O
n a corner in south Alpine a
cottage garden is being creat-
ed that proves it can be done
and done very well in West Texas. The
owner loves plants, and that is evident in
the diversity in his garden. Part of the
gardening adventure for him is
“expanding his knowledge of plant
material.” He loves gardening which is
evident in the selection of plants that
he’s chosen to create his work-in-
progress. An architect by profession and
an accomplished painter, he has created
gardens in each of the many places he
has lived around Texas over the years.
These loves and talents are evident in
the rejuvenation of the old adobe home
on the property, the beautiful furnishings
and the way the home and garden com-
plement each other.
As with most gardens, the design and
choice of plants is very individual and
reflects the tastes and interests of the
gardener. There is a vision for the big
picture and an organized layout. The
overall structure is provided by a num-
ber of large trees, some of which, like
the peach tree that anchors the north-
west corner of the house and the aspen
on the northeast corner, are holdovers
from the previous owner. On advice
from a local landscape architect,
Mexican elders, Lacy oaks, red oaks and
a Texas mountain laurel were chosen to
punctuate the space between the house
and the rather spacious yard.
The property is bounded on the south
and east by tall Afghan pines, on the
west by a high adobe wall and on the
north by a wooden fence. This arrange-
ment contributes to the success of the
garden by providing a buffer from the
relentless wind and ruthless sun that can
dry up a West Texas garden in no time.
The organization is realized through
a series of rectangular beds that frame
the house on three sides with a broad
walkway between the beds next to the
west-facing covered porch and several
additional rectangular raised beds to the
west and southwest of the house that
form a low terrace. On the north side,
the path to the front door is a rather
more cozy-looking flagstone. Within this
rather formal basic structure, the plants,
especially in the beds up next to the
house, are soft, colorful and overflowing.
Some plants, like the native Blackfoot
daisies originally planted in the raised
beds, have been allowed to “travel” out-
side the confines of the beds. In other
places, natives like globe mallow have
showed up on their own and been
allowed to stay.
There is a relaxed yet dynamic,
almost wild, quality to the garden that
4
FOR THE LOVE OF
GARDENING
By Patty Manning
Photo by Mike Schroeder
Low plants travel over the edge of the raised bed. The riot of color and texture in the bed contrasts with the calm gravel pathway.
indicates the kind of gardener who sim-
ply loves to garden. This gardener
enjoys trying out new plants or moving
existing plants to new places in the gar-
den. He orders many of these plants
and gets some suggestions from a local
nursery whose owner is a kindred spirit
in the quest for and subsequent appreci-
ation of new plants.
In order to “create a garden that stays
pretty as long as possible,” the beds on
the west side of the house are crammed
with a wonderful combination of
species, both native and non-native.
Various types of roses with successive
bloom times twine in and out and
around. Tall light blue hyssop, Mexican
bush sage, blue knight buddleia and
feathery Russian sage contrast beautiful-
ly with large, dark green rosemary in the
background. These greens and blues
provide a backdrop for lively red pinks
and yellows of various species of penste-
mon, golden yarrow, agastache, dami-
anita and low growing perennials like
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2010
Atlas daisy and cultivars of oregano and
thyme. Many of these plants also have
lovely fragrances, which waft across the
porch. He’s done an excellent job of
stacking the plants from tall to short so
that the plants can be seen and in gener-
al don’t shade each other out.
Along the flagstone path on the north
side more colorful perennials lead up to
the front door. Under the peach tree
there is Mexican feather grass with red
flowered Darcy sage, fall flowering
sedum and a striking pink flowered pen-
stemon. On the side next to the wooden
fence are more Russian sage, valerian
and an incredible hybrid gaillardia
called “oranges and lemons.” Under the
pre-existing aspen the old fashioned
non-native perennial bouncing bet is
planted.
On the southwest corner of the
porch, native shrubs such as Apache
plume, scarlett bouvardia and Texas kid-
neywood provide diversity of color and
texture. In general, “non-aggressive”
plants have been chosen, in the sense
that most are without nasty thorns.
However, there are also sun-loving suc-
culents out away from the house that
make wonderful specimen plants: vari-
ous agaves, sotols and cacti. In general,
plants with similar watering require-
ments are together, which is a smart idea
in any garden.
The cottage garden feel is reinforced
by the use of a few quirky non-plant ele-
ments that add rustic touches. Round
sections of old tree trunks are strategical-
ly placed here and there. Pots of stag-
gered heights and contrasting colors are
paired with agave and prickly pear that
echo the color contrast. An upended old
iron pipe is planted with bunches of can-
delillia. Twisted, gnarled branches from
the existing tree of heaven make an
attractive trellis from which hung strings
of white lights. It’s pretty cool looking –
continued on page 26