By: Ron Breland

West End Auto, my mechanic shop in far west Houston for many years, asked if I had any ideas to increase their curb appeal,due to increased competition in their area. 

I suggested turning their landscape into a semi-desert oasis,which would surely get noticed from all the incoming traffic coming down Alief-Clodine. 

The proposed landscape had to meet certain criteria: 

* It had to pretty much take care of it’s self. There would be no one to really have time to water or provide other maintenance chores,such as mowing or trimming. 

* It had to able to withstand constant abuse from blazing hot and cold temperatures,year round. The entire area was surrounded by concrete,providing no break from sun or wind. 

* It had to be tough enough to hold up to air pollution from 24 incoming traffic. 

* It had to be aesthetically pleasing with year round interest.

We removed all the existing plant material,conditioned the soil with a high organic mix, placed river rock and other stones for a permanent ground cover, and installed the following plant material: 

* Red Flowering Yucca ( Hesperaloe parviflora) 

* Gulf Coast Muhly ( Muhlenbergia capillaris) 

* Blue Emu ( Eremophila polycada x divaric) 

* Copper Canyon Daisy ( Tagetes lemonii)

* Yellow Fountain Plant ( Russelia equisetiformis ‘Aurea’) 

* Dwarf Palmetto ( Sabal minor)

* St. Elmo’s Fire ( Russelia sp.) 

Everything turned out great! The only maintenance, so far, has been keeping the beds weed free,once a month, and an annual organic feeding and heavy trim to keep things healthy and in bounds. The owner of the shop loves it and his customers do too! 

Ron can be reached at brelandr@comcast.net, (281) 491-9534 or www.organoscapes.com.