03/18/2021
The outside gardens were growing so well until the February freeze. Slowly they are coming back. The outside raised garden was created after the restoration was completed. During construction, the entire yard was filled with debris and materials, leaving no room for plants or flowers. But once construction was complete, we reused 130-year-old pilings which we replaced from under the house to make the wall which holds up the raised garden.
A water system was installed, including using runoff from the roof into a pipe system below ground.
A variety of flowers (amaryllis, agapanthus, snap dragons and Ge**er daisies) along with three types of hibiscus and a honey suckle vine were planted.
An old, claw-footed tub was pulled from the basement, painted and filled with soil and a dozen amaryllis plants. A large purple Vitex (Texas Lilac) hangs along the back fence, dropping seeds and dozens of new plants are growing. A Peggy Martin rosebush – grown from cuttings rescued from New Orleans after the devastating Hurricane Katrina – wraps around a piece wrought iron sculpture made by Galveston artist Raini Cunningham.
After the yard was cleaned up, we found out we had a small (although battered) cement patio in the yard, where we put a small table, chairs and umbrella for outside, private gatherings.
