A front entry built from the slab up.

On Willowcrest Place in Cochran's Crossing, we rebuilt the front of the house around three pieces of hardscape: a La Pietra tumbled-edge porcelain entry set on a new poured concrete slab, low stucco raised beds finished to match the house, and crisp concrete curbing that frames a prostrate rosemary trough. Then we planted it in clipped evergreens and white and pink blooms.

Front entry of the Willowcrest Place home in Cochran's Crossing: white stone arch, tumbled-edge porcelain walk, white Versailles planters and stucco raised beds by Petal Organic, The Woodlands TX

Finished La Pietra tumbled-edge porcelain entry walk running between the lawn and a stucco raised bed toward white Versailles planters, The Woodlands TX

01 · A porcelain entry on a poured slab.

We tore out the old flagstone and poured a new concrete slab under the entire walk, the wide step and the landing. Porcelain is tough, cool underfoot and won't stain, but it's only as good as what's under it. A solid, level slab means the tile won't settle, rock or crack. On top goes La Pietra porcelain with a tumbled edge, so every joint softens and the walk reads like old cut stone beside the home's white stone front.

New poured concrete slab under the walk, step and landing, in place of the old flagstone.
La Pietra tumbled-edge porcelain with the look of rough-cut stone.
Laid out in 3D first, so the tile pattern, step and planters were set before the pour.
Built-in planters at the front landing.

Two tiers of white stucco raised beds and concrete curbing with prostrate rosemary along the side of a white stone house, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

02 · Stucco raised beds, finished to match the house.

Low raised beds, 10 inches tall and 8 inches wide, run along the front of the house in long, clean lines and meet in a sharp V at the corner. We finished them in smooth stucco with a softly rounded top and painted them to match the house trim, so they look like they were built with the house.

10" tall × 8" wide walls, stepping around the front and side.
Smooth stucco finish with a rounded top edge.
Painted to match the trim on the house: Benjamin Moore White Down (970).
Black star gravel drainage along the foundation behind the beds.

Prostrate rosemary spilling over a white concrete curb beside the stucco raised bed along the front of the house, Willowcrest Place, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

03 · Concrete curbing and a rosemary trough.

A low concrete curb runs alongside the raised beds, leaving a narrow trough between curb and wall that we planted with prostrate rosemary. It gives the front its two-tier look, keeps the lawn out of the beds, and gives the mower a clean edge to follow.

Concrete curbing set parallel to the raised beds.
A prostrate rosemary trough between curb and wall, green all year with blue spring flowers.
A clean mowing edge against fresh Emerald zoysia.

Before & after: the front corner.

Before: low shrubs, a big clump of standard old variegated alpinia ginger and an open mulch bed with no edge or structure.

After: two tiers of white stucco raised beds, a concrete curb and a prostrate rosemary trough at the same corner of the house.

Before: front corner of the house with low shrubs, an old clump of variegated alpinia ginger and an open mulch bed, Willowcrest Place, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

After: white stucco raised beds and a prostrate rosemary trough at the front corner of the house, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

Before & after: the front entry.

Before: a flagstone path, round shrubs and a mulch island around the oak.

After: La Pietra tumbled-edge porcelain on a new poured slab, white stucco raised beds, Versailles planters and a Chinese fringe tree at the door.

Before: front entry with a flagstone path, round shrubs and a mulch island around an oak, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

After: Chinese fringe tree in white bloom over the new porcelain entry, white cedar Versailles planters and lantern-lit white stone, Willowcrest Place, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

Designed in 3D. Approved by variance.

Every Petal Organic design starts as a 3D model of your home, and on Willowcrest Place that model had to do more than sell the idea. Because of the way the lot sits, the building line only allowed us to replace the existing front walk, not build a new one, and the old walk was poorly built and didn't work.

So we applied for a variance. Between the holidays and personnel changes on The Woodlands Residential Design Review Committee (RDRC), approval took two months, and the homeowner and Cindy attended meeting after meeting, walking the committee through the 3D renders and the hand-drawn plan. The variance was granted, and the porcelain entry you see here is the result.

Need RDRC approval? We prepare the drawings and 3D renders, and we'll sit in those meetings with you.

3D layout of the new front entry walk in rectangular porcelain tile between two raised planting beds, drawn for the RDRC variance, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

Aerial 3D site plan of the Willowcrest Place property in Cochran's Crossing, used for the RDRC variance, showing the pool, privacy trees, front entry beds and lawn islands

3D render of the front yard with stucco raised beds, clipped globes and topiary at the entry, Willowcrest Place, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

Chinese fringe tree and clipped evergreen beds in front of the white stone home, with the porcelain walk and Versailles planters at the entry, Willowcrest Place, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

White and pink, on green.

The front and side yards are planted in white and pink flowers set against green on green: glossy camellia leaves, fine sedge, clipped yaupon and the loose weep of yaupon branches. With one color story, the texture does the talking.

A Chinese fringe tree at the entry covers itself in white, star-shaped flowers each spring, right over the Versailles planters.
White and pink, all year. Seafoam and High Fragrance camellias in winter, Mexican plum, native winecup and serissa in spring, and Ducher roses and almond verbena from spring to frost.
Fragrance at the door. Sweet-pea-scented High Fragrance camellia, honey-almond verbena and white plum blossoms, all planted where you walk.
Dwarf yaupon balls in four sizes, from 3 to 30 gallons, in a loose, natural grouping.
Eagleston holly accents at the corners, including two big 65-gallon trees.

Olive trees in cedar planters on the pool patio, with young Eagleston hollies along a new cedar privacy fence, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

Out back: privacy around the pool.

A living privacy screen. Big lollipop Eagleston hollies and Dahoon hollies went in along the back and side fences, behind the pool and by the trampoline.
New beds and drainage. We tore out the old foundation beds across the back of the house and rebuilt them with proper drainage.
Evergreen structure. Yaupon balls and ligularia fill the beds, with native groundcovers and sedges for color through the year.
An edible garden. Olive trees in custom cedar Versailles planters, Improved Meyer lemons, and Dorset Golden and Anna apples, all chosen to fruit in our Gulf Coast climate.
A tidy service side. The St. Augustine came out of the side yard, replaced with level crushed granite and gravel.
Smart irrigation. Bubblers for every big hedge plant, separate lawn and bed zones, and drip to the pots, all on a Rachio controller.

Olive trees in white-painted cedar Versailles planters with black iron straps on the pool patio, Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX

Versailles planters, built by hand.

We built solid cedar reproductions of the classic Versailles orangery planter, the same design French gardeners used for citrus and olives at the palace. A hinged side door makes it easy to tend the roots.

Each one can be painted or left natural: at the front entry they're painted white to match the house, and around the pool the olive trees grow in them too. Left natural, the cedar weathers to a soft silver; painted, they look like they came with the house.

Solid cedar · 2' 11" tall · about 3' 2" square · hinged side door · finial posts · painted or natural

Hand-colored landscape plan of the Willowcrest Place property in Cochran's Crossing by Petal Organic

From first sketch to first bloom.

October 2025 · Design. Walked the property, built the 3D model and priced the front and back.

December 2025 · Approval. Agreement signed December 1. The landscape plan went to The Woodlands Township for approval.

Winter 2025–26 · Build. Tear-out, the new slab, stucco beds and curbing, then planting front and back.

Spring 2026 · Finished and blooming. Porcelain laid on the new slab, and the white and pink palette filling in around the hardscape.

Plant palette: Eagleston holly, Dahoon holly, dwarf yaupon (Texas native), Chinese fringe tree, serissa, Ice Cap and Climbing Iceberg roses, Ducher rose, prostrate rosemary, ligularia, Seafoam and High Fragrance camellias, Mexican plum (Texas native), almond verbena, winecup (Texas native), weeping yaupon (Texas native), grassland sedge, olives, Improved Meyer lemons, Dorset Golden and Anna apples, Emerald zoysia.

Materials: La Pietra tumbled-edge porcelain, poured concrete slab, stucco raised beds in Benjamin Moore White Down (970), concrete curbing, black star gravel, crushed granite, leaf mold compost, native hardwood mulch and MicroLife organic fertilizer.

Your yard next?

See your garden in 3D before we build it. From the first walk-through to the RDRC paperwork to the last plant in the ground, Petal Organic designs and builds native, organic landscapes across The Woodlands.

Call 832-332-9204 or email cindy@petalorganic.com

Plan your project

Stucco raised beds and rosemary trough at dusk with the entry lanterns lit, a Petal Organic landscape in Cochran's Crossing, The Woodlands TX