I’ve been all over town at Austin’s wonderful nurseries this past week, shoulder-to-shoulder with other spring-crazy gardeners snapping up new plants to freshen up the garden and replace goners zapped by winter’s deep freezes. While I was after plants or soil for the most part, I couldn’t resist a few items from Tillery Street Plant Company‘s beautiful new gift shop.

To pay for your plants, you must walk this gauntlet (the shop interior) of small pots, tillandsias and other houseplants, and even cactus earrings. I meant to buy a pair but forgot.

I did find a few gift items though. And of course while I was there I hit up East Austin Succulents, right next door, and found even more good stuff.

Up in Cedar Park, I picked up some pond supplies at Hill Country Water Gardens and Nursery and stopped to admire their fun new garden art, like this “Hey y’all” wall hanging.

And these ceramic succulents — or flowers. They call them corals. I bought quite a few of these last year and display them on a tabletop, although I do have one hanging on a wall among my squid planters.

Ceramic foxes made me think of Shirley Fox at Rock-Oak-Deer, who collects foxy garden art.

A collection of metal agaves, yuccas, and barrel cactus caught my eye. These are quite nice. While I wouldn’t plant a whole garden of metal plants, one makes a striking accent amid other plants or in a pot.

I also love these chunky metal hearts, circles, and spirals. It can be hard to find contemporary garden art, but these are great. They sit on sturdy stakes pushed into the ground. I think they’d be nice in a pot or a garden bed.

HCWG really does have one of the best garden art selections in the Austin area.

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Digging Deeper: News and Upcoming Events

Calling all garden bloggers! You’re invited to register for the annual Garden Bloggers Fling tour and meetup, which will be held in Austin this May 3rd-6th! Click this link for information about registering, and you can see our itinerary here. Space is limited, so don’t delay. The 2018 Fling will be the event’s 10th anniversary, which started in Austin in 2008.

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