The Patrick and Murphy Garden
Kathy Patrick and Arthur Murphy focus their garden at 615 E 16 th Street on two things they love: sustainable, edible landscaping and roses. The lot beside their house has eight raised bed “farm” boxes where they rotate seasonal “crops” of beans, greens, herbs, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and melons. The beds currently hold Provider and Borlotti Bush Beans, yellow squash and zucchini, mixed lettuces, carrots, cantaloupe, and watermelon. On the trellises between the beds, we’ve started our Pinto Beans, Purple Hull Peas, Kentucky Wonder Green Beans, and sweet peas. In the fall, the bush beans and melons will be replaced with brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts), Rainbow Swiss Chard, Collard Greens, Beets, and Spinach. We also plant blooming plants in the boxes to feed the pollinators that help our garden thrive. At the moment, we have ranunculus, sunflowers, and borage in the boxes. We’re still waiting for our Agastache (Hummingbird Mint) to decide if it’s just too hot here! If it does,
we’ll swap it out with more coreopsis and echinacea (coneflowers). On the side fences, we grow two varieties of blackberries–Arapaho and Brazos—and we keep trying to grow Rabbiteye blueberries, but (unlike the blackberries) they don’t seem to like the fence. We have three varieties of apple trees, a plum tree, a peach tree, and are trying to encourage three kinds of citrus: kumquats, Satsuma Oranges, and Grapefruit. Our landscaper, Joe Sanchez of JS Landscaping, is a true partner in this garden. He–like Kathy—grew up on a farm and values what the soil can provide.
Along the front fence and at the garden’s borders, we’ve planted dozens of antique roses: Cecile Bruner covers the front fence, Madame Alfred Carriere trails over the portico between our home and our son’s home next door. Mrs. Peggy Martin, Mr. Abraham Lincoln, Birthday Cake, Firecracker, Perle des Jardins, Old Blush, Mutabilis, Lady Banks, Lady Pamela-Carol, and Julia Child are some of the other favorites planted in the border beds. Intermixed with the roses this spring were Daffodils and Narcissus; now, there are early tomatoes. At the front of the house, we’ve again kept the focus on feeding pollinators. To do that, we have panted Red Salvia Greggii, Savia Farinacea, Indigo Spires (large purple blossoms), as well as Penstemon, Foxglove, and Zinnias. Later this summer, when they wake up, the Hollyhocks will be there (but they’re still sleeping in their seeds). We would like to thank Joshua’s Native Plants & Garden Antiques for the very nice gift card awarded to our homeowners for May Yard of the Month. Joshua’s is located at 502 W. 18 th St. 713-862-7444 www.joshuasnativeplants.net
