Things are looking pretty crispy
It’s endless summer in Austin, and things are looking pretty crispy. The garden (and gardener) gasps for rain, and I’m seeing browned-out trees all over town. Enough is enough, Death Star! … Read More
Skullduggery among the agaves
Amused by skull-tipped agaves in Dan Johnson’s Denver garden, I’ve given a few of my own agaves the Yorick treatment. Turns out, all sorts of skull beads can be found online. Who knew!? I ordered strings of yellow, orange, and white.… Read More
3rd hottest summer in Austin’s history inching to a close
September 03, 2018 Have you heard any whimpering — or hopefully just stoic silence — from your Central Texas gardening friends this summer? Here’s why: we’ve been hammered by the Death Star and no rain for months now. It’s officially … Read More
Garden powers through a Texas heat wave
July 24, 2018 Arizona-level heat is plaguing us here in Austin this week. Temps reached 110 F (43.3 C) yesterday, and we’re cooling down to “only” 101-105 F all the rest of this week. The Death Star is on high … Read More
A little Palm Springs, a little New Orleans, all Texas in the garden of Curt Arnette
May 16, 2018 I’ve been after my friend Curt Arnette, landscape-architect owner of Sitio Design, to open his personal garden on tour for years. But because he likes to change things up at home (plus being busy with his work … Read More
Post-Fling garden exploring with blogger friends
May 15, 2018 Having said goodbye to nearly 100 garden bloggers at Austin Garden Bloggers Fling, on Monday of last week I picked up 4 late-staying blogger friends — Loree Bohl of Danger Garden, Gerhard Bock of Succulents and More, … Read More
Glorious wildflowers and agaves in Jenny Stocker’s garden
April 20, 2018 Spring in Austin is glorious this year, and especially so in my friend Jenny Stocker’s garden. The Rock Rose blogger cultivates a gravel garden of mostly Texas native wildflowers and grasses sown among woody lilies like agave … Read More
Succulent pots set out for spring, but too early?
February 22, 2018 A balmy breeze smelling of spring convinced me to move my cold-tender potted succulents back out into the garden over the weekend. It’s so nice to see them gracing a plant table on the deck again, after … Read More
Spiky garden of Matt Shreves
December 10, 2017 Six months ago I visited the spikylicious garden of Matt Shreves, an Austin gardener I met on Instagram (see his Instagram page at OG_Agave). Last month, he kindly invited the Austin blogger group over (or maybe we … Read More
Autumn stroll around my garden
October 27, 2017 Autumn is my favorite season in the garden, when the Death Star abates and cool breezes blow in from the north, pushing that Gulf Coast humidity back to Houston where it belongs. The sky goes china blue, … Read More
Linda Peterson’s green-walled xeriscape garden: San Antonio Open Days Tour
October 25, 2017 The highlight of the recent San Antonio Open Days garden tour, as I knew it would be, was Linda Peterson’s beautiful xeriscape and green-walled courtyard garden. Twice before I’ve had the pleasure of exploring Linda’s garden (in … Read More
New foundation bed, sedge lawn update, and fall color
September 29, 2017 The front garden by the house has undergone some major changes since we lost a tree last winter. But after some summer angst as formerly shaded foundation shrubs burned up, and some fixes, I’m feeling good about … Read More
Evergreen combos (mostly) for Austin
September 16, 2017 A local reader asked me about evergreen plants that grow well here in central Texas, and as I was putting together today’s Foliage Follow-Up post, I realized it’s a good opportunity to share some of my faves. … Read More
Hanging on through summer’s end: August Foliage Follow-Up
August 16, 2017 By mid-August this Texas gardener is looking for any shred of hope that summer’s heat will be waning soon. But even though I’m barely hanging on — along with this shed cicada skin — many of my … Read More