The garden of Redenta’s Garden owner Ruth Kinler
It was the colorful, modern Fermob furniture that first lured me into Redenta’s Garden, a beloved Dallas nursery “for the modern gardener.” (Click for my tour.) So when I visited the home garden of owner Ruth Kinler, I was happily unsurprised to see more of that fabulous outdoor furniture adorning her own patios and lawn.
Ruth kindly invited me over to her Arlington garden following my tour of the Redenta’s Landscape Design test garden in nearby Fort Worth. (I’ll soon share a post about owners Michael and Lorie Kinler’s home garden.) Ruth and her husband, Dick, have a ranch home overlooking a small lake, and their back garden is designed to take advantage of the waterside view. The lake was being dredged for maintenance while we were there, so I didn’t take photos, but we can imagine.
Ruth and Dick naturally turned to Redenta’s Design Kinler Landscape Architecture, the design/build studio operated by their son, Michael, and daughter-in-law, Lorie. They terraced the backyard lawn to create garden beds and built a steel-framed patio roof with string lights and ceiling fans, perfect for sitting and enjoying the lake view.
The patio’s roof slants up, butterfly-style, so as not to block the view. Orange Fermob tables and chairs offer lots of seating.
Beside the patio, a plow-disc fountain splashes alongside a large spineless prickly pear that screens the neighbor’s yard.
A collection of pots along the patio’s edge holds a variety of dry-loving plants, including slipper plant (Pedilanthus macrocarpus), which Ruth brings indoors in winter.
Sedum and other succulents thrive in troughs, along with a spiny prickly pear.
Succulent goodness
I admired this shadow effect across a birdbath.
Ruth grows tough native and adapted perennials for pollinators and birds, and her terraced beds are colorful.
She lets seedheads remain on spent coneflowers for birds to eat.
Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) and lion’s tail (Leonotis leonurus) in bloom
Ruth also loves the odd tropical, like this glorious, tree-sized plumeria. I asked what she does with it in winter, and she laughed ruefully about the difficulty in moving it indoors.
It looks pretty against the blue autumn sky.
A potted bougainvillea brightens up a retaining wall.
A small lawn on the middle terrace holds a fire pit and a mod Fermob bench.
Red fruit on a small pomegranate reminds me of Christmas tree balls. A red hibiscus towers behind it.
Rosy pomegranates
And a fire-engine-red Texas hibiscus flower — ka-pow!
Black-eyed Susan and Russian sage make an attractive combo.
Lindheimer muhly adds a spray of fine foliage.
Zinnias grow in a small patch near the back patio.
I was surprised to see Baja fairy duster (Calliandra californica) growing here. It’s very heat and drought tolerant but hardy only to 25 F. But recent winters have been warm. The powder-puff flowers are eye-catching.
Ruth lets her basil flower for the bees.
And here’s Ruth, posing under her treasured plumeria. Now you can really see how big it is! Thank you, Ruth and Dick, for sharing your lovely garden with me!
Up next: The glorious front-yard prairie garden of Michael McDowell in suburban Plano. For a look back at the stylish test garden at Redenta’s Design offices, click here.
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Digging Deeper
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All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
What a pretty garden! Love the terracing. I’m glad I don’t need to hassle with moving a plumeria of that size. Whew!
I’m sure it’s a labor of love. 🙂
I so miss the garden shop location in Arlington. It had everything I need for my garden. My friends and I would appreciate it if you could ask Ruth if she has any plans on opening another Redenta for her customers who reside in Arlington. The distance to the Dallas location is very far and they don’t offer delivery for those living in Arlington. Thank you.
Lovely garden…Their up slanted patio roof is clever.
Isn’t it? I’m in love with the steel patio cover and hoping to put up something similar over our patio this fall/winter.
Interesting garden tour…so very different in style from most New England gardens even though I spotted several plants that I have as well. Love that prickly pear!
Me too. There are so many different prickly pear varieties, and every time I see a new one I want to try it.
Hey Pam, informative post as usual. First I’m hearing of plumeria. Can you guys grow Magnolia macrophylla? Seems like it would be a hardy substitute for leaves and flowers. Anyway, seeing Ruth’s prickly pear in a pot reminded me: I’ve got some cacti that need to be potted— cholla and prickly pear. What do you recommend for pot shape/size? Do cacti roots prefer to spread laterally, and do I need a shallow wide pot? Ruth’s is in a narrow, deep one and looks happy. I’ve got GA clay and while I know prickly pear can tolerate being in the ground, I’m sure cholla needs a pot. I usually do 50/50 potting soil and coarse sand; what do you think about that? Cactus potting soil formulation is definitely not sold around here.
I don’t think I’ve seen Magnolia macrophylla here, Julie, but according to the Wildflower Center it’s growing in Dallas. It likes acidic soil, so with Austin’s alkaline soil and droughty weather, we’re probably not it’s favored habitat. But we do have Southern magnolia, which does OK in the deeper soils of the east side of Austin.
As for the cactus, I usually just stick mine in whatever pot is handy. 🙂 Cacti aren’t too fussy, in my experience. As long as your soil drains fast and isn’t too rich, I’m sure it will be fine. Lots of sun and sharp drainage — that’s all they ask for, really.
How fun to see my cousin’s garden featured! Theirs is a beautiful and peaceful lakeside paradise lovingly planted by beautiful and peaceful people!
It was such a pleasure to visit! Thanks for your comment, Cyndi.
What happens to the runoff from the back-slanted patio roof when there’s a heavy rain? Are there special gutters or drains behind it that aren’t obvious in these pics?
A half-round galvanized steel gutter collects water flowing off the patio roof, funnels it into the main gutters, and from there is carried away.