1st garden–2008

July 02, 2010 When photographer and all-around nice guy Rob Cardillo photographed my former garden two years ago, he explained that he’d be pitching his images to a magazine for a story idea about regional or xeric design. I was delighted and flattered by his interest but didn’t really expect ...

April 07, 2009 ‘Whale’s Tongue’ alert! At noon today, I spotted five 3-gallon pots of the hard-to-find Agave ovatifolia for sale at Barton Springs Nursery, priced at $39.99. The leaves look curlier than the ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agaves I’m growing and have seen in gardens around town. But when I asked ...

April 07, 2009 ‘Whale’s Tongue’ alert! At noon today, I spotted five 3-gallon pots of the hard-to-find Agave ovatifolia for sale at Barton Springs Nursery, priced at $39.99. The leaves look curlier than the ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agaves I’m growing and have seen in gardens around town. But when I asked ...

October 01, 2008 The spider lilies (Lycoris radiata ) are blooming again. Or I should say were blooming. I dug up most of the bulbs yesterday to bring to the new garden. But of course I left some behind—a surprise gift for future owners. All material © 2006-2008 by Pam ...

September 28, 2008As regular readers know, I’m moving to a new house this week, and I’ve vowed to take my prized ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (Agave ovatifolia ) with me rather than leave it to the vagaries of fate and a new owner who may not appreciate its prickly charms.Still, I ...

September 28, 2008 I see hummers in my garden every day, and when I have my camera handy I always try to get a shot. They’re skittish, though, and don’t appreciate the paparazzi. I should be more patient and lie in wait, but inevitably a weed will catch my eye, ...

September 25, 2008 After mounding taller and taller all summer, finally reaching 5 feet across and 4 feet high (even with a late-spring trim), Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha ) takes its star turn across the garden stage in late summer. Long spires of fuzzy purple blossoms tip each stem, ...

September 24, 2008 Like this bee on blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum ), I’ve been buzzing around the garden, dividing a few plants and taking down garden decor, all while keeping the garden looking good for prospective buyers. (Hello? Are you out there? The stock market may be scary, but it’s ...

September 22, 2008 The 2008 Blotanical Award nominations were announced yesterday, and — yowsa! — Digging is on the ballot for Best U.S. Blog, Best Drought-Tolerant Blog, Best Photography, Most User-Friendly Blog, and Blog of the Year Award. I’m honored to be nominated along with so many great bloggers, many ...

September 21, 2008 Last week I posted about punctuating a fine-textured garden with bold-leaf or boldly shaped plants. Here’s another one that I use to set off the fine leaves of Salvia greggii , Cuphea ignea, Bulbine frutescens , and ‘Powis Castle’ artemesia: Yucca recurvifolia , or softleaf yucca. I ...

September 19, 2008 Not counting the Garden Bloggers Spring Fling 2008, the best local garden tour I’ve ever been on is Austin’s Open Days Garden Conservancy tour. Two years ago I visited every garden on the tour and ended up making a post about each one; click here for my ...

September 19, 2008 Not counting the Garden Bloggers Spring Fling 2008, the best local garden tour I’ve ever been on is Austin’s Open Days Garden Conservancy tour. Two years ago I visited every garden on the tour and ended up making a post about each one; click here for my ...

September 18, 2008 If, like me, you are trying to grow water-thrifty plants in central Texas, you soon find that most of them have teeny-tiny leaves—think salvias, Mexican oregano, cupheas, native daisies, penstemons, etc. Teeny-tiny leaves, along with waxy and hairy leaves, are the xeric plant’s defense against water loss ...

September 17, 2008 The Good: This is my favorite seed, that of ‘Duchess of Albany’ clematis. I love the color, the texture, and the shape of these tousled-hair seedheads. Don’t you just want to reach out and ruffle it? The flowers that precede them are pretty, but I believe I ...

September 17, 2008 The Good: This is my favorite seed, that of ‘Duchess of Albany’ clematis. I love the color, the texture, and the shape of these tousled-hair seedheads. Don’t you just want to reach out and ruffle it? The flowers that precede them are pretty, but I believe I ...

September 16, 2008 On this month’s Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Austin enjoyed a truly fall-like day. The air had a slight chill early yesterday morning, by noon it was only 79 degrees, and all day the air was fresh and dry, scrubbed of humidity. I saw people walking around with ...