During the morning option tour of the  Dallas Garden Writer’s Association meeting, I found  all the gardens divine. The Munseterman Garden particularly caught my fancy.   The tour package described the garden as such:

Garden Designer, horticulturist and landscape contractor Munsterman has converted an inner city bunglow’s typical back yard into a series of compact garden rooms that allow him multiple activities unusual for  such a small space.

A pergola of his design for dining, searting around a fire pit, shaded lounging furniture outside his office building, raised vegetable beds and a chicken yard are compact, but vastly usable any time of the year.  Inserted among the graden rooms are water features, outdoor lighting, decorative containers and annuals and perennials that keep the spaces colorful.

With so many uses programmed into the site, you might expect the overall effect to be higgledy-piggledy, yet the precise geometries teach the value of simplicity.  As at most gardeners’ own homes, this property features a variety of plant materials.  The organized chaos of the plantings is anchored by the structure of boxwood hedges.

The front yard’s curbside garden is atypical for Dallas’ traditional established neighborhoods.  Rather than standard foundation plantings, Munsterman takes the idea of curb appeal to new heights.  In season, a jumble of colorful perennials and annuals tumble over the curb to stop traffic with their jaunty pinks violets and golds and welcome visitors to a tidy but exuberant setting.

This a very good definition of curb appeal. As you park on the street, the passenger (and homeowner) will have no worries stepping on the plants.

The use of pots here and throughout Dallas were wonderful.

Just enough grass to set off the wonderful beds

Note these lovely textures

What a great partition/fence idea.  Framework, wire and vine.

This garden had several seating areas.

I was ready to light up and make s’mores.

Or you could cool off  here if the fire got too hot

The nice element centered the raised veggie garden

The chickens in this coop have an excellent view

This seating is outside the office

And yet another place to rest

As I was leaving the garden, Munsterman shared an Agave ‘Mr. Ruffles’ with me.  It is now potted up sitting among other Agave friends.
Helen  Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

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Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum

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Beautiful Wildlife Garden

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Tarheel Gardening – your online resource for North Carolina gardening enthusiasts.