cool gardens in a hot climate™
April 25, 2018 Does the aloe that’s flowering like a coral-colored candelabra look yummy? Does that yucca bloom spike look tasty? Does the yellow bulbine look succulicious? Does the yellow puffball on the goldenball leadtree (Leucaena retusa) — the first … Read More
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
April 18, 2018 Ruthie Burrus used a pile of limestone rocks dug out of her garden to build a charming garden haus in her backyard. Adding antique doors, recycled windows, and metal roofing, she modeled the shed after the humble … Read More
April 16, 2018 Today is Foliage Follow-Up, a celebration of great foliage plants on the day after Bloom Day, and I’m celebrating the return to nurseries all over Austin of one of my favorite foliage plants for dry shade or … Read More
April 14, 2018 The best plants look as good going to seed as they do in flower. I’d put ‘Winter Blush’ gopher plant (Euphorbia rigida ‘Winter Blush’) in this category based on its passing resemblance to fading hydrangea blossoms. Mind … Read More
March 31, 2018 When I spotted this pool-garden view from inside the home of my friend Jenny Stocker, I nearly tripped over my feet to get outside and drink it in. Jenny, who blogs at Rock Rose, is the owner … Read More
March 27, 2018 The mountain laurels and redbuds and plums are done. Carolina jessamine is done. But ‘Tangerine Beauty’ crossvine (Bignonia capreolata ‘Tangerine Beauty’) is hitting its stride as we move into mid-spring here in Central Texas. It looks especially … Read More
March 26, 2018 The female screech owl nesting in our owl box is a rufous, or red-feathered, owl. She gives me some funny looks when she hangs out in the doorway, and I’ve named her Lucy. Desi, her mate, hangs … Read More
March 25, 2018 Ahh, Texas bluebonnets! They’re turning Austin’s roadsides blue right now, and early ‘bonnets were in bloom last week at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. I wish everyone could experience a good bluebonnet season at least once … Read More
March 22, 2018 Texas mountain laurel, one of our finest native flowering trees Whether you’re hunkered under a blanket of snow or your gardening season is well underway, let’s pause to appreciate the beauty of spring-flowering trees and other gorgeous … 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
March 18, 2018 For 5 years in a row, screech owls nested in our owl box every spring. Watching them raise their chicks was an annual delight. But then they stopped coming, and for the past 2 years, no owls, … Read More
March 16, 2018 Spring looks a lot like fall in my garden, as this photo shows: fresh green leaves surrounded by brown live oak leaves. Live oaks stay green all winter, like an evergreen tree, but come spring they do … Read More