It Doesn’t Need to Be Big

Sometimes giving a small area a make-over can have a big impact on your landscape and your home.  This little area in the back of a carriage house in downtown New Braunfels was dominated by a huge over grown shrub, leftover plants and a jumbled mess of odds and ends.  Once the shrub was removed and the drainage corrected along the back of the structure we added an informal path of large flagstone slabs to give the area a focal point.  We added a few medium size limestone boulders and some yard art to give it some interest and then finished it off with some well-placed, shade loving evergreen plants.    The area will be shady most of the year because of the large pecan trees but the deer resistant Aspidistra and Holly Fern will be right at home.  We used a Butterfly Iris and a few Salvia coccinea in the least shady spot in the hopes of a little color during the growing season.  The original brick border was highlighted with the use of large river rock which also helps keep the mulch in place.  What was once an eyesore is now a quiet spot of beauty which is viewed often when navigating the old fashioned circle driveway.