Original Garden

When I first came to our house in 2005, there were signs of a previously loved garden, perhaps from many years ago. We were delighted when, the day we started moving into the house, an elderly woman drove up with her niece. She said she had grown up here in the 1940s and her father had built the house; she walked through our property and told us stories about living here during the war, remembering the irises and the cedar tree. What a privilege this experience was, feeling connected to an original inhabitant so many years later! I thought I would honor that by providing a list of the historical plants of my garden.

Some would not bloom until several years later (such as the Double Roman tazetta that appeared in the winter of 2008-9), but given their tenacity in the rude soil we have here, I’ve tried to build my garden around them. (With the exception of Chinaberry trees.)

Roses

Souvenir de la Malmaison
China rose bush (unidentified)

Bulbs

Spider Lily
Oxblood Lily
Grand Primo (Narcissus tazetta)
Double Roman (Narcissus tazetta orientalis)
Heirloom Iris (possibly Iris albicans?)
Dutch Iris (unidentified)
Heirloom Crinum (unidentified)
St. Joseph Lily
Oxalis or Wood Sorrel
Rain Lilies (native Texas wildflower bulbs)
Gold and Orange tazetta
Daylilies (very tall, unidentified)

Shrubby plants and small trees

Lantana
Texas Mountain Laurel
Barbados
Crape Myrtle

Various flowers

Ruellia
Horseherb
Turk’s Cap

Trees

Hackberry
Chinaberry
Eastern Red Cedar
Pecan
Cherry Laurel