Joyce and Ed Lehotsky

Our garden has been constantly evolving, similar to our lives together.

After just 9 months as a married couple, we moved to Japan for a year and afterward lived 6 years in Australia. We brought back great memories of those times.

After returning to Houston, we bought a house near the Medical Center. There we tried our best to feature native Texas plants and other features of our yards. We even relocated some of the plants we raised at those homes to our current house in the Heights. The Kidney Wood tree is one example.

The “China Hat” bushes (Holmskioldia sanguinea) on the west fences bloom a brilliant orange in November. Last year several families used the display as a background to their family photos! They and the Japanese Yews remind us of the gardens of Japan and the Orient. We also added what we call the “Zen Garden” in the patio, which is a quiet place to relax with a book, meditate, or enjoy a meal.

The succulents and the white and brown boulders and rocks scattered around our yard remind us of the deserts of the Australian outback. We developed an appreciation for good wine from friends we had in Australia, so we planted a grapevine to attempt it ourselves, but it never bore enough fruit for even one glass.

Since the Heights is like an urban forest, we added five Shumard Oaks along Peddie which offer a few seconds of shade to pedestrians, as well as a playground for young squirrels.

Our yard evolves as the days and seasons go by. We add new plants, hardscape, and décor to enjoy. We have planted milkweed, bluebonnets, Black-eye Susans, Lantana, and other perennials and annuals over the years, in hopes of attracting butterflies. We also welcomed some “volunteer” plants such as the Redbud tree that rooted and grew right on the property boundary between us and the neighbor’s house on Peddie Street. (The neighbors were kind enough to trim a notch in their wooden fence so the tree can thrive.)

We hope you enjoy it now and in the future.

We would like to thank Buchanan’s Native Plants for the nice gift card given to Joyce & Ed Lehotsky, recipient for our October Yard of the Month. Buchanan’s is located at 611 E. 11th St. 713-861-5702 www.buchanansplants.com