Houston Open Days Tour 2014: 3640 Del Monte Drive Garden
The last stop on my recap of the Garden Conservancy-sponsored Houston Open Days tour on March 29th is a New Orleans-esque mansion in the tony River Oaks neighborhood. From the front walk you see a veranda with wisteria dripping from the wrought-iron railing and a narrow foundation bed filled with delphinium, blooming ornamental cabbages, and boxwood. Pleasant enough but with little hint of the extravagant space and beautiful features of the back garden.
Let’s walk through the inviting side gate, propped open by a stone frog…
…pass through a classic Southern shade border…
…past a pair of rearing horses mounted on the wall…
…and into the park-like back garden.
A large lawn spreads out beneath a venerable oak, with terracing and beds of boxwood and crepe myrtle marking the transition between house and garden.
Along one wall of the house gurgles a trough-style water feature with multiple spouts. Orange and gold fish add flashes of color in the basin.
A second frog sculpture perches on the edge of the basin, offering a basking spot for a little lizard.
And now the garden truly begins. A hedge on the left and clustered trees on the right narrow the perspective at the far end of the lawn, focusing the eye on a spectacular, cross-shaped, negative-edge swimming pool.
At the four central corners, potted palms mulched with gray river rock add tropical flair.
A large pool house anchors the right side of the pool.
On the left, a sculpture of a Rubenesque woman lounges in front of a precisely clipped panel of fig ivy on a brick wall. A white wisteria “tree” scents the garden.
And straight ahead, a Victorian fountain in a brick-edged pool is backed by another wall panel of fig ivy.
Turning to the left, let’s stroll through a more naturalistic area, stopping to smell the only Texas mountain laurel I’ve seen in bloom this spring (those in Austin got zapped by a late freeze).
Bold, tropical-style foliage makes a statement here.
And at the very back of the garden, a surprising discovery — a large rhinoceros statue, seemingly escaped from the menagerie at the garden down the street!
Walking around the brick wall that backs the Victorian fountain pictured earlier, you discover a rear parking court and brick-and-steel arbor structure.
Wow, what an entrance! Dramatic ferns spring from a container seemingly balanced on a sculpted-bust plinth. Another panel of fig ivy on the brick wall frames the scene with greenery. Overhead an arched-grid arbor supports a wandering vine.
A closer look
Wrought-iron doors open on either end, leading to the garden and eventually to the house. This entry is like something you’d see at a public botanical garden, and quite impressive. It’s rare to end a garden tour with a back entrance that’s even better than the front, but this one did.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my recap of the tour. For a look back at the jungle safari garden of the other Del Monte Drive garden on tour, click here. Stay tuned for one more nursery visit from the Houston area: The Arbor Gate.
All material © 2006-2014 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
A throwback (albeit a gorgeous example) to the way everybody with enough money used to garden. Very nostalgic to see but I’m guessing a style we’ll see less and less of as water use becomes an issue for even the wealthy. These spaces are beautifully done (for this approach) but I was interested as I recognized how my eye has been retrained to appreciate other more xeric and native ways to garden.
Yes, and that’s definitely something we noticed too. The transition from Austin to Houston takes you from an average of 33 inches of rainfall a year to nearly 50. Houston is more naturally lush and therefore less concerned about water use than Austin, and of course the wealthy have the means to pay for all the water they want — but that may change as water becomes more scarce. —Pam
Amazing how you and Diana saw this garden similarly (to me)…but your comment on the classic southern shade border really hit me. What I like about Austin is how “Southern” it looks, green and aged, compared to the desert looks I’m used to. Though Houston’s version of Southern is more restrained, doing less with drier plants to my eyes. Thanks for your tour!
Isn’t perspective funny! Having grown up in the Deep South, I saw Austin as semi-arid and “Western” when I first moved here. Of course we do have a lot of Southern lushness too; Austin is where South meets West, after all. Anyway, it amused me to think of how lush it looks to your desert-accustomed eyes. —Pam
This has some beautiful focal points. Love the lizard on the frog nose.
He’d found the perfect spot for a sunbathe. —Pam
Wow, impressive! The pool is so beautiful. I must say I enjoyed the back entrance and the rhinoceros the best, as formal isn’t really my favorite stye, but it is so beautifully done and maintained. Those ivy walls are perfect!
A rhino fan! I found him a bit quirky in this garden, but that shows the owner has a sense of fun. And he did look mighty fine with that agave. —Pam
I have to say that what you toured on “open days” was landscaping, what you DO in your yard is gardening. All the difference in the world.
Oh, I don’t know. I get what you’re saying, Chris, but I do see this as a garden, albeit a rather park-like garden. It’s easy to dismiss richie-rich gardens that are maintained by professionals as being inauthentic. But I don’t think that’s fair. This wasn’t just a mass of landscaping plants, but carefully chosen, meticulously groomed plants in a simplified palette for impact in a large space. It’s what public gardens often do too.
It can be a challenge to look beyond the WOWZA effect of such gardens to appreciate the details and to find ways to apply ideas to one’s own, humbler space. That’s why I continue to voice my wish that Houston Open Days showcase a variety of garden styles and income levels instead of just the ladies’ garden club set. Nevertheless, there are always things to enjoy and to learn from any garden visit.
Thanks for commenting. I value your thoughts and love chatting about this stuff!
I second your sentiments, Pam! I found out about Open Garden Tours through your website from some years ago. Living in Houston, I would have definitely gone to the tour had there been a greater degree of variety in garden style/feel/design. I am eagerly, eagerly awaiting my library’s copy of Lawn Gone! Congratulations 🙂
Hi, Coahuila! I’m glad to know about your Houston blog and will look forward to following your posts. I really hope you enjoy Lawn Gone! when you get your hands on a copy! —Pam