match the home’s formal entrance, along with smaller shrubs and accent plants such as sago palms. A narrow strip of lawn divides this foundation bed from bedding areas along the driveway, and these “zones” add interest to the front landscape beyond the usual mix of simple grass and trees.
Although the Teasleys have lived here just over a year, their careful stewardship of a sustainable landscape is evident, and will continue in future amendments. Bonita Teasley explains their primary challenge has been “maintaining the property while ensuring landscaping is deer-friendly,” which means relying on native plants that have evolved to coexist with wildlife. Her description of this balance as “deer friendly” rather than “deer resistant” is a refreshing new viewpoint on landscaping in Central Texas. New sod added last spring had to be protected from deer browsing but thrived once established, and decorative grasses are not on the menu for deer.
A circular flagstone patio in the front yard has become an outdoor “room” since the Teasleys added a weather-resistant and decorative metal table and seating in the shade of the oaks. The view from this area is improved by Texas sage or cenizo encircling utility units near the street; purple sage blooms provide an attractive screen to bare metal boxes. Other views from the seating area or the entry include decorative grasses and native plants in a mulched bed near the house, and the spiky green leaves of agarita and prickly pear cactus growing in rock mulch beside the driveway.
Unlike retired homeowners who enjoy tending a yard, the Teasleys, both with extensive academic backgrounds, have limited time for landscaping efforts. Bonita Teasley serves as Director of Special Education for San Marcos CISD, and Martell is an active researcher and publisher in social science. Still, Bonita advises their future landscaping will include “wildlife-friendly and native plants” with the goal “to create an outdoor space that is sustainable, water-efficient, and true to the natural character of the property.”
Note: Spring Lake Garden Club meets the second Thursday of the month, September through May, at the Maurice T. Suttles VFW Post, 1701 Hunter Road, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Programs offer a variety of topics on gardening and plants. For information on meetings and membership, contact Mary Alice Debow at 757-879-2596.
