Welcome to Jean Robinson Design. I am Jean Robinson, I live in San Antonio, Texas, and operate a landscape architectural design business for San Antonio and environs. I meet with you on site at no charge, to discuss your project and provide an estimate for my services.
My love of design sprung from a passion for native Texas plants-plants from here. Our chances of a successful landscape greatly increase when we take advantage of the plants that already know how to survive here without our intervention!
My love of design sprung from a passion for native Texas plants-plants from here. Our chances of a successful landscape greatly increase when we take advantage of the plants that already know how to survive here without our intervention!
I provide both residential and commercial design as well as consulting services. I am interested in, and driven by the concept of sustainability and care for our local ecosystem. By incorporating native plants and sustainable practices such as low water use into my designs, I help you contribute to the health and balance of our environment. Your payback is a lower water bill and less work! The more we work with nature instead of against it, the easier the task!
My range of services include residential landscape design (front yard design, backyard design or both), commercial landscape design, informal design sketches, illustrative site plans, horticultural consultation and related services. Drawing from my design education and knowledge of Texas native plants, I create outdoor rooms that are both inviting and easy to maintain. With good design and the right plant palette, I create a "sense of place" in your landscape.
PLANT OF THE MONTH
September, 2024
Here is the native Texas Lantana, Lantana urticoides, in its natural form. Although not as densely blooming as the hybrids in the mainstream nursery trade, even those labeled urticoides, it has its lanky charm! It towers above other perennials and shrubs, attracting butterflies galore!
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DESIGN TIP OF THE MONTH
September, 2024
TOP 5 PERFORMERS FOR THE "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" LAST THREE SUMMERS
(And they all happen to be natives!)
(And they all happen to be natives!)
As a Darwinist, I thought I would list my most impressive survivors of this summer, and the last two summers before that. I do encounter random objections to some of these-reconsider! These are the plants that make our landscapes look good and us like we know what we're doing. Here they are. You can't go wrong with these. Get ready to plant!
BEST SHADE TREE: Bigtooth Maple (Acer grandidentatum)
My Bigtooth Maple, planted twenty two years ago, has survived for twenty years on rainfall alone, and it looks extremely happy. It is in an out of the way spot, and I didn't think to water it because it always looked so healthy. I started watering it last summer and it has only grown faster and become more bushy since then. It may not always get the fall color we like, due to prevailing weather conditions, but it is a very handsome and extremely tough tree.
BEST SMALL ORNAMENTAL TREE: Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora)
Always evergreen, putting up with 100+ degrees for months at a time, it laughs at a week
of snow as well. Its glossy leaves never look wilted and it has striking purple flowers
every spring, whose fragrance makes us glad to live in Texas. These are underutilized
as evergreen screens, and can be pruned if needed or left to their natural form. Irrigation: optional!
BEST SHADE TREE: Bigtooth Maple (Acer grandidentatum)
My Bigtooth Maple, planted twenty two years ago, has survived for twenty years on rainfall alone, and it looks extremely happy. It is in an out of the way spot, and I didn't think to water it because it always looked so healthy. I started watering it last summer and it has only grown faster and become more bushy since then. It may not always get the fall color we like, due to prevailing weather conditions, but it is a very handsome and extremely tough tree.
BEST SMALL ORNAMENTAL TREE: Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora)
Always evergreen, putting up with 100+ degrees for months at a time, it laughs at a week
of snow as well. Its glossy leaves never look wilted and it has striking purple flowers
every spring, whose fragrance makes us glad to live in Texas. These are underutilized
as evergreen screens, and can be pruned if needed or left to their natural form. Irrigation: optional!
BEST LARGE SHRUB: Texas Sage or Cenizo ( Leucophyllum spp. ) With all the new cultivars and hybrids, there is something for everyone. This shrub is evergreen (or gray), can usually exist on rainfall alone, and flowers very reliably prior to rainfall. What an exciting shrub! It celebrates a rain event! Depending on the grower and where you get them, the mature size of the plant may be slightly unpredictable-a small price to pay. The worst that can happen is you might need to prune a little occasionally. Another very underutilized evergreen screen.
BEST SMALL SHRUB: Dwarf Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra 'Nana') This 3'-5' shrub looks dainty but is extremely tough. It is constantly blooming and setting fruit throughout the growing season. It produces the Acerola berry, the highest source of Vitamin C on earth, used to make Vitamin C tablets. Bees, birds and other pollinators LOVE this plant. Perfect for a Wildscape.
Or just a pretty shrub or hedge. It may die back in winter, but comes back quickly and stronger than ever. Doesn't wilt when blasted by late afternoon sun. This shrub is more entertaining and pretty when it gets a fair amount of sun. It does not seem to need water once established.
Or just a pretty shrub or hedge. It may die back in winter, but comes back quickly and stronger than ever. Doesn't wilt when blasted by late afternoon sun. This shrub is more entertaining and pretty when it gets a fair amount of sun. It does not seem to need water once established.
BEST PERENNIAL: Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) is famed for its shade tolerance but does well in sun, too. It can look slightly wilted in sun and heat, but rebounds very quickly and with vigor at the slightest drop of rain. A great tall groundcover, particularly under trees where grass won't grow.
unusual sight of the month
October, 2024
This is a photo from today, October 18, in Shavano Park. While at my client's house, I noticed his Redbud was blooming and about to go into full bloom mode, based on all the buds. Redbuds bloom in early spring, before the leaves appear. I've NEVER seen one bloom in fall, ever! Very, very unusual!! This is a 'Merlot' Redbud, a cross between the Texas Redbud and Eastern 'Forest Pansy' Redbud which has purple leaves. The leaves on 'Merlot' come out purple and remain so a good part of the year, depending on the amount of sunlight they receive. One of my very favorite trees. Extremely drought tolerant and very striking to look at with the purple leaves. And now this! The only unusual circumstance with this tree that could even possibly explain this fall blooming phenomenon is that it has been watered excessively.
