Bob and Lana Beyer
A Texas Gulf Coast Backyard Mini-Botanical Garden
Houston

Between Houston and Galveston along the sub-tropical Texas Gulf coast, this backyard contained nothing but St. Augustine lawn and a fence in 2001. Within a year, it was transformed into a mini-botanical garden with hundreds of different plant ornamental plants displayed in mini-environments suited for each.

Featured areas of the back yard gardens include a bonsai bench, pond with aquatic plants, a bog plant area, a Canna bed, a Crinum and lily bed, a tropical foliage bed, a hardy rare plant bed, a tropical foliage plant display bed, a cactus and succulent 3-tiered mini mountain, a second larger succulent bed, hanging pots with Bougainvillea. In addition, a pathway lined with potted ornamental palms and palm-like plants leading from a pergola covered patio to the greenhouse crosses a red Japanese style bridge. Bromeliads are displayed throughout the yard in hanging baskets, on poles, on a cypress tree stump, and anywhere they can be displayed. Shade loving plants surround the patio area under the pergola.

Pictured is a small aquatic garden and Japanese style bridge surrounded by bog plants near a patio's edge, a three-tiered rock mini-mountain for display of succulents and dry climate plants, and a view of the tropical garden bed used for seasonal display of tropical plants.

The use of many variegated plants add color year round when flowering plants aren’t in bloom, plus the use of dwarf cultivars and varieties of plants allows for more plants to be used within a given space. The backyard mini-botanical garden concept has “one of each plant” which is contrary to good landscaping design but provides a serious plant collector the opportunity to display a large variety of ornamental plants and to show them off effectively. Each bed has a unifying theme. The plants change from year to year, but the display themes remains the same.

Bob and Lana are active in promoting knowledge about ornamental gardening in the Texas coastal area through their website "Houston and Gulf Coast Gardening" at www.southeasttexasgardening.info. The greenhouse is packed during winter months with tropical plants that are pruned, dug, and potted for over-wintering. During summer, rare specimen plants that can’t be specifically used in the outdoor landscape are displayed in the greenhouse. A complete plant list and data base which exceeds 500 different plants grown in their garden areas can be seen at http://www.southeasttexasgardening.info/plantlist.pdf .


Links:
Southeast Texas Gardening
Bob and Lana Beyer Garden Plant List