06/01/2026
June’s Yard of the Month is called The Friendship Garden……
A good garden starts with a plan. I had none. I did have a booklet left behind by Ann, the prior homeowner, which listed native and adapted plants recommended for this area. I poured through it and picked plants based on the lighting conditions for the areas I wanted to landscape, which was pretty much everywhere. The front beds had mostly Asiatic Jasimine groundcover, which had to be painstakingly removed. And one side of the front was still what I call “wild”, as was the side and back. There was also a large pile of rocks left behind when we moved in. I’ve landscaped section by section, over the past 3 years, purchasing plants at the Bastrop County Master Gardener plant sale, the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center plant sale, the Lost Pines Garden Club plant sale, and a local nursery. But one of the things I like most about my garden, is that many plants came from friends sharing from their own gardens, and things brought to the Smithville Garden Club meetings. In all honesty, I didn’t so much pick or plan my garden, as buy what happened to be available at these sales and wind up with shared plants from friends. I plan to create a sign that will say “Friendship Garden” and list all of the kind donors. Of course, it still isn’t finished, and some plants have been moved around to find the best spots, or removed completely, to be replaced by something that will hopefully do better. I try to stick with natives as much as possible, to conserve water and make growing/maintenance easier.
I installed a drip irrigation system on timers, which allows me to deliver the right amount of water to each plant. It is very convenient, but does require some maintenance, especially when squirrels chew on the tubing! We also set up motion activated sprinklers, which work pretty well at keeping the deer at bay, but soak us when we forget they are on and walk in front of them. Now if only we could get rid of the leaf cutter ants!
We were concerned about drainage, so hand dug a long trench leading away from the back of the house, out toward the road, laying PVC pipe connected to catchment basins below the downspouts. We took advantage of the opportunity to include Pex pipe in the trench so we could run plumbing out to the front field to irrigate the orchard we wanted. We now have peach, plum, fig and pecan trees out there. Hope it bears fruit some day!
We also have 2 water features that we really enjoy. One is an antique handpump that pours into a basin just outside our bedroom window. It’s lovely to listen to when the weather allows for open windows. Jim is in charge of landscaping this area and has filled it with Caladiums. They’re still popping up and fill the bed beautifully. He also laid zoysia grass across the walkway, so we have something other than dirt and weeds there. The other fountain is near our firepit seating area. Jim constructed it using large rocks that were on the property. Congratulations to Jim and Lauren O’Conner at 162 Corral in LaReata’s subdivision West of Smithville.
