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Yard of the Month

Newly renovated Bailey house and yard on Brown Street combines old and new landscaping.

Yard of the Month

New curved walkway leads to front entrance, flanked with yellow lantana and potted petunias. Photos by Sharon Lockett

Yard of the Month

Barrels of ceanothus mark brick walkway to back yard beside newly planted red yucca and decorative grass.

Yard of the Month

Natural stones edge “island beds” of native plants and focus attention on natural diversity. Photos by Sharon Lockett

Yard of the Month

Bailey house features low-maintenance landscaping for high curb appeal
Sunday, September 5, 2021

In Central Texas, a lowmaintenance landscape often includes only trees and grass, plus a few evergreen “foundation plants.” But adding just a few adapted plantings to the mix can turn an uninspired front yard into a garden of interest. This transformation happened at a newly-renovated house on Brown Street (corner of Clara Street), now owned by Buddy and Cindy Bailey. They purchased a San Marcos house, built in 1970, from the son of its original owner Dr. Richard Henderson, for years a beloved professor at Texas State University. The yard is partially shaded by numerous oak trees, and ground cover is a mix of grass and native horse herb.

The Baileys are Houston residents but visit frequently with family in San Marcos, and they especially wanted an outdoor area for grandchildren’s play and guests’ entertainment. Once interior updates were complete, they turned to Dan Sauerwein of Cypress Creek Outdoor Services to help revive their property with low-maintenance landscaping. Like most landscape projects, outdoor renovation started with hardscape: A low limestone wall (matching the stone on the house) defining the space outside the garage door and front entry as a courtyard and screens that end of the asphalt driveway from the street.

The original driveway entrance from the street remains, marked by two large crepe myrtles which were already part of the landscape. Paved parking and turnaround space are provided where the drive turns into the courtyard, marked with new plantings of red yucca and large decorative grass (“Adagio”). Two wooden barrels of ceanothus flank an original brick walkway from the drive to the back yard.

The new front courtyard wall opens midway for a walkway constructed of charcoal gray crushed rock enclosed with sturdy metal edging, curving gracefully toward the street and mailbox. As a permeable surface, the walkway allows rainwater to flow into the ground, with no drainage issues. The low wall offers a perfect backdrop for deer-resistant natives and naturalized plantings providing foliage and color throughout the year. A bold yellow lantana next to the walk is in full flower, and dwarf yaupon hollies line the remaining length of the wall, with a taller viburnum marking the end of the courtyard drive area.

Inside the front courtyard, reliable cast iron plant lines the house foundation, with some new plants added to those original to the house. Large ceramic pots near the door are home to white-flowered periwinkles, which are also planted in a window box to the left of the entry. Against the inside of the low wall is a line of muhly grasses, softening the intersection of stone and asphalt. Placing these new plantings near one another allows for easier watering until they settle in, but most of the plants chosen will not require extensive watering once established.

The entire front yard is seen not as a lawn but as a natural meadow, with horizontal lines of rock placed at intervals down the slope to the corner to slow rainwater runoff. Near the mailbox is a well-established bed of granjeno or spiny hackberry, whose berries provide food for wildlife, with red sage at its base. Other native shrubs, including mountain laurel, fill the corner of the property, providing additional privacy from street traffic. Trimming up lower limbs of these natives can offer a more “formal” look as well as allowing space for smaller plants underneath with partial protection from summer sun. One of these “island” beds near the corner is home to the spiky leaves of irises which appear to be right at home with Texas natives.

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666