home my cottage projects book club shop featured my buttons advertise

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

June Yard of the Month - 2013

Yard of the Month in Edgemere Park
I took you on a tour of this house last Sunday.
You can see it here.
This home sat empty for decades inhabited by raccoons and cats.
The current owners have transformed it into the loved cottage you see here.
The owners Randy and Sharon are artists and it shows.
Randy is a landscape architect and he uses his own yard in which to experiment.
The whole yard is planted in drought tolerant and mostly native plants and grasses.
Even the rock used in the hardscape is recycled.
It was found in the backyard. There was lots of it!
Notice the meandering pea gravel pathways lined with rock.
Most of this is planted by Randy but some of it is planted by birds passing through.
Randy lets it grow and then decides whether to keep it or pull it up or move it.
The yucca plants were one of the only pre-existing plants in the yard.
Randy planned on getting rid of them...but they started thriving once he started working the soil.
A large cactus fills a pot near the front door.
Closeup of the pea gravel.
Cactus is loving this yard.
The grass is a mixture of buffalo grasses. This grass requires very little maintenance. 
Randy mows it maybe, maybe twice a season.
It's very beautiful the way it waves in the breeze.
That metal fence was built by the original owner a very long time ago.
It's not original to the house but rises out of a stone footing that goes with the house nicely. 
This most likely is the reason there was a stock pile of rock in the backyard.
The flagstone path welcomes you at the front curb.
A collection of native flowers adds color.

The backyard is a work in progress.
Hopefully, one day I can show once it's further along.
Upon moving in there was so much debris and rock that Randy has dug and dug and discovered an old stone lined pond and grotto.

Here is a great idea....there was a large cement patio that Randy found unattractive and instead of spending
time and money removing it....he covered it with about 2 inches of pea gravel and then settled 
flagstone into it. You'd never know there was cement under it all.

An instant flagstone patio with out all the hard work of removal.

7 comments:

Cindi Myers said...

I've just come inside to take a break from my gardening to find this!
I suppose some people might assume that a garden of this type is labor easy, but it really is not. It takes a lot of work to keep it from looking out of control...at least it does on my little plot of land. :D
It is lovely, though sometimes the thought of just running a mower over grass is alluring.
I laughed about the patio because that is exactly what I am doing too. I'm covering my crumbling concrete with rocks and colorful pavers...slowly but surely.
Thanks for this post!

Melissa said...

The cactus are so beautiful in this yard. I love how they look so plump and healthy.
The idea of just covering the concrete slab is great. I could so easily do that in my yard...
Going to try to sell the idea to my husband, wish me luck!

Denise @ secondtimearoundfinds said...

What a great yard.
Thanks for the tour.
Denise

Donna said...

HI Nita,
I love this garden. It has a cottage look appropriate to the style of the house yet is composed of tough plants that thrive in your climate. The buffalo grass is a nice change from a traditional mowed lawn. Randy has got the right idea. Don’t fight Mother Nature; work with her to achieve the look you want! Thanks for the tour and thank your neighbors for sharing their lovely garden.

Unknown said...

Hi Nita - I was drawn to this house because it very similar to the one I grew up in. After my parents moved from that home there was never anything else that compared in my mom's view. I love the yard too! Thanks for sharing, Patti

Curtains in My Tree said...

I just to know about houses that have been rescued and the yard is wonderful

vintage girl at heart said...

I just love his yard. I would love to be able to plant drought tolerant plants and grass like that. I admire many in the older part of Norman where we used to live as well as the front yard cutting gardens. Now we live in a newer part and I am sure our neighbors would have a hissy fit if we tried to plant buffalo grass etc. :) Your posts are always so inspiring and remind me to use what I have for projects before buying new! Enjoy the weekend! It is HOT!!