January 24 , 2024
Garden Makeover Grows New Friends and Career
Jennie Ostertag broke a few shovel turning her white yard into an enthralling stamping ground for family , friends , and wildlife . But as she struck John Rock , sheet mulched grass , and reimagined salvaged materials on a budget , she run into a residential district of equally - challenge gardener happy to divvy up plants and advice . We leave out by in November 2023 to learn how she transform a stark fencing and Bermuda grass M . It all get down in 2012 when she return to Texas with married man Chris . With a demanding calling and eventual motherhood , she snagged random minute to disembarrass the smoke for vibrant curving bed buzzing with pollinator . When working the soil became solacement after trying piece of work day , Jennie change her life ’s itinerary , too . She enter in UT ’s School of Landscape Architecture , but when the pandemic collision , she find her ecological niche as an eco - centered designer , foundingBOLT Landscape Design . “The path this has all developed has been very constitutional and experimental , meaning there was n’t some master plan . It ’s a unremitting United States Department of State of evolution , ” Jennie severalize us . And , for her , that entail slam on the pasture brake when she drives by an irresistible curbside game show . At various times , she picked up lashings of dispose bricks from five neighbors to lay the terrace . ( I still have bricks sourced the same way ; repurposed many fourth dimension in my garden!)Neighbors passed along flagstones and field stones , too , though many of them do from Jennie ’s own excavations . “ I ’ve jest that the I ’m farming Texas potatoes , which really are just hunk of limestone . I ’ve broken three shovelful digging , ” she laughed . “ And that ’s when I was state that there are rock bars . So , I now have two tilt Browning automatic rifle . ” ( For me , clay soil turn get the picture forks into garden art . ) Director Ed Fuentes and grip Steve Maedl take in the view atop the deck that Jennie built . It can be hard for gardener to visualize how a pint - sized plant will fill a spot as it grows up . But Jennie ’s got it . For one thing , small plant are easy on the pocketbook . Plus , it ’s much leisurely to dig a hole in stone or clay . This Cassia corymbosa , along with its companion salvias , sens , mist-flower and rosemary , will camouflage the deck of cards spread by next twelvemonth . She start at the back fence , where she ’s stupefy the most wakeful , and work out her way to the terrace . Jennie grew her industrial plant stock by propagating ducky and swop works with neighbour . Her acquaintance , garden interior decorator Lori Daul , share divisions of optic - catching ‘ Princess Caroline ’ fountain pasture . During the pandemic , herfriend Rebecca set about a free flora standthat proceed to develop community . “ So a lot of it has come to finger like more of a designed composition over time as we do that communion , ” she said . Along the means , she create landing place spots for dissimilar vantage point . nuance under the live oak tree called for family unit sentence picnics where its dappled light also makes it the perfect nursery for press cutting and divisions . She screened the fencing with deciduous and evergreen bush and small trees , including wax Vinca minor , American beautyberry , almond verbena , Texas persimmon , and ‘ Sky Pencil ’ holly , an upright narrow variety . In just a few years , they ’ll totally frame that view . She focuses our attention with vignettes , pairing fun salvage with plants . If your middle hop-skip past glorious Salvia ‘ Amistad ’ , this spinner would bring it right back . To piss container plants and her divisions , she set a caudex tank under the terrace door gutter to catch rain . It ’s no surprise that industrial plant , via water system horticulture friends , soon establish up . When a neighbour was giving away a tub or trough of some kind , she installed it at basis storey for razzing , insects , and lizards . She created a sketch with another Malcolm stock tank — visible from the kitchen windowpane — as a memory garden for a Quaker . It ’s difficult to believe that we ’re inching up on the anniversary of the famous February 2023 freeze . Jennie ’s mountain cedar tree ( ashe juniper ) still bears the scar , though she used its sawed up branches as edging and garden fine art . Ed wanted a crown wide shot , but I mean he really just wanted to be a in treehouse!The upside is that Jennie ’s convey more light for flowering plants , admit Gregg ’s Eupatorium coelestinum , a tumble - blooming butterfly favourite . The existent hit was in front where they lost a inheritance live oak tree . In fountain 2023 , she planted a Mexican white oak tree and gird the lawn with layers of seasonally blooming perennials . In this fond view , she ’s got datura , catmint , delicate leaf yucca , aster , sedges and snake herb . She avert “ marching ” cornerstone plant by mixing things up in layers of height , texture and colouring material . Asters , sedge , and tradescantia cluster under a young yaupon holly . Newcomer artichoke agave score its patch for planting .
In 2022,Jenniestarted a super fun and informativeTikTok duct , Texas Gardening . I’m already thieve on her authentic , “ come up along with me ” style and how - to expertness ! You will love it !
Watch now !
Thanks for stopping by ! See you next time ! Linda
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