Tanya and Jeff Nuss sit under the covered area in the backyard of their Dickinson home. Photo by Stuart Villanueva
Just off Interstate 45, as Dickinson Bayou winds its way under an overpass, is a house built in 1897 surrounded by 3.5 acres of wild brush, overgrown vines, a variety of tall trees and an abundance of ferns. [Read more…]
A covered patio area wraps around a part of Peggy and Randy Dietel’s swimming pool, which is surrounded by flower beds with sculptures and unique vases. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds
Peggy Dietel is happy to be living in the Texas City home she grew up in. [Read more…]
Eric Bowers stands behind the counter of the island-themed bar in the backyard oasis he created at his home in Bayou Vista. Photo by Stuart Villanueva
Eric Bowers never had any intention of moving to Bayou Vista. He just liked to drive in on weekends from his home in the Houston Heights and visit friends, enjoy parties on their decks and watch the sunset over the bay while sipping a margarita. [Read more…]
Ben and Judy Svoboda’s house on Dickinson Bayou is surrounded by live oaks and water oaks dripping with Spanish moss, and palm trees. Photo by Kim Christensen
Ben and Judy Svoboda aren’t just homeowners — they’re keepers of history who enjoy looking through an album of black and white photographs documenting the lives of the people who lived on the Dickinson property before them. [Read more…]
Diane Royal displays beets from her backyard garden. Royal ventures out into her backyard most evenings to pick everything needed for a salad. Photo by Stuart Villanueva
Ten years ago, Diane and Glenn Royal of Seabrook saw a house they wanted to buy, but some other buyers beat them to it. Fortunately, the Royals became friends with the owners through the Seabrook Rotary Club. And when those owners needed to move last year, the Royals quickly bought the house. [Read more…]
Aimee Jackson, her husband, Gilbert, and their children Alivea and Garrett, love working in the yard of their 1-acre League City home. The property, a mostly bare field when they bought it in 2003, is now lush and colorfully landscaped. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds
It’s clear Gilbert and Aimee Jackson and family are serious about yard work. [Read more…]
Margaret Cherry’s League City yard might be small, but it is home to hundreds of tulips, including the Banja Luka variety with flaming yellow and red petals. Photo by Kim Christensen
Margaret Cherry ought to know a thing or two about tulips. A few months ago, she planted 1,600 bulbs. [Read more…]
Phil Speer stands in the doorway of his greenhouse. The 8-by-20-foot interior is home to hundreds of bromeliads. Photo by Stuart Villanueva
Phil Speer hands me a cutting from one of his bromeliad plants surrounding a tree in his Clear Lake-area front yard.
“Just try and kill this,” he said. “It won’t happen.” [Read more…]
Lynn Weeks and her husband, Richard, have the perfect vacation spot in their backyard. They transformed the once wooded area into a botanical wonderland. Photo by Kim Christensen
When Lynn and Richard Weeks moved to their house on 6.5 acres on Dickinson Bayou in 1983, it was basically surrounded by a wooded forest. [Read more…]
Karen Craig tends to tomatoes in the backyard garden of her Bacliff home. Photo by Stuart Villanueva
Although Karen and Bobby Craig’s Bacliff backyard is lush with blooming flowers and tasty vegetables, it’s the yard art that takes center stage. [Read more…]