Galveston’s backyard playgrounds – by Diane Morey Sitton

Galveston brings to mind sand, surf and summer sunsets. But the gardens on this island resort are as equally compelling as the beaches and summer skies.

Recently eight private gardens (as well as seven parks and community gardens) were showcased during the Back Garden Tour, an annual event sponsored by Clean Galveston, a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping Galveston Island “Clean, green and pristine.”

Besides enjoying the vibrant show of oleander, salvia, hibiscus, mandevilla, rose, sweet potato vine and other colorful plants that enlivened neighborhoods, tour-goers could take a selfie in front of a giant octopus painted above the porch on a green and purple house, walk through a shower of bubbles in a showy side yard garden, and be a kid again at a garden entrance transformed with sidewalk chalk into a hopscotch grid.

Color stole the show at Keith and Shari Neubauer’s backyard paradise. Here, yellow lantana and red mandevilla, among other blooming plants, cascade from a collection of Talavera pots that flaunt patterns and designs in orange, red, turquoise, green and black. In the corner, potted rosemary, chives and mint sit atop a yellow and white potting table. A large turquoise table dominates a side yard. Red cushions decorate patio furniture on an upper deck that overlooks a “swim spa.” Pink, purple, turquoise and blue swings hang underneath the deck.

The color show softened to a Victorian wash of pink, Kelly green and white at Brent and Julie Baker’s garden, a 12-year labor-of-love inspired by Claude Monet’s house and garden in Giverny, France (see e-gardens 10-26-2023). Here, old roses climb fences and side-porch pillars, grapevines drip from pergolas and porch posts, and a 5-tiered, 12-foot-tall fountain (designed and built by the Bakers) dominates a large courtyard. Whimsy is prevalent throughout in the form of “teacup chandeliers” crafted by Julie.

Further along the tour, “island oasis” aptly describes Jake Heller’s and Brian Schwenk’s landscape, a shady haven filled with oak and pecan trees. A classic brick sidewalk winds from the front yard past a massive, 40-some-year-old staghorn fern to the back garden, where a large oleander grabs attention with its pink, star-shaped blooms. “We protect the staghorn fern by wrapping it during cold spells,” says Brian. “It is supported by an iron rod that runs through the center down to a metal plate underneath.”

The focus shifts to beach life at Shawnna “Munch” Pruitt’s garden retreat. There’s the painted octopus that clings to the front of her house, the antique glass fishing floats that sit atop flower pots and hang in fishing nets from the porch ceiling, the teak beach loungers, and the mermaid in a picture frame. And then there’s the water feature…a 35-foot-long tile and flagstone water wall with a catch basin (“trough”) underneath, designed by Shawnna to catch air conditioner condensation, i.e., “water that would otherwise go to waste.”

“Besides catching water that I use to water palms, cannas and other plants, the water cools the air and generates pleasant splashing sounds as it cascades down the tiles,” she explains. Shawnna stocked the trough with goldfish for mosquito control.

Nearby, bubbles and a hopscotch grid greeted tour-day visitors to Lana Mehrten’s garden, but it’s her massive collection of plumerias that catch the eye from late spring through fall. Some 250 of the fragrantly-blooming plants decorate balconies, patios, staircase landings and side yard gardens where they mingle with banana trees, palms, elephant ears and other tropical plants. The garden contains an abundance of whimsical garden art, as well, including a pink flamingo, a seashell-encased mailbox, and a blue and white checkerboard with seashell game pieces.

Butterflies, hummingbirds, and garden visitors enjoy the black-eyed Susan, gladiolus, cosmos, milkweed, and assorted blooming plants that thrive in John and Mary’s Hayes’s sunny, front yard pollinator garden. John and Mary also nurture a shade garden, a rose garden with 12 rose varieties, a potted cactus garden with 30 different varieties, a vegetable garden, and a cutting garden.

“My secret to a good garden is the dirt,” John says. “I supplement the garden with my own homegrown compost. We toss in flowers, veggies, peelings – things from the garden.”

Other highlights of the tour included the water feature at Walter and Sarah Click’s waterside home and the 240-year-old live oak tree that shaded Jeff and Shari Nielson’s backyard. The massive tree is documented to be among the oldest—if not the oldest—live oak tree on Galveston Island.

The Back Garden Tour helps fund Clean Galveston’s annual community grant program that awards grants to local organizations to beautify and enhance Galveston Island – “east to west, beach to bay!”