Melody’s romantic garden of passalong plants in San Antonio
Last year Shirley of Rock-Oak-Deer blogged about the garden of her neighbor Melody. I had met Melody at talks I gave in San Antonio and Brenham, so I read about her garden with particular interest. And I was thrilled when Shirley and Melody arranged for me and a small group of friends to make a fall visit.
Melody and a welcome party consisting of her adult daughter and several friends greeted us as we drove up to her north San Antonio home. Ushering us inside she treated us to a spread of tasty muffins, ginger cookies, and fruit-flavored vinegars you mix with water. Happily munching we enjoyed a window-wall view of her beautiful swimming pool and garden.
Melody then gave us a tour of her garden, which was like an introduction to her friends and family who’d passed along many of her plants over the years. Isn’t that one of the joys of gardening, how plants given to us by friends have a special place in our hearts?
Planted under live oaks, with patches of sunlight that support a number of roses and flowering perennials, Melody’s garden feels much more rural than it really is. It’s actually in a suburban neighborhood, but her large lot and surrounding belts of trees, and even a barn that used to house her daughter’s horse, create a country-garden vibe.
A pair of rustic cedar arbors reinforces the illusion. Melody told us that she modeled the design on cedar arbors at the San Antonio location of Antique Rose Emporium, now closed. They reminded me of how much I miss that nursery and its gorgeous display gardens.
Decomposed-granite paths lead under the arbors into a large shade garden. Blue sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora) climbs one of the arbors.
Lori of The Gardener of Good and Evil, my fellow roadtripper, adorned her hat with one of the blossoms.
A woodsy cedar bench and table in the shade garden is a perfect match for the cedar arbors. But what really caught my eye was a log planter.
Melody was growing a delicate fern in a hollow space in the log — so cool! She told me the name of the fern — not one I was familiar with — and then I promptly forgot. Update: It’s artillery fern (Pilea microphylla), a tropical, fern-like plant. Thanks for the ID, Ragna.
A lovely limestone barn now functions as a neat-as-a-pin, glowing toolshed.
Pumpkins on the wood-framed windowsill, overhung with vines — just another part of the romance of Melody’s vine-draped garden.
Speaking of vines, an entire fence was abloom with the beautiful pink flowers of coral vine, also known as queen’s wreath (Antigonon leptopus).
This Mexican native blooms in the fall with spring-like color before going dormant for winter.
It was the perfect backdrop for our hostess and queen of the garden. Thank you, Melody, for sharing your lovely garden with us! For more and better pictures of Melody’s garden, see Shirley’s two posts about it: a 2013 visit and a 2014 visit.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my San Antonio garden visits. For a look back at my tour of Heather’s xeric-style garden, click here. And for Shirley’s deer-resistant gravel garden, click here.
All material © 2006-2014 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Wow, what a neat spread. Love those cedar arbors and the log planter. I will have to go to the links you provided to see more.
Please do, Lisa. Shirley got great shots of Melody’s garden on her visits. —Pam
Pam, thanks for the beautiful photos of my garden! What a fun reminder of our day together. There’s nothing I like better than to be with other people who find joy in talking about plants and all that they bring to our lives. Now YOU are a part of my garden too! ( Minus a few cactus pads that the deer munched on!)
The deer liked the cactus pads?? They leave them alone in my garden, but they do like to sample new items that appear, so maybe that’s all your deer were doing. I can’t wait to see how your crocosmia does in my garden. I hope I have enough sun for it, but I know to leave it alone for a few seasons to see if it’ll bloom. —Pam
Totally lovely! I love the serene spaciousness. The cedar benches and arbors are so perfect in this garden. Is the unnamed fern ‘artillary fern’? And it is so nice to see YOU again, Melody … 🙂
That’s it, Ragna! Thank you for the ID. —Pam
Melody McMahon has a graceful feel for creating welcoming spaces that completely escape the sometimes too-thin layer of plants between people and their neighbors. I’m suddenly super smitten with all these cedar arbors I’m seeing. I’ve always liked them but this year they are all needing to come here, to live with me.
By the way, when you wrote these words “She told me the name of the fern — not one I was familiar with — and then I promptly forgot.” you made an admirer for life. As long as I don’t forget….
If you’re like me, you will! 🙂 I like those cedar arbors too. It’s good to see cedar put to use in a way that doesn’t involve allergies. —Pam
What a lovely garden, thanks so much for sharing photos from your visit. You’re right, like Shirley’s, which you profiled the other day, it does feel like a rural garden, even though I know they’re both suburban. Love that shot through the door into the barn/toolshed.
The light was perfect, and that barn/shed was glowing like a golden egg. —Pam
Wow! Simply gorgeous.
I’m glad you enjoyed the tour, Linda! —Pam
Melody’s garden is so beautiful! Everything looks serene and quiet…just LOVELY! I love your shot of Melody in front of the coral vine!!!!
Her garden is serene and lovely, indeed. And didn’t she look perfect in front of the coral vine? —Pam
What a lovely garden. I like the rustic style, especially in the woodwork. The picture of the live oaks is stunning!
The rustic accents work really well in this style of garden, don’t they? —Pam
Gorgeous garden that does feel like it’s in a rural setting. What a nice escape from the urban bustle – like coming home to paradise. Thanks for the great tour!
Melody lavishes a lot of love and attention on her garden, and it shows. —Pam
The cedar arbors and the oak grove towards that gate – a perfect trip out of the desert for me.
I bet so! Lots of green. —Pam