Cat's pollinator garden with a canyon view

Cat’s pollinator garden with a canyon view

May 16, 2019 Three years ago my friend Cat Jones (check out her IG and blog) and her husband, Derrick, newly empty nesters, sold their house and Cat’s lovely garden and moved to a different home in their Steiner Ranch neighborhood, not to downsize but — fellow gardeners, can you ...
Spring is abloom in shades of pink and turquoise

Spring is abloom in shades of pink and turquoise

May 01, 2019 I haven’t done a photo tour of my own garden in a while, so let’s go, starting with a new planting of Gulf Coast penstemon (Penstemon tenuis) and winecup (Callirhoe involucrata), both Texas natives. Along with an artichoke — I’ve always wanted to try one — they’re ...
Mermaids welcome in Lucinda Hutson's garden

Mermaids welcome in Lucinda Hutson’s garden

April 26, 2019 Austin may be 200 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, but for beachy ambience look no further than Lucinda Hutson‘s mermaid garden. The ¡Viva Tequila! author created an under-the-sea vibe with a shell-encrusted arbor dripping with capiz shells, under which a cast-iron mermaid poses seductively. Potted sansevieria, asparagus ...
Woodland tapestry: Jay Sifford's garden of foliage, art, and light

Woodland tapestry: Jay Sifford’s garden of foliage, art, and light

April 18, 2019 During a family visit to Charlotte, North Carolina, last weekend, I took the opportunity to visit the garden of designer Jay Sifford, an online friend who graciously offered up his morning for a visit. When thunderstorms rumbled all morning, we pushed it to early afternoon. I arrived ...
Wildflowers and Succulents: A Texas-English garden, part 2

Wildflowers and Succulents: A Texas-English garden, part 2

April 11, 2019 Doorways in chunky stucco walls frame vista after flowery vista in the garden of Jenny Stocker, also known as Rock Rose, the title of her blog. I showed you half of her Austin garden yesterday. Today I’ll lead you through the rest, starting with the sunken garden ...
Foxgloves and cacti: A Texas-English garden, part 1

Foxgloves and cacti: A Texas-English garden, part 1

April 09, 2019 Ah, let us return to the always-stunning garden of Jenny Stocker, aka Rock Rose. Born and raised in England, Jenny and her husband, David, years ago adopted Texas as their home. Jenny’s garden, a series of stucco-walled courtyards surrounding their contemporary house, reflects her English roots but ...
Creative display gardens at The Natural Gardener

Creative display gardens at The Natural Gardener

April 07, 2019 The Natural Gardener beckoned as a fun first stop on my wildflower drive last Wednesday. Mom was with me, and after we stashed a bunch of new plants in the car, we stepped back out to explore the nursery’s colorful display gardens. The herb garden designed by ...
Feeling the blues - happy blues - in Lori Daul's garden

Feeling the blues – happy blues – in Lori Daul’s garden

April 02, 2019 Visiting the garden of Lori Daul, aka The Gardener of Good and Evil, on a cool spring afternoon gives me a case of the blues. But the blues are moody only in hue, not in spirit! Lushly planted with Texas-tough plants, her suburban South Austin garden is ...
Saw art I saw in Salado

Saw art I saw in Salado

January 04, 2019 Have you ever seen such a spectacular arrangement of saws? Driving through Salado, Texas, just before Christmas, I spotted this saw…wreath?…on a red barn door and yanked the car over to get a better look. Twenty-three rusty, old handsaws spiral around a central table saw blade. How ...
Waterwise beauty and metal animal safari in Linda Peterson's San Antonio garden

Waterwise beauty and metal animal safari in Linda Peterson’s San Antonio garden

December 05, 2018 An invitation to Linda Peterson’s garden in San Antonio proved too tempting a treat to resist on the day before Halloween. I arrived in San Antonio in time to tour the terrific new culinary and adventure gardens at San Antonio Botanical Garden before heading over to Linda’s mint-green ...
More butterflies and Halloween scarecrows at San Antonio Botanical Garden

More butterflies and Halloween scarecrows at San Antonio Botanical Garden

November 11, 2018 I’ve shown you the fabulous new gardens at San Antonio Botanical Garden that have opened over the past year — the culinary and entry gardens and the Family Adventure Garden — but there is more to see in the original gardens. During my visit at the end ...
Food for people and butterflies in San Antonio Botanical Garden's culinary and entry gardens

Food for people and butterflies in San Antonio Botanical Garden’s culinary and entry gardens

November 06, 2018 San Antonio was calling my name last week, so I hopped in the car with my friend Cat of The Whimsical Gardener, and we road-tripped south to see the new gardens at San Antonio Botanical Garden. Wow, was I impressed with the changes! Zachry Foundation Culinary Garden ...
Dia de los Muertos in Lucinda Hutson's festive home and garden

Dia de los Muertos in Lucinda Hutson’s festive home and garden

November 05, 2018 As a native of border city El Paso and a veteran traveler throughout Mexico, Lucinda Hutson has long embraced Mexican culture and traditions like Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. She recently hosted a small gathering in honor of the holiday, which is a ...
Rainy day visit to Jenny Stocker's garden

Rainy day visit to Jenny Stocker’s garden

October 23, 2018 A visit to Jenny Stocker‘s gorgeous walled garden is always a treat, even on a chilly, rainy day like last Friday (and actually all this month). Jenny kindly opened her garden to me and my friend Susan Morrison, who was in town for a Garden Spark presentation, ...
Oxblood lilies are baaaaack!

Oxblood lilies are baaaaack!

September 13, 2018 Five inches of rain soaked the soil last week, and the oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) have raised their celebratory red flags in response. Popping up from dormancy seemingly overnight, they’ve splashed color along the front of the raised beds in the back garden. The herald of the ...
Playing in The Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins

Playing in The Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins

September 12, 2018 During our Great American West road trip last month, my daughter and I passed through charming Fort Collins, Colorado, and visited The Gardens on Spring Creek, the city’s community-oriented botanic garden. The entry garden was ablaze with late-summer flowers like purple coneflower, rudbeckia, and cleome. Pink cleome ...