Heights Garden Tour – 2410 Keene

Garden Tour Saturday, Nov. 14th, 10-11am

2410 Keene St is a native plant and kitchen garden in Near Northside. Cory Saul, a horticulturist at Houston Botanic Garden, and his partner bought the house with a good-sized lot about 3 years ago and set about transforming the long-neglected space into a resilient and biodiverse garden by identifying and responding to microclimates, improving the soil, and of course, planting natives. Notable spaces include the streetside drainage ditch, which has been re-wilded with Gulf Coast Prairie plants, the greenscreen thicket on the south side of the lot, the live oak canopy with epiphytes, and the cactus mounds. The gravel path borders are made of broken concrete and bricks sourced from the site itself.

This tour should prove educational as well as entertaining. For example, Cory planted daikon radishes early on as a method of improving the heavy clay soils. While the green tops were mulched in place, the radishes themselves burrowed deep into the soil to allow pathways for water to penetrate the hard packed soil also adding organic matter as they decomposed in place. This treatment, as well as adding native plants later, have made the drainage ditch a water sink, drawing excess water into the ground. The cactus mounds were built starting with piles of concrete rubble supplying the necessary drainage the cactus require. There are many lessons to be learned from this challenging landscape.

We want to thank New Roots Landscaping Nursery & Antiques for the nice gift card awarded to Cory, our November garden tour.

New Roots is located 5117 N. Main St. 713-485-4791 www.newrootslandscapinghouston.com