< Previous90 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019HOMEPORT(Clockwise from top) Life boats made by local artist Jane Presswood decorate a table; pops of color decorate the beige and white tiles and cabinets in the kitchen; the dining room table is set with traditional utensils with pops of color to mirror the kitchen. COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019 91(Clockwise from above) Nancy and Darryl Greenfield’s dog peeks his head inside the living room. A deck can be accessed outside the living room, which is decorated with unique light fixtures and local art; a separate seating area has more couches and dimmer lighting. Photographs, sculptures and books can be found throughout the room; The Greenfields expanded the master bedroom by knocking out a wall on the third floor.92 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019HOMEPORTBy removing walls, they opened the kitchen to the sitting room, created a long bar for casual seating and decorated the rooms in blues and yellows.“The house was cluttered and closed in,” Nancy Greenfield said. “We liked the open feeling.”The removal of walls required the in-stallation of new ceiling beams, but they welcomed this addition by matching the beams to existing ones in the adjoining room, they said. Nancy Greenfield, with the help of decorator Kari Gifford, selected a pair of matching blue and white couches to face each other, with two blue, comfort-able chairs to make a cozy conversation circle. Gifford advised Nancy about colors for other rooms that proved to be good choices, she said.The nearby den is painted a deep blue and decorated with nautical art as well as Mexican alebrije, folk art sculptures of brightly colored mystical creatures. The Greenfields also support several popular local artists and have purchased many of their paintings, although Darryl Greenfield recently has begun photographing their sun-set view and displaying his own art.There are two guest rooms on the main floor, and Nancy uses one as her office.Upstairs, the master suite is spacious and features two large walk-in closets and spa-like bathroom. There’s a wall of windows (Clockwise from right) Nancy and Darryl Greenfield built a large patio on top of their boat dock; palm trees and shrubs grow on the side of the house. Nancy Greenfield is a Master Gardener and keeps plants growing around her house and massive side yard; deck chairs line the edge of the house. A large crepe myrtle drapes over the back balcony; the Greenfields have multiple seating options on the back deck. They frequently enjoy meals and morning coffee outside. COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019 93opening onto a small deck with two chairs and a little table — perfect for an intimate sunset happy hour. This area had been two bedrooms but a large, four-poster bed now dominates the airy room.The Greenfields upgraded the massive amount of deck space to include a private dining area on one side and a walkway out to a larger deck overlooking the water. Down-stairs, an equally substantial sheltered porch area features Turkish travertine tile laid out on the floor in an intricate geometric design.The house is surrounded by gardens — large spans of knockout roses, native grasses, palms, tropical birds of paradise and plumeria. Nancy Greenfield, who is a Galveston County Master Gardener, also uses her green thumb to grow a wide variety of bonsai, succulents and cacti. There are plants and massive planters everywhere, as well as an 80-gallon rainwater retrieval system to help water all the greenery.Looking back over the two renovations, Nancy Greenfield is pleased with the final product, she said.“We didn’t live in the house during the first one, but we were here for the second round, which took 11 months,” she said. Some of the work was more expensive than they had planned, she said.“But I think, within reason, you have to do what you want and do what you like,” she said. “That’s what we did.” 94 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019GARDEN VARIETYCOASTAL CROPIslander grows vegetables in a seaside gardenstory by BARBARA CANETTI photos by STUART VILLANUEVAPriscilla Baxter has taken raised bed gardening to new heights. She grows fruit and vegetables on her 12-foot high deck at her Galveston home.Baxter and her husband, Al, live in Pi-rates Beach in Galveston where she has figured out a way to successfully grow vegetables in her garden. Growing a garden on the beach isn’t an easy task. She built long wooden containers, paint-ed them blue to match the house and extended them the length of the 40-foot-long deck. In these boxes, Baxter planted her vegetable seedlings for a seasonal crop. As the plants grow, she ties them to the deck rail for support.She grows a variety of tomatoes — Roma, Ce-lebrity, Big Beef, Husky Cherry and Early Girl — as well as some zucchini, oregano, basil and tarragon.Having the raised garden on her deck and out-side her kitchen has several benefits, she said.There are no bugs, snails, worms or possums ruining her crop, she said.“I do have to watch for the birds, however,” she said, pointing to the fake snakes and plastic owls attached to the deck railing to deter curious birds. “But the common problems of ground planting I don’t have up here.”Baxter waters the gardens each morning and feeds or fertilizes when she remembers. Her crop is plentiful and she regularly gives friends and neighbors bags of fresh tomatoes.The Baxters have added some color to the deck garden with begonias, trailing sweet potato plants, impatiens and mums.Their quarter-acre yard near the beach also is perfect for planting tropicals and flowers. In the 20 years they have lived in Pirates Beach, they have cultivated several garden beds, each with a differ-ent purpose. There is a large wild flower garden, COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019 95Priscilla Baxter picks a tomato from a plant in the deck garden of her Pirates Beach home in Galveston.96 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019A rock garden under Priscilla Baxter’s house features simple succulents and a collection of pink flamingo birdhouses. COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019 9798 COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019GARDEN VARIETYa bougainvillea and Mexican petunia area, a smattering of sunflowers that came from the bird seed provided for migrating birds and an area dedicated to agave and oleanders.A large bottle brush tree near the deck blossoms into red spiky flowers, which attract bees to help with pollina-tion of the vegetable plants.“I only do easy plants,” Baxter said. “I don’t want to do anything difficult. And I like plants that come back each year.”The deck in the front of the house, which gets intense heat all day, is where she grows her sago palms, cacti and succulents, which don’t require as much care as the vegetables, she said.A sprawling fig tree, which is making a comeback after being dormant since the January 2018 freeze, will finally produce fruit again this year, she said. The colorful birds of paradise and plumeria give the yard color, and mint plants work as ground covers in the smaller flower beds.Under the house, the Baxters have a rock garden with some simple succulents and a collection of pink flamingo birdhouses hanging nearby. These are just ornamental, but they do have three large purple martin birdhouses, which are filled each year from February to July.“I’m really not a gardener,” Baxter said. “But I like to garden.” COASTMONTHLY.COM | AuguST 2019 99KAREN FLOWERS(409) 789-7377DAVID BRIDGWATER(409) 392-5655JOE TRAMONTE REALTY(409) 765-9837Beautiful one bedroom condo with amazing Gulf Views! Can be rented out as a vacation rental or used for full-time residence.Hotel-quality amenities include tropically decorated lobby, swimming pool deck, tennis courts, TONS of parking!1401 E BEACH DRIVE #608$269,000Easy, breezyBEACH GETAWAY!YOU'RE MORE THAN JUST A NUMBER!Next >