Drive-By Gardens: Woodsy cottage garden with no lawn

October 08, 2013


This tomato-red home in central Austin’s Bryker Woods neighborhood has the fairy-tale charm of a woodcutter’s cottage, tucked amid a veritable forest of small trees. Whether these were saved from the previous landscaping or planted by a tree-collecting owner, the effect is that the house appears to be peeking through the garden.


The owners counteracted any sense of shyness by jazzing up the exterior with bright paint and by opening up the understory of their wooded lot, leaving plenty of unplanted space that’s simply mulched, like a natural forest floor. Strong paths also break up the density of trees. A tall yucca stands like a beacon in a clearing.


Ground-covering plants soften the casual flagstone walk to the front door. The walk continues to the right along the front foundation…


…and leads to a circular “node” — a pause where the path makes an L-turn toward the driveway and side entrance.


A trunking yucca makes a spiky, vertical focal point here, next to a large tree trunk and a limestone boulder that doubles as a bench. This space is paved with gravel.


The flagstone path continues along the side of the house, past a ground-covering sweep of Mexican feathergrass — like green and tan wigs scattered across the ground.


Raised beds mark the side entrance to the house, where a vase-shaped bamboo provides a little screening. Altogether, it’s a charming, low-maintenance garden with some interesting design details — so much more interesting than lawn, don’t you think?

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

17 responses to “Drive-By Gardens: Woodsy cottage garden with no lawn”

  1. Yes, this is a very nice home and garden. Looks like a place you would want to saunter through and sit a spell.

    Yep, not too many places to sit out front, but maybe they have another enticing garden in back? I always like to imagine… —Pam

  2. Jenny says:

    They chose a very nice color scheme for their house which goes well with the native landscaping. You are having fun driving around the neighborhoods hunting down lawn gone gardens.

    I love the color scheme! Yes, I am having fun checking out gardens when I’m out and about visiting clients. My work gives me an excuse to look for gardens all over town. —Pam

  3. Another beautiful example of why gardens are better than lawns. I was just looking at mine today and thinking “lawns are silly – why do we do this?

    I know, right? Gardens, even the lowest maintenance variety, are so much more interesting than just lawn. —Pam

  4. Great find, the red paint on the outside is almost as nice as the eclectic planting. Good massing of grasses among the different vertical small / dwarf trees.

    The red is what caught my eye, and I think it works so well partly because the garden is mostly just shades of green. —Pam

  5. Ray says:

    It works. Very pedestrian and cozy. The plants give it a cool feeling- probably good in Austin.
    Ray

    Cool is always good in Austin! And I find this one cool in every sense. 🙂 —Pam

  6. Scott Weber says:

    That house is so cute…if you had told me you took those photos in Portland, I would not have been surprised! I wonder how it will look in a few years as things get bigger/taller?

    Good question, Scott. I think pruning is key, but then I think that’s a key part of every successful garden in our climate, where plants tend to grow rampantly (when there’s enough water). —Pam

  7. Ally says:

    I’m surprisingly attracted to that house color. It seems a little loud, but all that green balances things out. It’s almost like the house in the flower and everything else the foliage.

    I LOVE the house color, Ally, including the moss-green trim. I really like your analogy of the house being the colorful flower in a foliage garden. —Pam

  8. These drive-by garden posts are fun! Do you stop and ask if the homeowners are OK with it, or just go for it? I’d lve to do this type of post, but I’d be afraid the homeowners might get mad. But maybe the front garden is fair game? But maybe you covered this thought in a previous post? Anyway, it’s fun to see the photos and your thoughts!

    Taking photos of a house or yard from public property, where you’re not trying to peer into someone’s windows and invade their privacy, is, by my understanding (though I’m not a lawyer, folks), perfectly legal. I actually wrote a post about the ethics and legality of people and landscaping photos many years ago. Feel free to check it out for more info. —Pam

  9. Kris P says:

    If someone had told me that I’d find a tomato red house attractive, I’d have thought them crazy. But this house and its setting is really charming!

    I totally agree, Kris! —Pam

  10. Chris F says:

    Well if you like the paint job on this house, you’ll enjoy Terry’s garden on Peddie…..he’s
    “between seasons” but will soon have a whole new palette in the garden. The house is a hoot.
    Can’t wait to see what you think. Oh and the guy across the street from him finally took out all HIS lawn too. Update: Here’s an article with some better pictures than on Google.

    I looked up Terry’s Peddie garden in Houston on Google Maps, Chris, and got a pretty good picture of his front garden. Wow, what a riot of color! Hope to see it in person one day. —Pam

  11. Indie says:

    Love, love, love the house color! (How could I not?) I really enjoy houses that make a statement with their color and liven things up. I would have really expected to see a garden with a little more going on with a house like that, but the simpleness of the Mexican feather grass is really quite lovely (and manageable!)

    As I get older, I appreciate a low-maintenance, largely evergreen garden more and more, Indie. 🙂 —Pam

  12. Katarina says:

    I too love red as a house color and live in a village where all houses are red
    Every house has though a big lawn accept mine.
    Love to see your examples of lawn alernatives Pam!

    Best regards!

    /Katarina, Sweden

    Red is one of my favorite colors in general, and a red house must be a happy house. —Pam

  13. FUN PEOPLE MUST LIVE THERE 🙂 love it!

    Me too, Heather. It just lifts your spirit, doesn’t it? —Pam

  14. Carol says:

    Funny, but I thought of wigs, too, when I saw the Mexican feather grass. Indeed, a fun garden.

    Mexican feathergrass lends itself to all kinds of hair-like descriptions. I’m glad you saw it too, Carol. —Pam

  15. Deb Wilson says:

    This is such a great find. That red house is like a small bright bird in the trees.

    I struggle with the idea of leaving open spaces and find myself filling in and filling in and then things get overgrown and I spend time kicking myself and pulling things out and pulling things out… The birds and squirrels plant things for me and I’m often loathe to pull out a thriving plant even if I didn’t put it in and it isn’t where I’d want it.

    My garden spaces suffer some for a lack of planning or clear design. These photos are a good reminder as to how natural a planned space can appear. On the other hand, I’ve sure got anything but a monoculture so most days I let it rest there.

    Love this series!

    I’m glad you’re enjoying the drive-by series, Deb. I think most plant lovers struggle with overplanting and the one-of-each collector’s impulse. I know I have. Happily, I also have a de-cluttering impulse that occasionally wins out and keeps things under control, even if only briefly. 😉 —Pam

  16. Mitchell Chapman says:

    The house is way fab! The landscape is attractive. Was it recently installed? The only plants I think are misplaced are the Mexican feathergrasses. I want things to fill in more or add more plants…
    CheyDesignGuy

    I don’t know anything about the installation, Mitchell, having only spotted it on a drive-by. I actually like the Mexican feathergrass as a xeric, part-shade groundcover. But yes, different strokes for different folks. —Pam

  17. Pecos Paul says:

    What a charming house and garden, I bet they smile everytime they arrive home. I’ve always wanted to paint my house red, but know it would be too strong for my facade. Theirs is the perfect shade of red to accentuate their landscape.

    Add me to the list of sans front lawns. This summer I took mine out and am simulating a wildscape. I still have a bit to do, but I already installed a dry stream bed (which I’ll likely reroute, doh!), several trees, plants, berms, and boulders. This is my first gardening project, somehow from only intending just two trees and a few shrubs it developed into a major project.

    Congrats on your first foray into gardening, Pecos Paul. Gardening does have a way of sucking you in! Hope you’re enjoying your new lawn-gone front garden! —Pam