February’s Yard of the Month features Rio Vista riverside home

The San Marcos River dominates many of our city’s public recreation areas, but it also defines the boundary of some private backyards near the city’s core. Riverside homes on Riviera Street in the Rio Vista subdivision, just upriver from Rio Vista Falls, share this unique river access as their property slopes down to the river’s edge. February’s yard of the month, chosen by Spring Lake Garden Club, features the home of Beverly Pairett and Brian Archer, who have enjoyed their riverside property since 1999, just after the 1998 flood, and have weathered more recent floods as well.

On the street side of the house, two huge live oak trees provide a shady front yard near the house. As the oaks have been trimmed back from curbside power lines, more sun is available for lawn grass, but most of the yard hosts plants that prefer shaded areas. Normally considered a sun-loving plant, slim-leaf yucca grows well under the huge oaks, along with thicker aloes and wiry mondo grass. Although shade generally limits flowering plants, the contrast of leaf types and textures in this landscape provide plenty of “color” for the yard. Among the plantings introduced by the current owners are Mexican petunias (purple in bloom), honeysuckle and even a corn plant (Dracaena fragrans), a former house plant that now thrives outdoors. Beside the corn plant is an offshoot of a magnolia tree, original to the property, which has managed to find sufficient sunlight beside the oaks.

Near the entry alcove between the two wings of the house, a young century plant may grow slowly in the shade but offers a contrasting gray color to the dark green of other plants. Flanking the walkway to a bright blue front door are two large cast iron planter pots filled with brilliant red geraniums. Farther into the entry’s deep shade are leatherleaf ferns, split-leaf philodendrons and an iron plant. Probably the most prominent items of garden art in this landscape, the planter pots frame a dark metal figure of the god Neptune near the door, accompanied by wall-hung figures of a fish, a frog and a lizard. On the opposite side of the entry walk, a tall red metal bird cage now encloses a large potted plant at its base. Near the bird cage is a tall wire cage filled with oak leaves topped with a metal bug figure — at once a piece of garden art and a practical solution to handling oak leaves.

Thanks to the oak trees, plenty of leaves are available for mulch throughout the yard, and Beverly has devised a clever way to keep the volume of falling leaves under control and “age” the leaves for mulch. Raked leaves are put into wire cages at various spots in the yard to settle and decay before the cages are removed and contents distributed in the same area. Not quite composting but requiring minimal raking, these localized leaf collection cages blend into the mulch already covering the soil and are simple to maintain. Beverly notes than an armadillo, possibly enticed by the ample mulch, routinely shows up at night to dig for insects and worms in the yard. Other wildlife visitors include raccoons, squirrels and many birds, especially hawks and herons, who frequent the river’s edge in the back yard.

One favorite piece of garden art at the Archer and Pairett home is the mailbox support, an old farm plow saved from the Archer family farm in Maxwell. Other items are two pieces of an ornate metal gate and an old ship’s propeller leaning against the base of one oak tree by a sitting area. This area is defined by a black metal bench facing a “carpet” of colorful decorative tiles, which Beverly notes discourages mosquitoes from gathering. This outdoor “room” serves as a welcome spot to enjoy quiet relaxation, even in the middle of a bustling city.