November 02, 2018
THIRST art exhibit: Memorializing 300 million trees killed by drought
September 30, 2013 Lady Bird Lake is a constant-level lake — kept that way through releases of water upstream — which means that the ongoing, devastating Texas drought has not touched this beautiful body of water that meanders through downtown Austin. While Lake Travis and other Highland Lakes continue to …
Celebrating Our National Parks: A bloggers’ meme reprise
September 28, 2013 Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona Today is National Public Lands Day, the “largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands” in the U.S., which includes free admission to U.S. national parks, monuments, and forests. It’s my goal to see as many national parks as possible — and I …
Seeing red: It’s oxblood lily time!
September 26, 2013 Yesterday morning I saw that the oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) in the back garden were going to be in full bloom once the sun rose. But I was out all day long with client meetings, after-school driving to a volleyball game, and dinner. Finally at 7:15 pm, …
Sizzling wok planters for cactus and succulents
September 25, 2013 Cruising up Burnet Road last week I spotted a new store, Remixologie, with this intriguing, red-hot planter gracing their entry. Naturally I had to stop for a closer look. It turns out they’re selling these aptly named steel wok planters from 2wards Design Group. The brochure says …
Autumn light and a morning garden stroll
September 24, 2013 October has arrived early in Austin. Since Saturday we’ve all been thrilling to temperatures in the 80s and low 90sF, with a dry, northerly breeze. While those temps may sound summery to some of my readers — those who do not live and garden under the Death …
Lawn Gone talk this Thursday at Zilker Garden
September 22, 2013 Hey, Austinites, I’ll be speaking at The Garden Club of Austin this Thursday from 7:30 to 8:30 pm about how to design your yard with less or no lawn. The talk is free and open to the public, so come on out and get some ideas for …
Switch Hit: Substituting local plants to recreate gardens you admire in magazines
September 20, 2013 Do you ever mentally substitute plants that grow well in your region for non-hardy plants you see in a magazine or blog picture from another region? As a gardener in a part of the country not well represented by national gardening magazines, I often find that the …
Drive-By Gardens: No-lawn, deer-resistant garden in Jester
September 19, 2013 While driving the hilly West Austin neighborhood of Jester this week, I couldn’t help noticing this attractive, lawn-gone garden that relies heavily on evergreens and ornamental grasses with a sprinkling of flowering perennials for color. Limestone boulders and pieced flagstone pathways are a key design element here …
Oxblood lilies in bloom and other garden excitement
September 18, 2013 The red flags of oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) bloomed for two or three days in the front garden, but by yesterday they were shriveled in the heat and hanging at half mast. A short but sweet show. I have only a few bulbs in this area, sprinkled …
Green texture for September Foliage Follow-Up
September 16, 2013 I know I keep coming back to this part of my garden for Foliage Follow-Up, but I just can’t help it. Planted earlier this year, its growth has been explosive, especially of the silvery groundcover pictured here, our native woolly stemodia (Stemodia lanata). Here’s another look. Silver-green …
Plant This: Indian mallow
September 15, 2013 In my sunniest, driest garden beds, gray globemallow (Sphaeralcea incana) is a true performer. When I first spotted this Indian mallow in the exhibition hall at GWA Tucson last fall, I mistook it for another of the many species of Sphaeralcea. Was I surprised to learn that …
New snake pot and other succulicious planters
September 13, 2013 I don’t know when my Rick Van Dyke pottery obsession started, but I have it totally under control. I can stop anytime I want. Anyway, I needed a little pick-me-up a few weekends ago and found this fun snake pot at Rick’s booth at the Austin Cactus …
Plant This: Crinum procerum
September 10, 2013 Hot-climate gardens need a water feature to counteract summer’s heat with a feeling of cool wetness. My stock-tank pond serves that purpose in my garden, plus it gives me a chance to grow a few plants that like wet feet, like this Crinum procerum ‘Splendens’. With burgundy, …
Autumn’s heralds, sound the news!
September 09, 2013 Heat and drought may still grip Texas in an iron fist, but cheery oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) are popping up anyway to remind us that autumn will be here soon. I treasure fall heralds like these for their hopeful message as much as for their seasonal flowering …
