Yard of the Month

uying a house built in 1955 may involve inheriting more than landscaping, as is the case for Spring Lake Hills residents Jeffrey Mills and fiancee Destiny Vancleef on Laurel Ridge at Mimosa Circle, Spring Lake Garden Club’s April Yard of the Month. Now two years into home ownership, the couple enjoy a variety of plants in the backyard (fenced to exclude deer) and neighbors appreciate bright yellow blossoms of Jerusalem sage bordering the front walk. Mills praises this low-maintenance landscape, developed by previous owners Alison Tudor and Lenora Newsom during their residence of half a dozen years. But another “legacy” of this property is the Little Free Library box sited in the rounded corner yard, built by Newsom (replacing an original installed by Tudor’s father) and enjoyed by the whole neighborhood. Mill’s careful repairs to the box link him with this ongoing tradition.

Like their predecessors, Mills and Vancleef value the natural beauty of the San Marcos area, reflected in their “inherited” home landscape. Alison Tudor, a graduate of Southwest Texas State (now Texas State University) in anthropology, became a master naturalist during her time in San Marcos. Before passing in November 2021, she also built a collection of historical records for Hays County, available on a Facebook page: “Historic Photographs of San Marcos & Hays Co.” Featuring the sustainable and thriving landscape on Laurel Ridge honors both its developers and its continuing stewards.

A Monterey oak and burr oak near the house, planted by the previous owners, joined existing trees near the street years ago, along with popular crape myrtle and anaquas elsewhere in the yard. Sago palms, still showing signs of winter chill, stand out near the entry and in a curbside bed by the mailbox. This plant is not a true palm but a cycad, producing cones similar to conifers and fronds like ferns. According to records at Mount Vernon, George Washington received two sago palms in March 1795 from the Jamaica Botanic Garden, but they were undoubtedly sourced from Japan and China, where this ancient plant has grown for centuries.

Another “alias” plant, flanking the front walk, is Jerusalem sage, which is not a true sage but a member of the mint family, both deer resistant and well adapted for Texas landscapes with full sun. Described as an herbaceous perennial, Jerusalem sage is native to the mountains of Syria and Turkey. The plant’s spherical seed heads on tall stalks provide a decorative element to gardens once the flowers are gone. A third “alias” plant is Texas sage or cenizo, which is also not a true sage but an evergreen shrub in the figwort family. Native to Texas and northern Mexico, cenizo is a sustainable landscaper’s dream: Cold hardy, deer resistant, and drought tolerant. Moreover, cenizo may be covered in blossoms after a good rain, which earned it the moniker “purple sage.”

Even as Mills and Vancleef add to or amend their landscape beyond garden art and plantings from former owners, they continue a heritage of nurturing a landscape that thrives in the complex environment of central Texas, with minimal care and water but with great rewards.