Pearland sits barely 49 feet above sea level on the flat coastal prairie south of Houston, and that lack of slope shapes almost every landscape decision made here. The soil is heavy gumbo clay that swells sticky after one of the 52 inches of rain this area collects each year, then cracks wide open during an August dry spell. Yards near Shadow Creek Ranch and the older neighborhoods off Broadway around Pearland Town Center often need raised beds and compost blended soil just to give roots somewhere to breathe. Out toward Manvel and Friendswood, where the town truly meets the country, drainage swales and crushed limestone paths handle standing water better than turf ever will. Zone 9b heat means mulch is not optional, it is what keeps beds alive from June through September.