Abundant shade may be the best defense against drought and summer heat, as shown by Spring Lake Garden Club’s October Yard of the Month. This front yard garden celebrates 50 years of care by original owner Zulema Cuevas and her late husband Tomas, whose house was one of the first in the Sunset Acres subdivision. The Cuevas family home on Lockwood Street between Broadway and Del Sol benefits from two mature trees, a pecan and an oak planted by sons Tomas and Jesse decades ago. Many smaller trees were added over the years, as Zulema filled the yard with a variety of flowers, herbs and succulents, in pots and in beds, with rich soil built up from every year’s fallen leaves. When medical issues caused a pause in her gardening efforts, her two sons and daughters Lisa and Tammy stepped in to help, but Zulema notes that plants under partial shade survived better even without her daily care.
A wide curving flagstone walk edged with planting beds leads to the front door, with a nearby chile pequin loaded with fruits growing next to a potted red hibiscus. The chile bush enjoys sunshine as well as shade from the roof soffit, which also protects the hibiscus. A mini herb garden grows in a bed at the end of the walk, with minty yerba buena still offering leaves for tea. A small rosemary shoot which survived a winter freeze shelters under a climbing rose near the driveway.
Stone-edged planting beds on both sides of the walkway are filled with intricate blooms of white spider lilies. Other lilies (pink and red) grow elsewhere in the yard, but roses are an equal favorite. Zulema has collected eight roses, both bush and climbing varieties, with red and yellow blossoms. Purple-leaved trandescantia flourishes in a bed around the oak and in one along the front of the house, which also features two short sago palms and a potted spider plant. In a bed by the curbside mailbox, aloes and purple irises join purple-flowered giant spiderwort for an end-of-summer show, including a bright yellow sunflower volunteer. Several crape myrtles (red and white) add height to yard plantings, and a mountain laurel beside the driveway is growing tall as it seeks more sunshine. A small pomegranate tree on the opposite side of the yard found more light and produced four fruits this year, and a new peach tree near the street may bear fruit when it matures.
Garden ornaments collected over 50 years are distributed all around the yard, including an impressive collection of lanterns, sized from petite metal art to large stone light stations. Decorative bird houses comprise another collection of yard art, in many sizes and colors throughout the yard. Carefully sited solar spotlights bring attention to these artful additions after sunset.
Zulema explains that many plants in the yard have been “planted” by birds (including sunflowers and the chile pequin by the front door), and she welcomes these volunteers. She has often passed along cuttings and useful items to friends and neighbors, and her generous spirit is part of the Cuevas family heritage. The Cuevas Produce Market established by her late husband stocked crucial provisions for residents after floods and freezes caused hardship for many families in San Marcos. The family enterprise continues, as does Zulema’s garden.
