Spring Branch homes total Texas Hill Country xeriscape landscape renovation created many outdoor entertainment areas – San Antonio Express-News

SPRING BRANCH Deanna and Jasper Brown bought their 1.1-acre property in Mystic Shores right before the start of the pandemic. At the time, the backyard was little more than a narrow patch of ground dropping off steeply to a creek bed far below. It was almost entirely unusable.

The front yard was mostly dirt and rock, broken up by a handful of scraggly cedar trees and some cactus.

Wanting to expand their outdoor entertaining options, the couple, who both work for the city of Austin, tackled the backyard first in the spring of 2020 and then the front yard this summer. The result is a low-water landscape that looks native to the area with plenty of hardscape to create areas for entertaining.

I have a large, Hispanic family, including our three adult children and six grandkids, Deanna said. When they come, we take up the inside of the house and all the backyard, too. Well have music out here and show movies on the back wall of the house.

The new landscape features several types of gravel, limestone pavers, large stones and even larger boulders. But thanks to the mixing of textures and colors, the judicious use of native, flowering plants and the way the landscape designer took advantage of the lots natural elevation changes, the result is a warm and inviting yard.

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There are now multiple seating areas, including a fire pit area, a dining table, an area for bird watching and the porch off the back of the house. Much of the ground is covered in Mexican flagstone pavers set in winding courses with small bluish-black gravel, sometimes called shadow stone, filling the space between them.

We chose Mexican flagstone because it has a smoother surface and a cleaner look than the more jagged and rustic of Texas limestone, said the designer Cooper Henk, owner of Skyline Landscaping in New Braunfels. They also contrast nicely with the dark shadow stone.

The yard has several elevation changes, and Henk built thick, heavy stair steps using limestone waterfall rocks, which have an attractive rippled texture created by eons of water coursing over them. To help channel rainwater, he laid down 3- to 5-inch river rock in various shades of brown as a border along the concrete driveway and as flower bed edging.

The landscape of Deanna and Jasper Browns Spring Branch home is dominated by hardscape. But thanks to the mixing of stone textures and colors, and the judicious use of native, flowering plants, the home is warm and welcoming.

Each phase took Henk about three weeks to complete and all told used 150 tons of stone and cost about $44,000 all worth it, the Browns said.

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Deanna said that lighting installed in the large oak trees that surround the backyard cast a soft, enchanting glow over everything. Its beautiful, like a full moon, she said.

But before any of the design work could start, Henk had to build up the backyard elevation by as much as 8 feet. The new yard now extends out from the house by about 25 feet.

Ive been doing this kind of landscaping for about six years, and I love this type of job, he said. We brought in clean fill rocks, dirt and aggregate to raise the ground level and got to do some beautiful work.

While most of the hardscape had to be brought in, Henk made use of the multitude of rocks already on the lot for several low rock walls on the slope for erosion control and used larger boulders in retaining walls and as walkway edging.

The fire pit surrounded by chairs is one of the many outdoor seating areas in the back of this Spring Branch Home.

You see that one there? he asked, pointing to a boulder measuring about 5 feet high and 4 feet wide. Moving something that large on a hillside, youre afraid its going to get away from you. Made things very interesting.

In the front of the house, he used large swaths of different colored stone, with long, sweeping borders between them, to dramatic effect. We wanted something as pretty in the front as it is in the back, Deanna said. And we didnt want it to look like something everyone else in the neighborhood had.

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Still, when Henk first suggested the design, Deanna had her doubts. I thought, mixing different colored rocks? Yikes, thats crazy, she said.

Henk said, I rarely say to a client, Trust me. But thats what I did.

The yard fronting the street is covered in 1 -inch washed limestone gravel, the white tying the landscape to the house while also contrasting nicely with the river rock browns and the bluish shadow stone Henk also used. These, in turn, highlight the wide strip of green grass that runs directly in front of the house.

When it rains the white rocks turn a different color, more grays, Deanna said. Its very pretty. I love it.

Several of the original mountain cedars, trimmed to look like trees, provide some vertical interest while still allowing the house be visible from the street. And the front yard is planted with a variety of native, drought-tolerant greenery, including red yucca, agave, muhly grass, several varieties of cactus, Texas sage, some succulents, garlic, rosemary and salvia.

Were seeing lots of hummingbirds and butterflies and all the birds you can name, Brown said. Its phenomenal. Were extremely happy.

rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini

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Spring Branch homes total Texas Hill Country xeriscape landscape renovation created many outdoor entertainment areas - San Antonio Express-News