Few homeowners get to start at square one with seeing their house built on an empty lot and surrounding it with their choice of landscape, but Dick and Margo McClintock had that option 12 years ago as the Franklin Square neighborhood was developed. Their home on the corner of Meadow View and Hearthstone is Spring Lake Garden Club’s yard of the month for December.
The McClintocks moved to San Marcos from Dripping Springs, so they understood the challenges of climate in Central Texas and based their landscape planning on what grows successfully here. In addition to the two trees a builder is required to plant — both live oaks in this case — the McClintocks added two cedar elms, now showing fall’s brilliant yellow leaves, as well as two lace bark elms. A red bud on the corner by the street is accompanied by a variegated ligustrum and a mountain laurel. An anacacho orchid tree and desert willow also joined the collection. No wonder the lot is now an unusually shady and private retreat for a corner lot. In fact, the ample shade now proves a challenge for some plants such as dwarf crape myrtle and golden ball lead tree at the boundaries of the corner side yard, although a fig tree near the back fence is perfectly situated for enough sun to provide a plentiful supply of fruit in season.
