Late summer stars of the garden
Like a starfish clinging to a rock, this soap aloe (Aloe maculata) I stuck in a pie-pan planter has grown more beautifully than I expected. It seems to love the crevice life. … Read More
Circle Garden’s shades of green
Our elevated back deck offers a nice overhead view of the Circle Garden. But as I recently discovered, when you climb a stepladder on the deck, you can get almost the whole garden in the frame, including the new rose and salvia planting at the base of the deck.… Read More
Midsummer garden walkabout
Midsummer has never been my favorite season in the garden. It’s hot and humid. Mosquitoes are fierce. And yet this summer, perhaps because I’m spending more time at home and in my own garden than usual, I’m also appreciating it more. Here’s what’s caught my eye lately on strolls around the garden. … Read More
Revamping the Circle Garden, again
Whack, whack! Even the spring-revamped Circle Garden got a major cut-back. It was time to cut everything back and open up the garden again.… Read More
COVID-19 scuttles Garden Bloggers Fling this year
Garden Bloggers Fling, the 13th annual meet-up of garden bloggers from across North America and beyond, was to have been held this weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. The coronavirus scuttled that party.… Read More
Dusky blues in the garden
While photographing the owls a few evenings ago, I pointed my lens at the Circle Garden for the umpteenth time. This view makes me so happy!… Read More
Drive-By Gardens: No-lawn front yards in South Austin
Driving through Bouldin and Zilker neighborhoods in South Austin, I cruise slowly to check out the diverse styles of architecture among the many, many remodeled homes. It’s just as interesting to see what people have chosen to plant in their front yards. Many have opted out of the traditional lawn in favor of waterwise alternatives, like a simple meadow of Mexican feathergrass.… Read More
Summertime plant whacking
Whacking — it’s what I do in summer as plants grow bushy or tall or lean where they shouldn’t. Let’s start with the Verbena bonariensis.… Read More
Reopening at San Antonio Botanical Garden, part 2
A wildflower meadow studded with Yucca rostrata in bloom kicks off my visit to San Antonio Botanic Garden and a path into the cactus and succulent garden.… Read More
Verbena explosion
A 6-foot-tall stand of Verbena bonariensis is all you need to dispel traces of coronafunk, and a mass of it in the Circle Garden delights me.… Read More
Back garden walkabout
While I’m missing visits to other gardens right now, I am enjoying time spent in my own. Let’s take a tour around the back garden.… Read More
Lauren’s Grape poppy pops open
Yesterday the first ‘Lauren’s Grape’ poppy flower opened, and I’m in love. Those purple-red petals! Those seafoam stems and frilly leaves!… Read More
Penstemon and passionflower
My old stock-tank pond garden is filling in quickly with lavender-flowered Gulf Coast penstemon (Penstemon tenuis) and airy Verbena bonariensis blooming inside a circle of ‘Micron’ yaupon hollies.… Read More
Mexico City: Bosque de Chapultepec botanical garden and more
One morning during our stay in Mexico City we explored the city’s “lungs”, the Bosque de Chapultepec, or Chapultepec Forest. At 1,695 acres, it’s one of the largest city parks in the Western Hemisphere.… Read More