November 02, 2018
Wavy scaly cloakfern for November Foliage Follow-Up

Wavy scaly cloakfern for November Foliage Follow-Up

November 16, 2017 “I got a rock,” Charlie Brown complains while trick-or-treating. But I was happy to find this holey limestone rock at Redenta’s in Dallas last month. Yes, I actually bought a rock as a planter. Later, at The Natural Gardener, I happened upon this unusual plant — wavy …
Easy outdoor living in garden of designer B. Jane: Austin Open Days Tour 2017

Easy outdoor living in garden of designer B. Jane: Austin Open Days Tour 2017

November 15, 2017 For a refreshing contemporary design with fun colors and a restrained palette of tough-as-nails native plants, designer B. Jane‘s garden is the place to hang out. Her personal garden in Austin’s Brentwood neighborhood was featured on the Garden Conservancy-sponsored Open Days tour a couple of weeks ago …
Garden rooms and green roof at Cloverleaf Drive Garden: Austin Open Days Tour 2017

Garden rooms and green roof at Cloverleaf Drive Garden: Austin Open Days Tour 2017

November 13, 2017 This year’s Garden Conservancy-sponsored Open Days tour in Austin featured gardens in a variety of styles and a variety of neighborhoods (not just West Austin). I especially enjoyed exploring the Cloverleaf Drive garden, which, along with Jackson Broussard’s, is located east of I-35 in a “regular-folks” neighborhood …
Garden of Jackson Broussard: Austin Open Days Tour 2017

Garden of Jackson Broussard: Austin Open Days Tour 2017

November 10, 2017 For landscape architect Jackson Broussard, you really can go home again. He was raised in this modest ranch house in east-central Austin, and after he took ownership he freshened up the house and leased it out and built himself a detached, two-story addition in the back yard …
Chihuly in the Forest and American art at Crystal Bridges Museum

Chihuly in the Forest and American art at Crystal Bridges Museum

While in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, last weekend, my husband and I drove to nearby Bentonville to see the remarkable collection of American art at Crystal Bridges Museum …
Leaf-peeping, zombies, and Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Leaf-peeping, zombies, and Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Last Friday my husband and I drove up to northern Arkansas for an extended weekend just before Halloween, hoping to see colorful fall foliage while making a first-time visit to Eureka Springs …
Festive color and a little Dia de los Muertos in Lucinda Hutson's garden

Festive color and a little Dia de los Muertos in Lucinda Hutson’s garden

October 30, 2017 A visit to Lucinda Hutson‘s home and garden always feels like being at a party. Brightly colored walls and accessories, garden rooms with playful themes (like the mermaid garden pictured here), and Lucinda’s own excitement at showing you what’s flowering or fruiting create a feeling of festivity …
Autumn stroll around my garden

Autumn stroll around my garden

October 27, 2017 Autumn is my favorite season in the garden, when the Death Star abates and cool breezes blow in from the north, pushing that Gulf Coast humidity back to Houston where it belongs. The sky goes china blue, fall perennials burst into bloom, and fall-blooming grasses incandesce in …
Linda Peterson's green-walled xeriscape garden: San Antonio Open Days Tour

Linda Peterson’s green-walled xeriscape garden: San Antonio Open Days Tour

October 25, 2017 The highlight of the recent San Antonio Open Days garden tour, as I knew it would be, was Linda Peterson’s beautiful xeriscape and green-walled courtyard garden. Twice before I’ve had the pleasure of exploring Linda’s garden (in September 2015 and April 2016), and the artistry of her …
Historic San Antonio style in Tupper Beinhorn Garden: San Antonio Open Days Tour

Historic San Antonio style in Tupper Beinhorn Garden: San Antonio Open Days Tour

October 22, 2017 Compared with the formality of the Ware Garden, the rambling Old San Antonio style of the Tupper Beinhorn Garden couldn’t be more different. I visited last weekend during the San Antonio Open Days Tour sponsored by the Garden Conservancy. Located in the historic and charming Monte Vista …
European formality with relaxed Texas style in Ware Garden: San Antonio Open Days Tour

European formality with relaxed Texas style in Ware Garden: San Antonio Open Days Tour

October 18, 2017 Last Saturday I road-tripped to San Antonio for the Open Days garden tour, sponsored by the Garden Conservancy. Shirley Fox of Rock-Oak-Deer was one of the organizers this year, and I was eager to see the gardens that she’d chosen for the tour. The Ware Garden is …
Got a cool gardening business? Austin Garden Bloggers Fling wants to partner with you!

Got a cool gardening business? Austin Garden Bloggers Fling wants to partner with you!

October 17, 2017 Do you own or do marketing for a garden-related business? Would you like for garden bloggers — i.e., social media influencers — from across the U.S., Canada, and beyond to know about your products? I’m on the planning committee for Garden Bloggers Fling, an annual 3-day meetup …
Foliage architecture (and art) on Rice University campus

Foliage architecture (and art) on Rice University campus

October 16, 2017 At my alma mater in Houston last month (right after Hurricane Harvey), I appreciated the marriage of foliage and architecture at the Brochstein Pavilion, a remarkable structure and hub of student activity that didn’t exist when I was a student at Rice University. A hedge of tightly …
Visit to Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Japanese Garden

Visit to Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Japanese Garden

October 15, 2017 Although I’ve been to Dallas and its well-known public garden many times, until last weekend I’d never visited the botanical garden in nearby Fort Worth, just 45 minutes to the west. While not showy like Dallas Arboretum, Fort Worth Botanic Garden is a pleasant place to stroll …