Farewell, fall flowers; hello, first freeze
December 01, 2020 So long, ‘Grapes’ gomphrena. It’s been a grand fall. But with a first freeze of 29F predicted early this morning, I expect your button-like flowers will soon look pale and freeze-dried. Well, it was time, I guess. Sayonara, forsythia sage. You were absolutely beautiful for two solid ...
Snow in Austin sugars the garden
February 06, 2020 Crazy Texas weather strikes again! After a high of 79 F on Tuesday, this happened Wednesday night. Sure, local meteorologists had predicted a few snow flurries in the Hill Country, but temps in Austin, they assured, would hold at 32 F. Banking on over-hype, I brought indoors ...
Things are looking pretty crispy
September 09, 2019 Junker planted with cactus and agaves behind Planet K (long story) in north Austin. It’s endless summer in Austin, and things are looking pretty crispy. The garden (and gardener) gasps for rain, and I’m seeing browned-out trees all over town. Enough is enough, Death Star! One of ...
Read about my garden in Country Gardens magazine
May 06, 2019 My garden is featured in a national gardening magazine, and I’m pretty excited about it! Grab the summer 2019 issue of Country Gardens (not just country gardens, y’all), turn to page 66, and you’ll find my article “Plant for Drought, Plan for Rain.” It’s about how I ...
Last day of spring
March 03, 2019 Spring has been unfurling new glories every day, like this beautiful Texas redbud in full bloom on Anderson Lane. But today — boom — an Arctic cold front is blowing temps down into the upper 20s. Yeah, that’s completely normal for this time of year. But it ...
Japanese maple turns red 3 weeks early
November 28, 2018 The species Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) at the front corner of our house reliably goes scarlet in December, turning red to match the Christmas balls I hang on an agave by the front door. But this year the color change came three weeks early compared to last ...
3rd hottest summer in Austin’s history inching to a close
September 03, 2018 Have you heard any whimpering — or hopefully just stoic silence — from your Central Texas gardening friends this summer? Here’s why: we’ve been hammered by the Death Star and no rain for months now. It’s officially the 3rd hottest summer on record (as measured from June ...
Snow day in Austin! It only takes a dusting
December 08, 2017 The flakes started hitting my windshield at 2:30 pm over in central-east Austin. By the time I got home I thought it was all over, but the heavy, gray sky and cold temps convinced me to start pulling pots of tender succulents up against the sheltering walls ...
Oxblood lilies popping up after Hurricane Harvey
August 30, 2017 Hurricane Harvey dumped nearly 10 inches of rain on my garden between last Friday and Sunday, and high winds littered the ground with leaves, twigs, and ball moss. A Texas mountain laurel fell over in the sodden soil, and we lost power for 6 hours. A weather ...
Hello, winter — you’ve zapped my garden
January 16, 2017 Hello, winter! We’re not used to seeing you here in Central Texas. Despite predictions of a mild winter, with the warming influence of a La Niña, we’ve already had two multi-day stretches of hard freezes, with a couple of nights dropping into the upper teens. The result? ...
Final fall foliage as winter’s icy breath freezes Austin
December 18, 2016 Austin plummeted from a high of 80 F (26.6 C) yesterday afternoon to 26 F (-3.3 C) this morning, and today the Japanese maple is clinging shiveringly to far fewer leaves than yesterday, when I took this photo. That’s Texas winter weather for you. In preparation for ...
Dogwood enchantment and a wild windstorm at Winterthur Gardens
June 16, 2016 The Brandywine Valley of Pennsylvania has been calling my name since 2008, when I passed through during a family road trip and fell in love with the rolling, wooded countryside, its charming villages and Revolutionary War history, and numerous estate gardens that make it a garden traveler’s ...
Curb appeal Texas-style and remembering the flood
May 25, 2016 I dined at a flower farm in Blanco, Texas, last weekend, which I plan to write about soon. But for now, a teaser of Blanco charm. This little red cabin is one of several at Blanco Settlement, a welcoming outpost of 9 rentable cabins, RV hookups, a ...
What to grow in a flood
May 26, 2015 ‘Colorado’ water lily Well, it’s flooding down in Texas, as you might have noticed if you live here, or seen on the news if you don’t. After an epic, 5-year drought — which isn’t completely broken but is significantly eased — central Texas has been inundated with ...
Fall blooms in front, construction in back
September 23, 2014 Kicking summer to the curb always feels satisfying in central Texas, especially when fall’s arrival is not just a date on the calendar but marked by cooler, drier air and rain. Between Wednesday night and Friday morning of last week, my garden received at least 8 inches ...
Trying Duranta ‘Sapphire Showers’ for end-of-summer color
September 14, 2014 My late-summer garden was feeling kind of puny to me last week — before we got the November-worthy cold front yesterday that dropped Austin’s high temperature to 65 incredible-freaking degrees and brought 1-1/4 inches of rain to my garden!! Sorry, I digress. Before that blessed weather event ...
