My name is Mark Howard and I live in Dallas. I’ve noticed many of the gorgeous gardens featured in GPOD are located near the coast or in cool, rainy zones. As juxtaposition, I’d like to share some yard and garden pictures from my small, midcentury modern home in Dallas (Zone 8a). I’ve been container gardening for over 25 years, having lived in urban apartments and a townhouse in Uptown Dallas until six years ago when I bought a fixer-upper home in North Dallas. The house and yard were in dire need of updating and TLC. The existing St. Augustine grass was in good shape, so I embraced the wide open space and left the lawn intact. After living with small patios for years, it was refreshing to have a wide open space. I was also working with a small budget, so I focused updates on those areas that would make the biggest impact for the least cost.
My garden is truly diverse and includes everything from agaves, cactus, and other succulents, to bamboo, ferns, hydrangeas, and hostas. Although it’s a work in progress, it’s my personal oasis, and I hope you enjoy the pictures.
Iâm inspired by Asian style, so youâll see Asian objects dâart around the property. I created a small Japanese garden in a raised bed with a fountain to drown out the sounds of the city. I also put in a birdbath that attracts a nice array of birds including blue jays, robins, cardinals, mourning doves, mockingbirds, and more. In front of the fountain are creeping junipers (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Blue Rug’, Zones 3â9, and Juniperus procumbens âNanaâ, Zones 3â9) with Japanese holly ferns (Cyrtomium falcatum, Zones 6â10), âVirdisâ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum var. dissectum âVirdisâ, Zones 5â9), birdâs nest fern (Asplenium nidus, Zones 10â11) , and horsetail reed (Equisetum hyemale, Zones 4â10).
When I moved into my house six years ago, I was given the big Agave americana (Zones 8â10) while it was still a baby. Since that time, I have propagated several babies from it. Here I have grouped them with agave (Agave parryi var. truncate, Zones 7â10), gold column cactus (Trichocereus spachianus, Zones 9â11), and Aloe âCalifornia Blueâ (Zones 9â11).
Lizards are beneficial for eating insects. This cute little green anole loves living among the English ivy (Hedera helix âNeedlepointâ, Zones 6â10) and bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla âHM2â Dear Doloresâ˘, Zones 7â10).
Iâve always loved the look of topiaries, so I propagated English ivy (Hedera helix âNeedlepointâ and âVariegated Needlepointâ) from one of my beds and trained it on these two shapes. These are about two and a half years old.
Iâve always loved horsetail reed, but itâs quite invasive, so I keep it contained in a pot. This plant has existed for thousands of years, and I appreciate including such an ancient plant in the mix.
I love the beauty of the color and dangerously sharp spikes on this floret-shaped Agave parryi var. truncate.
To create a garden on the patio, I mixed flapjacks (Kalanchoe luciae, Zones 9â12), hostas (Hosta âFrances Williamsâ and âBrim Cupâ, Zones 3â9), aloe (Aloe barbadensis, Zones 10â11), and philodendron (Philodendron selloum, Zones 8â11) in blue and green pots.
This hot pink purslane (Portulaca grandiflora, Zones 10â12 or as an annual) adds a burst of color and blooms all summer. It loves the heat and sun!
Hidden treasures spread throughout the garden, such as this gargoyle, make it more interesting and intriguing.
Have a garden youâd like to share?
Have photos to share? Weâd love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. Weâd love to hear where you are located, how long youâve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
If you want to send photos in separate emails to the GPOD email box that is just fine.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
You donât have to be a professional garden photographer â check out our garden photography tips!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
Scotts Cordless Grass-Shear/Shrub-Trimmer Combo
Black and Decker 22-inch Cordless Hedge Trimmer
DeWalt Variable-Speed Cordless Reciprocating Saw
Comments
LOVED the topiary, and Loved your style. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much!
Just wonderful! You are very talented!!!
đ
Hi Mark, I very much enjoyed seeing photos of your wonderful garden. I am practically your neighbor ( I live in Farmers Branch) so I understand the âhot and dryâ issue, particularly this time of year. I too enjoy an Asian influence in the garden, as well as basin water fountains. Maybe we can visit each otherâs garden one day.
That would be awesome!
It's interesting to see a garden not "located near the coast or in cool, rainy zones" as you said, although I see you grow many of the plants that are in my coastal garden, like hydrangeas, junipers, and Japanese maple. I especially love your fountain and how you've arranged the various textures and shapes around it. Thanks for sharing your lovely garden.
Thank you! Those specific plants require a lot of care in this region, but they're totally worth it.
Great job! Wonderful photo of the hydrangea and lizard! Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure! Who doesn't love a cute little green lizard?
Love the containers.
Thank you. The containers are really integral to the whole look I'm going for.
Beautiful details, and artistic touch in your garden!
Thank you! I like including objects d'art in the garden to give it more personality.
Ahhhh, the artist at work in the garden!!! Just loved all of your photos. Your designs, your selection of plants are all simply marvelous! I couldn't begin to pick a "best". Please share more and, maybe next time include a photo of your house. I'm very curious to see what kind of house you picked. Thank you so very much for taking the time to share and talk about your garden world.
Thank you so much! I submitted "before" and "after" pictures of the front of the house and back yard, but they were not included due to limited numbers of pictures I'm sure. I wish I could show the beautiful 7 ft. tall, spiral-cut Juniper topiaries flanking the front of the house. They really make a statement. đ
I love what youâve done and how youâve made your yard work for you. Iâm especially in love with your turquoise fountain! I want one too!
Thank you! I fell in love with that blue planter bowl and knew it would be perfect as a fountain. I'm glad you like it.
This is a fabulous garden. That agave is spectacular and love the pot with the horsetail reeds. Your choices of container shapes and colors have created a lovely space. Isn't purslane fantastic for hot summers? I have yellow and that hot pink in several containers - the heatwave we're having here in the Charlotte area hasn't fazed it one little bit!
Purslane is a perfect plant for summer because it loves the heat and sun. Plus the colors of the flowers are simply exuberant! Thank you for your nice comments. Enjoy your summer!
I love the pot in which you've set your fountain. It's color and texture already speak to flowing water even before the fountain spray adds animation and some white noiseâŚ.a smart solution.
Thank you! I thought the same thing. đ
You had me with the picture of the exquisite fountain in the Oriental garden! Also, the gorgeous blue pots. The Agave looks beautiful but deadly! What thorns!! I didn't think I liked flapjacks until I saw yours. And the
Portulaca looks absolutely exuberant - very happy! And last but not least, the little Anole next to the beautiful Hydrangea is adorable. Thanks for sending in such great pictures of your garden.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the peek inside my garden.
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in