cool gardens in a hot climate™
August 08, 2017 Shaded by a big live oak, our back patio stays relatively cool, even on hot days. That shade also makes it a good spot for a variety of potted plants, especially succulents that prefer bright shade in … Read More
July 30, 2017 I’ll never forget a moment in my college years when I was exclaiming over a particularly vivid Houston sunset. A friend remarked, “You know that’s because of pollution, right?” I probably responded with an exasperated sigh — … Read More
July 16, 2017 Summer is my most challenging season as a gardener. Yes, really — not winter. I don’t care at all for hot weather, so I retreat indoors and don’t venture outside much until that first hint of cooler … Read More
May 16, 2017 For Foliage Follow-Up this month, I’m taking you on a tour of Matt Shreves’s garden near Lake Travis. A succulent and cactus lover (check out his spikealicious Instagram page), Matt has turned an ordinary yard into a … Read More
May 05, 2017 We’ve always wanted shade for our deck, which is one of the few spots in our yard not overhung by live oaks. Facing south, it gets blasted by the Death Star all day long, and even our … Read More
April 27, 2017 After Moby, my beloved whale’s tongue agave (pictured here at his 10th birthday party — yes, really), bloomed and died last fall, I harvested and potted up more than 100 bulbils from its bloom stalk. I watched … Read More
February 17, 2017 Last weekend, after creatively wrestling this bad boy out of the car, my family helpers and I slid it onto a utility cart and rolled it into the back yard. This new whale’s tongue agave to replace … Read More
February 16, 2017 The pond patio garden is mostly evergreen, so the big cleanup here occurs later, in March, when I muck out the pond and divide the water plants. With our brief winter segueing right into spring, February is … Read More
February 12, 2017 Stacked pots of pansies, ornamental cabbage, and other annuals at The Natural Gardener Even though the weather’s been terrific for gardening, I’ve been under the weather for about a week, keeping me from my annual late-winter cut-back … Read More
July 27, 2013 Our 1st stop on the 3rd and final day of the San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling was the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek. It was about 100 degrees F in Walnut Creek that last week of … Read More
I’m moving to a new house this week, and I’ve vowed to take my prized ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (Agave ovatifolia ) with me rather than leave it to the vagaries of fate.… Read More
August 11, 2005 The cruelest month has arrived, but I managed to get into the garden anyway by planting a desert plant. Impressed by local gardener and public TV personality Tom Spencer’s website, Soul of the Garden (no longer online), … Read More