Yard of the Month

October’s Yard of the Month showcases 20 years of outdoor efforts by Tony and Nelda Reyes at their family’s home on Quarry Springs Drive, just one block off its intersection with Hunter Road. Spring Lake Garden Club’s sign marks this handsomely landscaped residence built in 2002 in what was then a new San Marcos subdivision. Tony sets high standards for mowing the thriving front lawn, which shares space with extensive stone-lined planting areas under large old trees. He and Nelda have settled on mostly native plants in these beds, since the neighborhood is a favorite grazing area for deer, but they both enjoy the wildlife (armadillos, foxes, roadrunners and wild turkeys) that comes with the territory.

Not all native critters have been welcome in the Reyes’ yard. As new homeowners, they had soil delivered to the property but saw it washed away in heavy rain. A second load provided a base for laying a new lawn, but the pallets were delivered late, and an installation crew had to leave for another job. So Tony began laying out sod squares himself, and Nelda joined in, only to discover that much of the sod contained fire ants. Having survived this challenge, they faced another in Fall 2020 when bees swarmed near the front door, and an exterminator recommended a bee specialist to solve the problem, which was an extensive nest in the roof soffit near the entry. A more recent wildlife experience involved a hanging fern basket holding a robin’s nest that was invaded by a rat snake (returned to the wild by their son, who is devoted to animals).

A bird lover herself, Nelda fills feeders with homemade nectar for hummingbirds, who build their nests in the trees nearby and visit an orange trumpet vine in the back yard. One front yard tree still holds a bird box installed by a Texas State biologist who received permission to add the Reyes property to a research project on bluebirds. Nelda’s favorite spot for watching birds is from the large window of a sitting room near the entry, looking out at an ornate water fountain that was a Mother’s Day gift to her from Tony.

Besides Tony’s careful maintenance, the front lawn benefits from a lawn irrigation system used only occasionally for the Palisades Zoysia grass, a hybrid developed by Texas A&M to tolerate both drought and shade. Boxwoods lining the front walk are also extremely drought tolerant, as are the lantana, sages and four o’clocks in heavily-mulched planting areas under the trees. Stone walls defining theses beds were all laid by Tony, in a gracefully curving pattern throughout the yard. He also removed base rock to provide planting spaces for two crape myrtle trees by the driveway. A bed near the street features a sago palm and fountain grasses that rebounded after the February 2020 freeze, but spineless cactus was removed from the area because it became invasive.

Both Tony and Nelda are experts in creative gardening, whether dividing plants to cover more ground or repurposing items for use in the landscape. Unusual circular grooved containers in a bed near the entry were black plastic risers from a septic tank in the back yard, now painted a terra cotta color and serving as sturdy bottomless planters. Two bougainvillea plants — one pink, one orange — are grown in large pots in the back yard and remind Nelda of her mother’s home in south Texas. In 20 years of experimentation and care for their landscape, the Reyes have grown a sustainable landscape which is a credit to them and to the neighborhood.