Yard of the Month

Old-fashioned native plants decorate the front garden of one of San Marcos’ historic houses on Burleson Street, home of local artist Johanna Kohlleppel Hansen, and Spring Lake Garden Club’s Yard of the Month for October. Brilliant yellow blooms of esperanza mingle with deep purple spiderwort and pale blue plumbago blossoms in this hillside yard between Blanco and Moore Street in the Lindsey-Rogers historic district.

Built in 1908, the house was first a home for Rev. W. J. Joyce, a clergy circuit rider who served at First Methodist Church in San Marcos, and was buried in the San Marcos City Cemetery after his death in 1918. Fast forward to 1972, when Johanna Hansen and her husband, newly retired from a career in the Air Force, purchased the house and settled in as permanent residents. Previous owners retained part of an extensive porch at the historic home, but after years as a rental property, the house needed major rehabilitation. The Hansens completed repairs and also added stone walls and new front steps to the front entry.

Having raised six children during her husband’s military service, Johanna Hansen was ready to develop her own talents after moving to San Marcos, and soon earned a degree in design plus a teaching certificate at Texas State University. As a homeowner and active artist, she decided to downsize the carpet grass in the front yard — thus saving water and maintenance — and focus on hardy but handsome native plants. She added red salvia to the flowering esperanza and plumbago, and encouraged purple irises (from her mother’s garden in Seguin) to fill the edges of planting beds. Small scale leaves and flowers of white crepe myrtles echo the delicate architectural trim of the front porch.

Looking to the future while honoring the past seems to be part of this homeowner’s heritage. The house has been part of San Marcos Heritage home tours, in 1994 and 2006 (with the theme “Marrying The Past to the Present”), and Johanna Hansen is still focused on innovation. When a crepe myrtle tree on one side of the front yard had to be removed to replace a failed plumbing line, Johanna seized the opportunity for change in her landscape. She “solarized’ the bare construction area with black plastic so invasive grasses are eliminated and new plants can be introduced. More recently, she added sturdy but sleek metal handrails to the front steps to provide more stability for visitors. Finished in the same red accent color used on the house exterior, the metalwork was designed and installed by Justin Tarbell of 5J Custom Welding and Design in Wimberley.

Additional new railing at the back of the house promotes safe passage down steps to a small artists’ studio, surrounded by potted plants in raised beds separated by red brick walkways. Unlike the sunny front garden, this backyard area includes plants more accustomed to partial shade, but still requiring little maintenance. Using both gardening and design skills, Johanna Hansen partners plants with their environment to maximize enjoyment of a home landscape while reducing efforts required to sustain it.