Approaching 100 years, the craftsman bungalow chosen as April’s Yard of the Month by Spring Lake Garden Club is a handsome example of popular residential architecture and landscaping in the 1920s and 1930s in urban areas of the United States. This house got a new lease on life 2 years ago when new owners renovated both interior and exterior. Now home for Skyler Sadler, whose parents spent a year on the project, the house at the corner of Hopkins and Endicott Streets has seen San Marcos grow and change but continues to honor the city’s architectural heritage.
Sadler handles plant maintenance herself and says she enjoys the landscape already in place, explaining “I do more upkeep than anything.” A next-door neighbor found records of a landscape update on the property from 1998, and several additions then are now mature specimens. Dominating the front yard, a large Monterrey Oak offers ample shade and, along with a low hedge of Chinese holly, provides privacy for the large front porch typical of craftsman homes. In that era, the front yard was considered a public space and landscaped accordingly, and residents could sit on the spacious front porch and admire the outdoor scenery. In this case, the front porch becomes a shady outdoor living room, perfect for socializing and studying.
