All are invited to a free tour of Barbara Carroll’s garden at 1816 W 14th from 10:00 to 11:30 AM on Saturday, October 9.

A perpetual work in progress—

Since purchasing this Clark Pines property in 2006, Barbara Carroll has invested a considerable amount of time, sweat and money into transitioning it from being just two city lots to being her garden oasis in the city.  That work continues today and will always do so! Working in her yard is a true labor of love and satisfaction.

What initially attracted Barbara to the property was the large heritage live oak tree located in the SE corner of Lot 9.  Estimated to be over 100 years old, this lot was slated to be sold to a developer who wanted to build 6 townhomes with a central shared driveway on the property. While Barbara initially planned to only buy Lot 10, she realized this would have been the end of the line for this proud oak. So as fate would have it, she intervened and as a result, purchased both contiguous lots, which are now protected by deed and building restrictions.

Lots 9 and 10 total about 28,000 sq ft (roughly 2/3 of an acre) and are classified as being in either floodway or flood zone, as the western boundary of Lot 10 runs along Turkey Gully, a tributary of White Oak Bayou. A lot of the Turkey Gully banks of Lot 10 were stabilized in the 1950s with rubble from when Route 59 was torn up and rebuilt to be State Highway 59. Being in the flood zone has presented itself with a lot of challenges in planting and maintaining the property. The small 1950 bungalow initially built on the property flooded during Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001 and was torn down by the prior owners. Barbara’s home, built between 2010-2012, is elevated over 8 feet above the flood zone.

Initially, many of the property’s trees were “volunteer” trees of lower quality, meaning they were not intentionally planted. Instead, they were allowed to grow wherever, and had very shallow root systems that caused them to topple during the many floods and hurricanes the property has been subjected to over the last 18 years. Since then, Barbara has planted over 18 new trees that now are flourishing. Her landscaping includes extensive beds with flowering bushes and 9 fountains. She would like to say that she has a master plan for her garden, but that would not be true. Juggling life, work and homeownership has been a challenge and made her gardening more sporadic than planned and it is a perpetual work in progress. Regardless, Barbara hopes you enjoy your visit and take a minute to enjoy the quiet solitude this property evokes. Thank you for visiting.