Creating a Sense of Place in Your Landscape
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 an effective plant palette, I create a "sense of place" in your landscape.
PLANT OF THE MONTH
May, 2026
This is a perennial known as 'Henry Duelberg' Sage, a version of Mealy Cup Sage (Salvia farinacea). It was discovered by Greg Grant, horticulturist, on an abandoned grave site of someone named Henry Duelberg, who died a long, long time ago. The plant was thriving, despite receiving neither irrigation nor care of any kind. I've never used Mealy Cup Sage, considering it under-powered, but this is Mealy Cup Sage on steroids! The plant bears no resemblance to the original in vigor. It is significantly larger and blooms constantly throughout the growing season while withstanding full sun and very little water. What a vibrant blue! What a tough, beautiful plant!
DESIGN TIP OF THE MONTH
March, 2026
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I'd like to showcase some stunning examples of rocks as mulch - a trend that just won't go away! First and foremost, as a designer, I see this as an aesthetic disaster. Rocks aren't found under trees, leaves and other organic debris are. This makes the rocks look unnatural and weird. Also uninviting and hard to walk on, which I can attest to, having taken this photo! |
Nice touch adding some organic material (mulch) under the trees. Rocks heat up the soil and air, making it harder for plants to survive high temperatures and drought. They also supply no organic matter (as mulch or leaves do) to the soil, which feed the plants as they decompose. It's a lose-lose!
Maintenance is greater, since falling leaves need to be removed often to retain the "clean", inorganic look of a rockscape. Weeds are more conspicuous among rocks than in soil or mulch and more difficult to remove.
In this photo, for less than the cost of the rocks, a low prairie grass seed (Blue Grama, for example) could provide a lush, beautiful, no mow, extremely drought tolerant, quick and maintenance free carpet. Perhaps some Texas Sages could be thrown in for interest, height and color.
Maintenance is greater, since falling leaves need to be removed often to retain the "clean", inorganic look of a rockscape. Weeds are more conspicuous among rocks than in soil or mulch and more difficult to remove.
In this photo, for less than the cost of the rocks, a low prairie grass seed (Blue Grama, for example) could provide a lush, beautiful, no mow, extremely drought tolerant, quick and maintenance free carpet. Perhaps some Texas Sages could be thrown in for interest, height and color.
Yikes!! I can't explain the thinking behind this installation. Rocks are often used to control soil erosion on a slope (although grass and other plant root structures do it better) but that is clearly not the case here. Extra rocks to use?? Mulch too much work ???
With little effort and cost, this very high visibility planter could be full of pink and red Turk's Caps, perhaps a Dwarf Palmetto, and some evergreen Webberville Sedge. This planting would be virtually maintenance free, woodsy, self-sustaining and inviting.
unusual sight of the month
April, 2026
I came upon several large groves of Retamas in full bloom along the Salado Creek Trail. Maybe because of their adaptability to disturbed soils, they've made a home along the greenway, where land may have been altered to make room for the trail. I had never noticed them before but they're hard to miss now!
Note the green bark, which allows them to perform photosynthesis with their trunks, when times are hard and insufficient rainfall has prompted them to shed their leaves. This is a very handy survival mechanism and makes them an exceptional choice for a drought resistant garden. The bright yellow flowers, which bloom intermittently throughout the growing season, will make your day.
Note the green bark, which allows them to perform photosynthesis with their trunks, when times are hard and insufficient rainfall has prompted them to shed their leaves. This is a very handy survival mechanism and makes them an exceptional choice for a drought resistant garden. The bright yellow flowers, which bloom intermittently throughout the growing season, will make your day.
