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Austin, Texas  ·  Any Project Any Budget
Lakeway, Texas

Landscaping Built for
Lakeway's Lake Travis Lots

The Ground You're Working With

Three Conditions That Shape
a Lakeway Yard

Red Agave builds hardscape-forward landscapes for Lakeway: marbled concrete patios poured to follow rocky grade, 1/4-inch steel edging, boulder fire pits, and planting chosen for a city that counts its deer and has pursued Firewise status since 2012. Water comes from Lakeway MUD, so our beds run on drip or nothing. Owner-designed, built by our own crew. 5.0 stars across 86 Google reviews.
1972

Lakeway MUD Water

Lakeway's water comes from Lakeway Municipal Utility District, formed in 1972, which serves parts of the city and the Village of the Hills. A district that size watches every gallon, and so do we. Lakeway beds are designed for drip irrigation or none at all once established.

Deer

A City That Counts Its Deer

Lakeway has run a formal deer-management program for years, complete with a city deer census. Where the city counts deer, the plant list has to assume browsing. Agaves, yuccas, sotol, and the aromatic natives go untouched; anything soft and green gets eaten.

2012

Firewise Since 2012

After the 2011 Central Texas fires, Lakeway began working toward Firewise Community status in November 2012. Hardscape against the house, gravel and decomposed granite instead of bark mulch, and open spacing between shrubs all follow Firewise practice, and they look better in this landscape anyway.

What That Means for the Design

Pour the Floor, Edge It in Steel,
Plant What Deer Skip

Lakeway sits in the Hill Country on the south shore of Lake Travis, and the ground is rarely level or soft. That is why our Lakeway patios are poured rather than laid. A marbled concrete slab goes down over a compacted base in one piece, follows the grade, and has no sand joints for weeds or ants. Board-formed edges give it a crisp architectural line. Our concrete vs. paver comparison covers the trade-offs; on rocky ground, concrete wins. Base concrete runs $14 per square foot and the marbled finish $22. See the marbled concrete service.

Where the slab ends, 1/4-inch mild steel edging takes over, holding a clean line between decomposed granite paths and planting beds. Steel edging doubles as a Firewise detail: it keeps a gravel strip against the structure and keeps bark mulch away from it. Read more in our decomposed granite guide.

The fire pit is the social center of a Lakeway yard. We build them in hand-set limestone boulders with propane plumbed underneath, so there is no wood pile and no embers, which matters in a Firewise community. See our fire pit service and the gas vs. wood comparison.

Case Study · Lakeway

Lakeway Hardscape:
1,800 Square Feet in 16 Days

A Lakeway home with a worn, uneven back yard and a lake-house entertaining schedule. Red Agave poured 1,800 square feet of marbled concrete patio with board-formed edges, ran 240 linear feet of 1/4-inch mild steel edging to separate patio, path, and bed, and set a floating boulder fire pit with propane plumbing at the center. 24V FCOB perimeter lighting on an ESP32 WLED controller outlines the slab at night. Native xeriscape beds finish the edges with plants the deer leave alone.

Patio1,800 sq ft marbled concrete
FinishBoard-formed edges, marbled
Cost$14/sq ft base, $22/sq ft marbled
Edging240 LF 1/4" mild steel
Fire pitFloating boulder, propane
Lighting24V FCOB perimeter, ESP32 WLED
PlantingNative xeriscape beds
Build time16 days, one in-house crew
Marbled concrete patio in Lakeway with board-formed edges meeting a decomposed granite path
Floating limestone boulder fire pit with propane flame on a Lakeway marbled concrete patio
1/4-inch steel edging separating a Lakeway patio from a native planting bed with FCOB lighting

Read the full Lakeway Hardscape case study →

Planting

Plants Lakeway Deer
Walk Past

The Lakeway palette starts with structure the deer ignore: Whale's Tongue and Artichoke agave, softleaf yucca, and sotol. Our cold-hardy agave guide lists the ones that also shrug off a Hill Country freeze.

Around them go the aromatics and the tough natives: Texas sage, autumn sage, Mexican feathergrass, and blackfoot daisy. Deer avoid the scented leaves, and every one of these runs on rainfall once established, which suits a Lakeway MUD water bill. Spacing stays open and mulch is decomposed granite, both Firewise practice. Full lists in native plants for Austin and plants that survive an Austin summer.

Questions From Lakeway

Deer, Fire, and Rock

Which plants do Lakeway deer leave alone?
Agaves, yuccas, sotol, Texas sage, autumn sage, rosemary, and Mexican feathergrass. Deer skip spines and scented foliage. Soft, broad-leafed plants and most annuals get browsed, so we leave them out of Lakeway designs.
What does Firewise landscaping look like?
A non-flammable zone against the house made of hardscape, gravel, or decomposed granite; no bark mulch touching the structure; shrubs spaced apart rather than massed; and tree limbs kept clear of the roof. Lakeway began pursuing Firewise Community status in 2012.
Why poured concrete instead of pavers in Lakeway?
Rocky, uneven ground. A poured slab follows the grade in one piece over a compacted base and has no sand joints to wash out. Base concrete runs $14 per square foot and the marbled finish $22; pavers run $21 before the base work on rock.
Does the fire pit need gas?
The Lakeway project used propane plumbed to a floating boulder pit, which gives flame without a wood pile or embers. We build wood-burning pits too; our gas vs. wood guide covers the choice.
How long did the Lakeway project take?
16 days from the first pour to the last plant, by one in-house crew. Design, concrete, steel, fire pit, lighting, and planting all ran under one schedule.
Explore

Nearby Areas & Related Services

Bee CaveWestlake HillsSteiner RanchDripping SpringsMarbled ConcreteFire PitsXeriscape

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