My phone buzzed on Saturday as my daughter, home from college for Thanksgiving, and I were heading out to do a little shopping at Blue Genie Art Bazaar. It was Lucinda Hutson, her voice excited as she said the magic words: “The ginkgo tree is absolutely the prettiest ever! Come and see it.”

I grabbed my camera bag, and we made a beeline for Lucinda’s purple casita in the Rosedale neighborhood. As we drove down her street of colorful homes, we could see the ginkgo glowing like a golden torch above the rooftops.

Lucinda planted her ginkgo about 35 years ago from a 5-gallon pot given to her by John Dromgoole, owner of The Natural Gardener. Today it may very well be the biggest ginkgo in Austin. It’s not a commonplace tree in Central Texas, and our fall color tends to be muted, so seeing all those lemon-yellow leaves makes your jaw drop.

The colorful leaves don’t last long. It’s an eye-popping show and then – poof! – it’s over. Lucinda called me today to say it was good I’d come when I did because a lot of the leaves were blown off the tree last night.

They’re now painting the sidewalk gold – like the yellow brick road in The Wizard of Oz, I imagine. Only a few leaves, tiny golden fans, were scattered on the pavement when I visited.

A fruit-laden kumquat in the center of Lucinda’s front garden echoes the ginkgo’s sunny leaves.

Happy color!

Lucinda’s cat Sancho had staked out a wicker bench for an afternoon nap under the trees.

Looks comfy

I spotted his name carved into a prickly pear pad. It’s truly Sancho’s garden as much as Lucinda’s.

Yellow flowers of forsythia sage (Salvia madrensis) were still blooming in Lucinda’s garden. My own were freeze-blasted last week. I took a quick peek through her seashell-wreathed gate into the Mermaid Grotto…

…where a single, perfect ‘Mermaid’ rose hung from an arching green cane.

Thank you to Lucinda and Sancho – whose metal doppelganger permanently perches in the ginkgo – for sharing your garden and its golden fall beauty with me!

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Digging Deeper: News and Upcoming Events

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is hosting Luminations, a holiday light display in the gardens, December 6th through 9th between 6 and 9 pm. Tickets are $15 per person, $10 for members, and free for children up to 4 years old.

Join the mailing list for Garden Spark Talks! Inspired by the idea of house concerts, I’m hosting a series of garden talks by inspiring designers and authors out of my home. Talks are limited-attendance events and generally sell out within just a few days, so join the Garden Spark email list for early notifications. Simply click this link and ask to be added. I’ll be announcing the 2019 schedule soon to email subscribers.

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