Walking through the garden of Bill and Linda Chambers’ home is like strolling through a nature scape. Paths wander through stands of iris, salvias, rudbeckias and coneflowers. A shady patio beckons one to sit on the bench. A Katrina survivor rose, ‘Peggy Martin’ cascades

over the fence in full bloom.

When Bill and Linda moved into the Royal Point home several years ago, the back yard was a bare lot, like all new construction. Linda had the landscaper lay out winding brick paths and add contours and drainage, carefully disguised as a rocky channel. The sunny side yard was graded and holds the vegetable garden space, along with a peach tree and two citrus trees that grow along the fence line. There is no grass in the entire back yard.

Linda’s garden must be able to handle neglect since Bill and Linda spend the hot summer months of July and August in their second home in Park City, Utah. Over the years, exotics have given up, leaving room for the hardy Texas native and adapted plants.

There is always a mass of blooms. In mid-April, when these photos were taken, the bluebonnets and most of the irises had peaked, but the salvias, black-eyed Susans and the roses were in full flower. Soon, the columbine, coneflowers, and other hardy volunteers will join the party