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Fertile Ground Gardens is currently accepting design and build projects.  Our services include:

• Native and Adapted Plantings
• Drought-Tolerant Gardens
• Edible Plantings and Permaculture Solutions
• Walkways, Patios, Retaining Walls
• Welded Steel Structures
• Drainage Management
• Decks and Pergolas
• Landscape Lighting
• Rain Gardens

Projects

East Side Modern

This east side property serves as a vacation home for the owner who wants to spend their time in Austin relaxing.  It features a dining area for entertaining, fire pit, a hammock, and lawn game space surrounded by lush and hardy native bloom.  Citrus trees are prominent and provide fruit for cocktails.  The zoysia lawn thrives in low water and Texas heat.  Every part of the garden was designed to be able to relax harder with minimal upkeep.

Hyde Park Social

The clients requested outdoor space in the front yard to enable interaction with the neighbors in this highly walkable neighborhood while still providing a safe space for their young child to play. We built a retaining wall and dry creek feature to address the drainage from the lawn and create a beautiful as well as functional surrounding to the patio expansion. We built an open fence for safety that allows visibility with the neighbors and removed all lawn outside the fence to reduce water consumption. The ramped walkway installed from the back door accommodates a stroller. The clients were very happy with the results and felt more connected to the community.

Mueller Courtyard

We have had the pleasure of working with the client over time to evolve this courtyard garden.  Originally the space was filled with bermuda grass and one Monterrey oak tree.  We removed all grass and added granite pathways and beds of native, low maintenance plants.  The trees have grown, cross vine and knock out roses have filled in, and stone borders recently added.  The result is a very pleasing and comfortable personal outdoor space with seasonal bloom and low water requirements.

Hyde Park Xeriscape

The challenges of this project included water infiltrating the house foundation and a shady front yard filled with weeds. A dry creek pathway on the side of the home directs water into berms featuring native plants. Reclaimed Chicago brick circles highlight the existing trees. Mixed gravels and welded steel edging provide structural interest for low water usage plants. Custom trellises in the back hold Crossvine to screen the garage and a small lawn utilizes habiturf grass mix from the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. 90% of the lawn was removed, yet the garden is full and lush.

Tarrytown Metal

This garden was designed and installed during the height of the 5 year-drought in Central Texas. The backyard originally held lawn in full sun that had completely died. The client wanted the new garden to be highly visible from the house and back covered porch and require minimal maintenance. Steel terraces ease the slope and prevent erosion while raised containers make the plants more visible from the house. Interesting succulents and highly drought tolerant plants ensure ease of care and low water usage. There is no irrigation in this garden.

Central Austin Native & Heirloom

The client for this project had many of the design elements pre-planned and a large collection of heirloom plants from her mother’s and grandmother’s gardens to incorporate. A broken driveway was removed and re-purposed as urbanite stepping stones for the front walkway. Six-inch chopped stone defines lawn and seating areas in geometric shapes surrounded by densely planted beds that mix natives with the client’s heirloom plants. Irises and ground orchids mix with native Turk’s cap and agarita in the shade surrounding the seating areas. Day lilies and irises coexist with blooming, sun-loving natives in the front bed which will fill in over time to create privacy from the street.