May 26, 2008 Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer for many people. Here in Austin it feels like full summer already, with highs in the upper 90s and heavy humidity—good weather for boating on the lake or diving into Barton Springs Pool. Memorial Day also marks a personal …

May 25, 2008 I can’t drink my fill of winecup (Callirhoe involucrata) right now. This Texas native, which sprawls along non-rooting stems, carpets the ground with glowing magenta cups. Growing just 6 to 12 inches tall but several feet wide, winecup is the perfect groundcover for spring through early summer …

May 24, 2008Today Digging sports a new custom header, replacing the plain-Jane title bar I’d used for the past two years. It’s just an aesthetic alteration, but it’s fun. I feel like I’m driving a fancy new car with that new-car smell. Vroom! Perhaps there’s something about being nominated for …

May 24, 2008Today Digging sports a new custom header, replacing the plain-Jane title bar I’d used for the past two years. It’s just an aesthetic alteration, but it’s fun. I feel like I’m driving a fancy new car with that new-car smell. Vroom! Perhaps there’s something about being nominated for …

May 20, 2008 Earlier I posted about the loss of a favorite plant, Manfreda ‘Macho Mocha,’ also called mangave, to the agave snout-nosed weevil. I’d planted the mangave to show it off in a yellow-green glazed pot by the front door, but once the weevils got to it, the effect, …

May 20, 2008 Earlier I posted about the loss of a favorite plant, Manfreda ‘Macho Mocha,’ also called mangave, to the agave snout-nosed weevil. I’d planted the mangave to show it off in a yellow-green glazed pot by the front door, but once the weevils got to it, the effect, …

May 20, 2008 My mangave, the beautiful, sculptural, lusciously named and, let’s not forget, expensive Manfreda ‘Macho Mocha’ has been murdered by the agave snout-nosed weevil. I bought it to fill a new glazed pot last winter. It looked great for about a month, as shown above, and then it …

May 19, 2008 You’ve seen Tom Spencer’s garden, which I visited on Mother’s Day weekend as part of Gardens on Tour 2008, a self-guided tour of Austin gardens that feature native plants and green-gardening practices. Sponsored by the Wildflower Center, the tour’s focus has varied wildly over the three years …

May 16, 2008 Our second hailstorm in a week pounded us Wednesday night. Like machine-gun fire—rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—chunks of ice flew horizontally at the west-facing windows and piled up on the patio. We moved the sleeping kids away from the windows, I listened to reports of “tornadic rotation” on the TV, and …

May 15, 2008 The 2008 Mouse & Trowel Award winners were announced this morning, and Digging won in two categories: Best Photography in a Garden Blog and Best Garden Blog Design. Thank you so much, dear readers, for voting for me. I’m honored and delighted. Fuzzy, green hearts to everyone! …

May 14, 2008 Blue pot with dianthus Can a garden you’ve visited only three times, briefly, seem almost as familiar as your own? It can if it’s Tom Spencer’s. At Soul of the Garden, Tom has been chronicling his garden—and “exploring the garden of life”—with stunning photographs and introspective essays …

May 14, 2008 Blue pot with dianthus Can a garden you’ve visited only three times, briefly, seem almost as familiar as your own? It can if it’s Tom Spencer’s. At Soul of the Garden, Tom has been chronicling his garden—and “exploring the garden of life”—with stunning photographs and introspective essays …

May 09, 2008 I’ll be touring Austin gardens on Saturday and visiting with out-of-town family this weekend, so I may not have time to post again until early next week. Voting for the Mouse & Trowel Awards wraps up soon, with the 13th being the last day to vote. Digging …

May 08, 2008 ‘Lady Margaret,’ my newest passion flower, rewards close inspection with intricate detail. She’s the lady in red, slightly tarnished, not a pure red. Raspberry perhaps, with a purple-tinged shawl. ‘Lady Margaret’ is a hybrid, created by crossing Passiflora coccinea and P. incarnata. Here you see her embracing …