A no-fuss, downsized garden that still brings joy

Colleen mourned her old garden for a while. Then she realized she didn’t mind having a smaller yard. It was, in fact, exactly what she wanted.… Read More

The post A no-fuss, downsized garden that still brings joy appeared first on Digging.

I adored Colleen Jamison’s former garden, with its inviting patios, winding paths, charming decor, and custom gates and arbors built by her husband, Bruce. I blogged about that garden 11 years ago, as well as the median of her street that Colleen transformed into a community park. You can view her garden on Central Texas Gardener too.

A few years ago, Colleen and Bruce sold their home and garden and bought a 1930s bungalow with a backyard rental unit in the Brentwood neighborhood. Colleen mourned her old garden for a while. Then she realized that she didn’t mind having a smaller yard. It was, in fact, exactly what she wanted.

Colleen set about making a new, no-fuss garden with tough, low-maintenance plants. This time around, her goal is a garden she can walk away from whenever she and Bruce travel, without worrying whether it’ll be OK without her. She’s resisting the temptation to garden up every inch, the way she did at her old place. She’s kept some lawn in front and back, and she’s focusing on adding splashes of perennial color, like black-eyed Susans, and planting trees to screen a busy street along their corner lot.

To hide the street, Colleen carved out a deep corner bed in the front yard. Trees fill the back layer ne