Debuting the painted stucco walls

April 10, 2015


Damn the live oak pollen, full speed ahead…with the reveal of the painted stucco walls. (Really, though, the live oak pollen is out of control. I took this picture about 4 hours after completely blowing clean the patios.) After weeks of construction last fall, sampling a fiery red paint for months, and waiting out the winter wet and cold to finally finish painting, there’s progress. The walls are painted, Mexican beach pebbles now fill the drainage gap between the curved walls and adjoining patios, and behind it all lies a cleared planting bed edged with a new stacked-stone retaining wall. Woot!


If you’ll remember, this is how the space looked last summer. Quite nice — the previous owners installed a lovely pool and retaining walls to tame the steep slope off the back of the house (out of view on the right). But the back edge of the pool always felt unfinished. The circular patios at each end had a drop-off of about 18 inches, with nothing to stop an unwary guest from scooting a chair backward and over the edge. Plus all the terracing on the right begged for something substantial to catch the eye on the left. The new stucco walls are intended to provide visual balance, safety, additional seating, and year-round structure.


Here’s the view from the back, with the new stacked-stone retaining wall neatly enclosing a narrow bed that I’ll fill with ‘Blonde Ambition’ blue grama in sun and Mexican feathergrass in dappled shade. It’ll be largely non-irrigated once established.


Panning left. The wall colors, if you’re interested, are Jazz Age Blues and Celluloid by Dunn Edwards. The massive slabs of limestone that make up the rugged path behind the pool are natural. At the far end…


…is another stacked-stone retaining wall, which replaces a hodgepodge of small boulders. Blue nolina (Nolina nelsonii), spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis), and Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) grow in the dappled shade of live oaks.


The view along the back fence, including the beautiful Yucca rostrata I just bought and a ‘Tangerine Beauty’ crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) in full bloom.


The view from the upper patio shows how the blue and gray walls echo the patio furniture and planters. Moby the ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia) is looking especially perky this spring. I hope he’s not thinking of blooming. Oh, and check out that crossvine along the fence: it’s climbing straight up a cedar in the greenbelt. With orange trumpets festooning branches at least 20 feet high, the hummingbirds must be going bonkers and sleeping well at night.

All material © 2006-2015 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

29 responses to “Debuting the painted stucco walls”

  1. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    Calming. Very blue of you. It looks perfectly monochrome.

  2. Jean says:

    Ooh, Pam, I love it all (except the oak pollen; that is the pits). I like seeing your before and after pictures. The walls add so much depth and even more interest to the area. And lucky you to get a new planting bed! Next time I’m in Austin, I’ve got to see these changes in person!

  3. deb says:

    Really looks wonderfully peaceful…

  4. Jenn says:

    Love that grey!

  5. Gail says:

    It looks fabulous. You have a great eye…

  6. Lori says:

    Tell Moby he’s not allowed to spout til AFTER the tour! Heh.

    Your crossvine is spectacular this year!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      If I could plug his spout I would! Fingers crossed he doesn’t flower this year. Not yet, Moby! After all, I’m already planning his 10th birthday party for this summer. —Pam

  7. TexasDeb says:

    Cue Bey singing “At Last”! Finally the colors revealed…ahhhh…. Lovely cool tones the wizardry of which will be revealed once the death star returns. Love the blue on the metal chairs as well – you know how to work a color story, no question.

    Now that your walls are painted and your new beds are created, are you anywhere near the “Done!” territory for the back? Or is that necessarily “Done – for now!”..?

    • Pam/Digging says:

      As you and all gardeners know well, it’s only ever “for now.” But no, I don’t envision any major changes in the immediate future. Of course beds are always being revised, but that’s part of the fun. —Pam

  8. Jenny says:

    Bring on the party! I’m not quite sure where I will sit when your garden is on the Master Gardeners’ tour this fall. I may just try out every place.

  9. Beautiful!! Pollen and all. I like the blue.

  10. gina Harlow says:

    What a transformation! These pictures show the whole yard and I don’t think I’ve seen it before in it’s entirety since you “took over.” Ha! So happy you did.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Thanks for passing a beautiful landscape along to us, Gina. We get many compliments on the stone terracing y’all put in, and we’re happy to be the current caretakers of the lot. —Pam

  11. Kris P says:

    I love the repetition of colors. The blues and grays are less obtrusive than red would have been and they let the plants play the starring roles.

  12. rickii says:

    After flirting with brilliant color, I think you settled on the perfect tones for the stucco walls, letting red show up as small accents. I could imagine whiling away the hours in the space you have created.

  13. You have done a wonderful job with your space Pam. The walls do add so much dimension and interest to the pool area and will be even more beautiful with the plantings along side them. I am sure you will have many an enjoyable time relaxing around that beautiful pool…Bravo!

  14. commonweeder says:

    What a fabulous transformation. I love the blue and can’t wait to see the new plantings take hold. We hope to be buying a new house, and the one we have chosen has a yard that is a blank slate. I can’t wait to begin – but the house has to officially become ours. By that time the snow should be gone.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Good luck with the house purchase. I know you will be excited to start a new garden. Here’s hoping for spring’s arrival in MA soon. —Pam

  15. Can’t wait to see the Blonde grasses lounging around the grey stucco walls – bet they’ll complement each other just perfectly! Your design skills never cease to amaze and inspire me.

  16. This is so good, seeing how the 3 new walls work with the pool…now, I like your pool! It all goes so well together. And of course, the blue wall is perfect with your light and the feel of your back spaces. Way to go!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Thanks, David! Every time I look out the window and see them, I fall in love with them all over again. They make such a difference to the entire look of the garden and pool. —Pam

  17. I love everything you did, including/especially the colors. While red attracts attention, it might have been too “loud” for the space. The colors you picked are much more soothing, yet assertive and elegant.