cool gardens in a hot climate™
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
April 13, 2017 The weird and wonderful, from plants to garden art, can be found at Living Desert Ranch in Spicewood, Texas, about 30 miles northwest of Austin. Part cactus and succulent nursery and part art gallery, Living Desert is … Read More
March 12, 2017 If you like Austin’s thrift-store, anything-goes, fun-loving style, especially in gardening, check out my article about Eric Pedley’s nursery East Austin Succulents in the current issue of Country Gardens magazine (Spring 2017, pages 70-75). You can read … Read More
March 09, 2017 Their Instagram feed was my undoing. On Monday one of my favorite local nurseries, Hill Country Water Gardens & Nursery in Cedar Park, posted a picture of new garden decor hitting their shelves, and I was up … Read More
February 19, 2017 The late-winter garden cut-back continues, but spring has sprung as far as pretty Palmer’s sedum is concerned. Honeybees have been busy among the flowers, although I managed to miss them in this closeup. While working in the … 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
January 31, 2017 I popped in at Vivero Growers in far southwest Austin last week and was smitten by their beautiful container plantings, like this absolutely stunning succulent pot. The owner tells me her niece created it while working at … Read More
January 17, 2017 The weather may be dreary, but I like it. Cool (but not freezing) temps and a gentle rain give me a reason to get stuff done indoors while the quiet garden just soaks it all in. The … Read More
April 03, 2014 ‘Blue Elf’ aloes, purple prickly pear, gold sedum, and smooth sotol and silver ponyfoot in the steel ring, with an Opuntia “tree” behind I’m hearing from many of you how much you enjoy my Drive-By Gardens posts, … 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
July 24, 2013 Our 4th stop on the 2nd day of the San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling was the Los Altos garden of designer, author, and blogger Rebecca Sweet. I’ve admired her garden not only on her blog, Gossip in … Read More