The corner at Julian and Ridge has been a mystery to me for several years, so I was happy to meet Gene and Chris Feronti, who have raised their family adjacent to the corner since 1984, and began this 'Orphan Garden' ten years ago!
It started as a blank slate and a couple donations of yucca and agave cacti when a friend and neighbor's succulent sprouted seedlings. The trans-plantings took off! They managed a variety of random donations from neighbors and written-off dumpster or discount finds of succulents, grasses, and flowering beauties into an inspired design. Their yuccas are peacefully at home here, standing tall, spines shimmering in a breeze, with a symmetry that snaps back when the air is calm again. The heat and periodic droughts agree with them as the garden thrives without irrigation!
Their Orphan Garden includes:
yucca
agave
prickly pear
sago palm
asparagus fern
firecracker bush
Mexican petunia
daylilies
nandina
mother of thousands
native Texas grasses
and a rich jasmine and monkey grass ground cover
A variety of trees and bushes too:
camphor
pecan
oleander
crepe myrtle
Stroll by this peaceful bend at Ridge and Julian and let the calm set in. Thank you to the Ferontis for sharing their yard with us!
- Stephanie Riceman, Dir of Beautification