During a walk through the Heights neighborhood in north Houston last month, amid the derecho cleanup I saw cheerful cottage gardens in bloom. I snapped a few of my favorites, starting with this pistachio-green bungalow. Olive-green Vego planters — I’m going to have some in my next garden! — are parked in the hellstrip between sidewalk and street, overflowing with flowers and perhaps some veggies too. The owner is taking advantage of all the sunny space available.

This yellow house, next door to a pink one (a rainbow row?), ups the color fun with a turquoise gate, royal-blue mailbox, and yellow-and-blue footbridge over a drainage swale.

Orange flowers add more punch.

Native wildflowers and sunflowers make a happy hello at this green bungalow.

And here’s a foot-traffic stopper. At this house, formerly a corner shop, painted stripes and a checkerboard pattern transform traditional siding. Round windows are hung with artful arrangements of secondhand finds, and the packed-to-the-brim street garden bristles with yuccas, Pride of Barbados, and retama.

A wire fence around the tiny main yard supports a planter with agave and mother-of-thousands, plus a buddha and garden squirrel.

There’s a Halloween-ish element with staring eyeballs and a few other spooky touches. The whole place is a treasure trove of artful junk. A creative soul lives here.

In a castoff sink, purple heart and ivy froth around letters spelling ART.

Herman’s Park reads a punny sign on the gate — a play on Houston’s Hermann Park, as I assumed. But it turns out to have two meanings. The home was formerly Herman’s Boot & Shoe Repair.

Today it’s the creative expression of a free spirit with love to share with the neighborhood.

The Heights is one of a kind and a fun place to wander.

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Digging Deeper

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