The Natural Gardener beckoned as a fun first stop on my wildflower drive last Wednesday. Mom was with me, and after we stashed a bunch of new plants in the car, we stepped back out to explore the nursery’s colorful display gardens. The herb garden designed by Lucinda Hutson looked enticing.

The central raised bed used to be planted, but now it serves as an elevated display space for colorful potted flowers.

Nearby, a peace sign rendered in pansies (no double entendre intended, right?) harmonizes with a hot-pink bench.

Corn poppies glow like embers in front of a ladybug greenhouse.

The butterfly garden was growing back from its winter cut-back, but I enjoyed this bouncy vignette of ceramic balls and spherical blue fescue.

And how about these shrubby caterpillars as companions in the butterfly garden? So adorable!

At the rear of the nursery grounds, a half-dozen tile-mosaic totems mark a trail that leads to…

…a smile-inducing gateway of old nursery wagons. Their handles, painted blue, add a linear accent below the red wagons and black-and-white wheels. A double layer of landscape fabric stretched and supported by a cedar frame makes the screen-like walls on either side of the gateway. Such clever repurposing!

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Digging Deeper

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.