Sedgey front garden and xeriscape terrace

December 06, 2017


For one West Austin homeowner, this is the view from her front door: an undulating, rhythmic front walk of poured-concrete pavers wending through a meadowy swath of Berkeley sedge, soap aloes, and purple heart, with a scrim of yaupon hollies shielding the view of the street. A traditional lawn? No way — who wants to mow?


Here’s the street view at the other end. The left edge of the property is naturalistic under some large live oaks, although a collection of spiky heat-lovers gets some breathing room in a gravelly bed along the path’s edge.


A cluster of Yucca rostrata adds drama (and screening) at the curb. I think that’s ‘Little Ollie’ dwarf olive underfoot.


Whale’s tongue agave and purple heart combines a velvety blue-green with rich eggplant.


Farther up the path it grows shady, and Texas palmetto appears among the Berkeley sedge.


Yaupon berry adds a pop of red in fall and winter.


In the home stretch to the front door, the paver path straightens out, cruising past foxtail fern and sago palm on the left. A concrete wall creates a psychological separation between the public side of the front garden and the more-private entry space. Another wall, barely visible at far-right…


…screens the garage and parking area along the driveway from view of the front door. Here on the door side of the wall, a low-maintenance shade garden contains Berkeley sedge, mahonia, palmetto, and purple heart.


That wall extends straight out into the garden, lowering to knee height as it pulls away from the house. An arching, glossy green sago palm stands alongside.


Low-maintenance evergreens fill in under a big live oak. (I should know this one but need help on the ID.)


On the driveway side of the wall, a rain chain funnels roof runoff into a storm or French drain. Low-care and shade-tolerant Chinese mahonia, variegated flax lily, and palmetto combine with a Japanese maple and bamboo muhly to soften the contemporary design.


The owner installed three light towers near the front door. It would be cool to see these lit up at night.


This fence along the driveway caught my eye. It appears to be made of painted PVC pipes and somehow reminds me of a musical score. Or maybe a downtown skyline. Every other pipe is cut to a set height, but the other pipes are staggered to create up-and-down patterns.


Another section, with a gate to the back yard, shows a more rhythmic pattern.


Believe it or not, this custom fence runs all the way around the back garden. The standard lawn is shrunken to a broad path, with a band of sedge and bamboo muhly grasses along the fence. A gravel-and-steel stair leads past an elevated terrace (which I’ll come back to)…


…to a sloping back yard. A rain garden of Berkeley sedge occupies a wide swale below the house, ready to soak up runoff. Beneath the home’s expansive roofline, a dry gravel garden with whale’s tongue agaves occupies the rain shadow.


There’s still plenty of room left for lawn under a spreading live oak.


Let’s head back up the steps to that elevated terrace.


The terrace is essentially a rooftop garden, with Yucca rostrata, Mexican mint marigold, whale’s tongue agave, and purple heart.


A curved metal rail offers a canyon view. The open space was designed for patio seating, the landscape architect told me. Can you guess who he is?


If you guessed Curt Arnette of Sitio Design, you are right! He’s created another striking and lovely garden for a lucky Austinite. My thanks to the homeowner for allowing me to share her garden with you.

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12 responses to “Sedgey front garden and xeriscape terrace”

  1. Kris P says:

    I like how the staggered steps of the path in the first photo give it a sense of movement. Ditto with the cool PVC pipe fence.

  2. Everything about this garden is just about perfect. And how cool that the patio is gravel!

  3. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    I like the combination of the purple heart and those red berries. They really catch your eye. This is a nice garden.

  4. Carol says:

    Enjoyed looking at this garden. Maybe the Ginger-looking plant is Cardamom?

  5. Sherry Mason says:

    Really elegant landscaping with some novel use of materials. One concern, though are those concrete pavers. I have seen so many of these used in landscaping but they seem to get mildew or greenish algae fairly quickly. One would need to own a power washer to keep up with it. Any ideas regarding prevention??

  6. Pam, fantastic garden! Thank you so much for sharing it, and for all the plant IDs and succinct and perfect descriptions. I think I am literally starting a “Plants: Austin” folder to start getting ready for fling. This garden—wow—just really an inspiring plant design. (And architecture too. The two cannot be separated.)

    • Pam/Digging says:

      I like the idea of an Austin Plants folder, Alyse. You’ll be so prepared! I always just let the unknown plants wash over me when I go to a Fling. 🙂 —Pam