March 30 , 2022
Romancing Shade, Even in Winter
We know that gardens are always changing , so I count that the legacy live oak trees are all that ’s left from the original landscape painting when this Tudor - fashion house was built in 1938 . Tucked into a central Austin neighborhood , its storybook fibre romance our sojourn in December , an overcast morning just days before Christmas . Since 2003 , landscape architect Kim Beal has responded to every issue under the Lord’s Day , drought , gully washer , and hard halt . Founder ofRain Lily Designwith married woman Stephanie Scherzer , they ’ve now handed the reins over to foresighted - term employee , Meredith Gresham . When I visited onThe Garden Conservancy Open Days tourin crepuscule 2019 , deeper shade dominated the view , even on a cheery morning . Of naturally , the scarlet oak in front had n’t yet shed its parting . Then , the great halt of February 2021 severely damaged the red oak and Mediterranean rooter palms . The garden ’s formal lines , courtesy of Turkish boxwood , native sabal palms , and street - side Burford holly hedge , maintained their evergreen structure and easy adjust to the lighting alteration . Along the way , Kim made her own change as the garden grew . One was to move a cherry laurel hedgerow away from the path that it was push , replace it with evergreen bay laurel that sail through the freeze . Kim chose pea crushed rock for the paths , since it allows rainwater percolation to the soil , and its round stones are comfy for scanty understructure . It ’s also a relatively inexpensive means to make route that do n’t necessitate to be replenished ( like decompose granite ) and are far less prostrate to weeds . “ It has a very Old World kind of European look , which I think really works well with the Tudor house , ” she say . To squeeze the entrance walkway , an allee of ‘ Will Fleming ’ yaupon hollies joins legacy gem pillars cap with colorful smooth stones . “As this garden grow shadier and shady , we really had to think of how do we keep the garden beautiful and interesting without a lot of boastful , colorful flowers ? And so , we focused a lot on textures , ” Kim say . Oakleaf hydrangea go the crepuscule “ folio peek ” with ruby and orangeness hues spilling over its Turkish boxwood hedge . Here , it joins blurred Ming fern . Earlier , American beautyberry — hibernating on our visit — rule the central maculation with long clump of purple berry snap up by bird . In former outpouring , strappy Johnson ’s amaryllis shoot up dazzling crimson trumpets . ( In other spring , lavender native spiderworts company this spot.)Formal business line meet Austin casual as Kim pairs hollies with duranta , salvias , spider lily , and plumosa ( asparagus ) fern . They all weathered the severe cold like champs . One cause behind their resilience is that Rain Lily compost and mulch at least annually .
In a cove alongside their neighbour , the family once grow vegetables until it get too suspect . So , Kim framed it as an intimate front yard model area . Here ’s the view in 2019.The freezing modify its dynamics . Kim ’s added minute ‘ Scarlet ’s Peak ’ yaupon hollies as a screen door at the back . The endocarp - embedded defining wall indicate that this was always a defined area of some kind . Although the common fig tree are little , they still graciously compose the cove ’s entree . Another view from 2019 illustrates a young genus Ligularia against boxwood and flowering persicaria . Kim ’s add more genus Ligularia for their standout lily pad - corresponding foliage and striking fall efflorescence . A relocated lemongrass joins purple - bloomingSalvia guaraniticaand lamb ’s ears . One must - have beauty for dry shade that I ’m definitely adding : aboriginal bush first light glory ( Ipomoea leptophylla ) . Kim assured us that it made it through freezes . Plus , butterfly and moths love those tube-shaped flowers in soft pink or livid . Brugmansia , also known as Angel Falls ’s horn , also navigate through various frost . In 2019 , aboriginal fragrant ( drop ) aster appeared to be new add-on . Last December , they ’d already flowered robustly , evident by 100 of source heads on these cloud of native , drought knotty perennial for part shade to sun . Make a unexpended twist at the cove to head toward the backyard side garden , where a fire pit ’s hosted many a natal day celebration . It had never been landscaped and its side was gradually eroding . Rain Lily create gentle stone stairs on their pea crushed rock walkway , sourcing old moss - cover stones to conflate in with the historical stonework . On the upper landing place , purple oxalis , generous persicaria , sabal palm , and firespike frame the course with foliar dimension in height , vividness , and grain . All made it through the great freezing , though cold - stamp firespike ( Odontonema cuspidatum ) may ask to be replaced . Firespike ’s a delightful textural counterpoint to aboriginal sabal palm . Seasonal flowers are a bonus!Along the fire pit patio ’s way , Kim reprise some of the same mintage for continuity with the upper garden . She also added new unity , like shrubby ‘ Cajun Fire ’ ruellia . I ’m pitiful that we missed its fiery blooms!When the homeowners built a pocket billiards , they wanted it to look like it had always been there . They palisade it with a Isidor Feinstein Stone wall that flux with the house , softened by fragrant sweet olives ( great shrubs or humble trees).The rampart ’s stone arch entry features oakleaf hydrangea , persicaria , ming fern , genus Tradescantia , and easygoing folio yuccas . The fig ivy creeping up the archway is still recovering from the halt . I like it better that way , since the stone is so lovely!Inside , chartreuse ‘ Everillo ’ sedge drink down against trail purple heart ( Tradescantia pallida‘Purpurea ’ ) . Sweet olives aromatize our saunter even in December . Kim go for bold along to sweep up the walls for a tropical style with rice paper industrial plant and windmill medallion . She tucked in aboriginal sabal palms and red - blooming turk ’s cap for the hummingbird . ‘Fruit Salad ’ half-pint plant tonic in celebration . Kim admits that although subtlety gardens come with challenges , they ’re such a bonus in Texas heat . “ Our biggest weather foe is the warmth . And so , if we ca n’t make spaces that are cool and inviting , then we ’re not plump to go outdoors . ”Watch Kim ’s account now !
Thanks for stopping by!Linda
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