Each April, warblers and buntings tumble out of the sky after crossing the Gulf, and Corpus Christi fills with color all the way out to North Padre Island. Padre Landscapes shares its name with that long barrier island, reached from the city across the Laguna Madre, and the island's character runs through the coastal yards here: sea oats on the dunes, wind that rarely rests, spray drifting in off the surf. Landscapes in this country have to make peace with sand and salt, and the craft lies in keeping them handsome anyway. Lawns kept low and tight, shrubs shaped against the breeze, beds cleaned so the plantings read clearly against pale ground. Step outside on a spring morning and the yard looks as fresh as the light coming off the water.