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Show us your garden: A welcoming zone of flagstone and flowers in Euless

BY SUSAN HAYDEN KENNEDY

Special to the Star-Telegram

The blistering intensity of late summer and Texas’ hot August sun don’t deter avid gardeners like Kenneth and Jackie Cantrell of Euless. In fact, they seem to do their best work then, and the result is a sophisticated outdoor space with the ambience of a cheery restaurant courtyard.

Several years ago, the Cantrells braved the backbreaking task of removing sod from their Euless back yard and laying sand and gravel as a foundation for a sprawling flagstone patio that now defines the space. Using temporary metal edging, they marked off areas for garden beds.

Two sheds underwent makeovers, too. Termite-damaged timber was replaced with steel framing, and wood siding supplanted metal walls. The couple installed vintage stained-glass windows bought at auction, and Kenneth crafted the paneled wood doors and trim that grace the entrances.

One shed serves as a workshop for the couple; the other is a potting shed. Ceilings are painted “haint blue,” a color that mimics the sky and reportedly wards off wasps and spiders. Quick-growing English ivy clambers up the exteriors, contributing to the sense of age.

Currently, the plant roster is subtly transitioning from sun to shade as a bald cypress and a Shantung maple continue to mature and expand their canopies.

“[Gardens] are always evolving, right? You’re always changing something,” Kenneth explains.

Roses, bridal wreath spirea, and oregano will need sunnier plots soon. But Turk’s cap, columbine, blue-black salvia, althea, clematis and “John Fanick” phlox relish the filtered light. A glossy spider lily, grown from a start given by a friend, is now a focal point by the potting shed.

Jackie points out the couple’s new favorite plant, “Azure Skies” heliotrope, a ground cover with growing habits similar to lantana. Found at the Grapevine Garden Club’s annual plant sale, this rapid grower produces tiny lavender flowers from spring to fall, beckoning bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Planting Azure Skies along the front borders of the garden beds, as the Cantrells have done, allows admirers a close-up view of the delicate blooms.

Another plus is Azure Skies’ adaptability to both sun and shade. The Cantrells are slowly replacing the sun-loving, spring-blooming creeping phlox with it.

Completing the space are several seating areas that blur the lines between indoor and outdoor living, making the garden an extension of the home. A couch and two chairs cozy up to a chimenea in one spot, while two lounge chairs under an umbrella offer rest in another.

In a third zone, a bistro table and chairs promise alfresco dining on a covered patio. And in a purposeful attempt to link the seating areas visually, Jackie has used cushions in green, her favorite color.

Providing the finishing touches, restaurant-style lights bought at Costco and strung overhead on taut wires zigzag gracefully across the garden. Speakers hidden among the greenery deliver music when desired.

The Cantrells enjoy their garden in every season, using the chimenea and a firepit on the covered patio throughout the winter in order to linger over morning coffees. The festive outdoor space has hosted their daughter’s wedding reception and a 25th wedding anniversary for Jackie’s mother and stepfather in addition to smaller gatherings.

Thoughtful touches designed to provide aromatic pleasures for guests include a planting of several almond verbena bushes that perfume the air with a heady, sweet scent and a deep pink multiflora climbing rose specifically situated outside the guest room window.

An evening stroll — wineglasses in hand — is a favorite time in the garden.

“I travel for work,” Jackie says. “So when I get back into town, that’s one of the big things I love to do. In the evening before it gets dark, grab a glass of wine and come see what’s changed.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/living/home-garden/article31648862.html#storylink=cpy