This large lot on Austin’s East Side contained a historic shotgun house and dozens of some of Austin’s tallest American Elms and Pecans- an enticingly blank slate for a self described “botany geek”. We designed a unique “rubble wall” to enclose a courtyard, planting the cracks with succulents. A custom-built sliding cedar gate opens into the courtyard, where gravel paths lead past generous board-form concrete raised vegetable beds to a brick-mosaic sitting area, accented with old roses, herbs and medicinal plants.