A friend’s new garden takes shape in San Antonio
My friend Jean McWeeney, an enthusiastic gardener, birder, and naturalist, relocated to San Antonio last year from Houston, and before that from Louisiana. She left behind an established garden in Louisiana and a temporary one in Houston, and now she’s making a new garden in the drier conditions of the Alamo City. Even so, a colorful dish of carnivorous pitcher plants and sundews brings a little marshy goodness into her new garden.
Jean invited me to visit while I was in San Antonio for a work project last week. I immediately spotted the charming dish of meat-eating plants and exclaimed over them. Don’t they remind you of hungry mouths?
Jean also showed me her brand-new greenhouse with lime-green racing stripe and door. Love, love, love!
The brown paint and bright green stripe make a display of potted succulents pop. Notice the unity of sand-colored terracotta pots too.
As a birder, Jean set up several fountains to draw in lots of birds. She’s also growing dill for caterpillars.
I admired this homemade, ground-level fountain, which Jean called a WarblerFall. She purchased how-to plans from Julie Zickefoose, who promises it will attract birds like no other fountain or birdbath. Jean says it’s true, and during the spring migration through Texas, “it’s like it pulled them down from the trees!”
Other interesting moments in Jean’s new garden include a staghorn fern on a trellis screen…
…and a collection of succulents on a patio table, including a Moby pup! She’s planning to stick it in the ground as soon as she constructs a raised bed in the front yard. Grow well, Moby Jr.!
Jean has many cute planters filled with succulents. On another shelf, cat and turtle planters hang out with a pretty dove.
Thanks for the tour, Jean, and happy planting in your new garden!
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Digging Deeper
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All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Everything is just down my alley again with similar taste but the lime green shack is just over the top. Maybe she should add a ledge outside to make it a summer cocktail bar?
FYI, this garden gives me another push to work on my small place.
Thanks!
Haha, that cocktail bar is a great idea!
A cocktail bar is good! Or just cocktails. 😉
Love the dry country vibes!
It’s a change of scene from LA and Houston for sure.
Lovely to see Jean’s new garden and her greenhouse. Quite a different design from any I have seen before. Clearly she is having a great time ‘furnishing’ her new garden with plants and hard scape. It will be fun to watch the progress.
Yes, isn’t it? I love seeing how other gardeners’ visions come to life.
I hardly noticed you taking pics, Pam! Funny to see my little garden through your eyes. Thanks for dropping by and come again. We’ll have a couple drinks on the patio. 🙂
I’ll be there! 🙂
For a new garden, Jean already seems to have her plan together. I love the greenhouse too and was intrigued by the ground-level fountain too.
The garden is really coming along quickly.
How wonderful to get a glimpse of Jean’s new garden! It looks great.
It does!
I would love to know where she got the cool greenhouse? We are planning to add one to our garden.
Hi Lorie, Pam asked me to respond about the greenhouse. We had it custom built. I had a vague notion of wanting one that looked a bit modern with a slant roof and that would double as a garden shed since there is no direct access to the backyard from the garage. So basically I kind of drew out what I wanted: wood up to 4 feet high on three sides to hide the tables and such, and the back wall being all wood so I can hang tools up. I knew an all-glass roof would get too hot so I had it made two-thirds standing seam metal roof and one-third polygal. Polygal is what the windows are made of. It’s a UV-resistant polycarbonate so it shouldn’t yellow. Hope that answers your question!
Great info, Jean, and a terrific design. Thanks for answering Lorie’s question!
Thank you!
I love love love Jean’s garden!! How nice to see it through your eyes Pam. Thanks for sharing.
Happy to, Janet! It was fun to visit Jean’s new garden.
I love the lime green! While we were down there, it was kind of the off-season and Jean was just setting up, so I said I’d love to visit the garden next time we’re in San Antonio. The greenhouse is awesome. Fun times!
A visit to look forward to!
Just fantastic. Carnivorous plants, warbler falls bath and the divine greenhouse. Thank you for sharing.
My pleasure, Susan. It’s fun to see what a friend is up to in her garden.
Thank you for sharing Jean’s garden. Love the shed and the color’s she chose.
Me too, Gail. It’s a terrific color combo!
Why have I never thought to tuck a few sundews in with my sarracenia? Brilliant Jean! As for that greenhouse… I want one just like it. Heck with those colors it would blend right into my landscape!
They sure would!
What a charming little place! You’re right, the greenhouse is just adorable. I love how modern it looks, and the colors.
Me too. Jean’s design choices are spot-on.
Can we have some more info on the bird bath feature? Can the plans be ordered from her friend? Thanks!
The link to the WarblerFalls website is in the text with the birdbath photo. Just click through.
What fun to have a new garden to create and enjoy. Love that planter full of watery plants. They look so stately displayed as they are.
They definitely caught my eye. 🙂
Love that fountain! So glad Jean is settling in. The greenhouse is splendid. Glad you got to visit.
Me too, Dee. Visiting friends’ gardens is always a joy.
Such fun. I can’t imagine making a third garden in record time, with such a variety of climate types. And I love the greenhouse, and carnivorous palnts.
She’s got a great start going on her new garden.