cool gardens in a hot climate™
August 12, 2018 Stacked pumpkins, grapevine wreaths, and overflowing buckets of mums brighten the Fall 2018 issue of Country Gardens magazine — and I am so ready for that cooler, brighter season to arrive. Even if you’re not, I hope … Read More
June 22, 2018 When you pick up a copy of the Summer 2018 issue of Garden Design magazine — even better, subscribe to this no-ads, in-depth-writing, photo-rich quarterly magazine — you’ll find 144 pages of gardening goodness, including two articles … Read More
May 25, 2018 With this killer view of Lake Austin, many homeowners might have sodded a lawn, plunked a few pots of annuals around the pool, and called it done. But Kirk Walden, whose garden was the final stop on … Read More
March 21, 2018 When I opened this book and saw the title-page photo of a tiny patio garden awash in chartreuse foliage and leafy texture, with two well-chosen pieces of garden art, a pair of acid-green chairs, and a steel … Read More
March 19, 2018 It’s still exciting when an article I wrote appears in print, and in the current issue of Garden Design (Spring 2018) I have two! And one of them goes with the cover image. You can read about … Read More
January 23, 2018 Exploring the High Line in October 2014 remains a highlight of my garden travels, and I’d love to go see it again. Until then, reading about it keeps the fire burning, gives insight into the origins and … Read More
January 18, 2018 It may be cold and gray outside, but that means it’s a perfect time of year to curl up with the new Winter 2018 issue of Garden Design magazine. I got my copy today and am excited … Read More
January 12, 2018 People in the Austin area are hungry for garden design talks! I’m glad, because I’ve been hungry for such talks too. In fact, that’s why I launched Garden Spark last year. Last week I blogged here about … Read More
January 07, 2018I’m delighted to announce an exciting speaker lineup for this year’s Garden Spark, a series of garden talks by top-notch design speakers hosted at my home. February 8: Tom Spencer presents “The Tao of Texas Gardening: Finding Balance … Read More
November 10, 2017 For landscape architect Jackson Broussard, you really can go home again. He was raised in this modest ranch house in east-central Austin, and after he took ownership he freshened up the house and leased it out and … Read More
August 20, 2017 It wasn’t easy, but I finally visited the gardens at Cornerstone Sonoma in Northern California, which have been on my bucket list for years. Due to my own poor planning, I first missed them after the San … Read More
July 17, 2017 When I launched the Garden Spark talk series six months ago, I was sure there was an unmet need in Austin for people who wanted to hear top-notch designers and authors speak about garden design. So far … Read More
July 03, 2017 Much as I love my contemporary-naturalistic garden, and enjoyed puttering in my flowery cottage garden before that, my next garden — whenever and wherever that turns out to be — is going to be more like this … Read More
June 20, 2017 Do you take Garden Design magazine? I’m pleased to be a contributing writer, and in the Summer 2017 issue you’ll find two articles I wrote about gardens in Arizona and Oregon that couldn’t be more different. “Into … Read More