Twinkly trees aglow in Johnson City

Twinkly trees aglow in Johnson City

December 25, 2023 Merry Christmas! May your holiday and/or celebration of year’s end be happy and bright! To provide a little extra brightness, I’m sharing pics from the Lights Spectacular display in Johnson City, Texas, which I visited on Friday evening. The live oaks will be lit each night through ...
Creek Show art installations glow at Waterloo Greenway

Creek Show art installations glow at Waterloo Greenway

November 16, 2023 Last night I headed downtown to Waller Creek to see this year’s Creek Show, an annual exhibition of light-art installations, put on by Waterloo Greenway. While the event is free, let me tell you, it’s worth it to pay $10 for a fast pass that allows you ...
From mill to Mill Fleurs, a garden of rare plants

From mill to Mill Fleurs, a garden of rare plants

November 09, 2023 I love a good play on words, and the garden of Barbara and Robert Tiffany employs two in its name. Mill Fleurs occupies the site where two old mills — from the 1700s! — perch along Tohickon Creek. Thirty years ago, the couple purchased the derelict structures, ...
Fall florals to fall for at Terrain garden shop

Fall florals to fall for at Terrain garden shop

October 22, 2023 It’s good for my wallet that we don’t have a Terrain in Austin, or even in Texas. I know, I know, Terrain has an online store. But my infatuation with this beautiful garden shop stems from its immersive, gorgeous, creative store displays and merchandising. Especially when it’s ...
Homey fall garden at Brandywine Cottage

Homey fall garden at Brandywine Cottage

October 19, 2023 Tropical Storm Ophelia swept across the Philadelphia region during late September’s Philly Area Fling. But Flingers shall not be deterred! On we Flung in raincoats, ponchos, umbrellas, and waterproof shoes — or in sopping wet pants and socks. Our group arrived at plantsman and designer David L ...
Happy, colorful courtyards at The Lincoln Marfa

Happy, colorful courtyards at The Lincoln Marfa

September 18, 2023 I stayed at The Lincoln, a boutique hotel of 14 “unique homes” at a century-old property, when I visited Marfa a couple weeks ago. A bright yellow door and orange cosmos flowers offered a cheerful welcome as I rolled my bag to Unit 7, passing a gigantic, ...
Twilight in Cat's garden

Twilight in Cat’s garden

August 29, 2023 A late-summer evening in my friend Cat‘s canyon-side garden is serene and lovely, as twilight hides the summer scorch all Texans are seeing in our gardens right now. This blistering summer has taught us to be crepuscular, more active at twilight, like deer. Cat knows how to ...
Zilker Garden lights up with neon, costumes for Surreal Garden

Zilker Garden lights up with neon, costumes for Surreal Garden

April 12, 2023 These flowers are watching you If you enjoy seeing a familiar garden with a twist of surreality, humor, and neon art, the Surreal Garden event at Zilker Botanical Garden is for you. And for me! I attended last year’s inaugural event and happily returned this year. The ...
Flowers going up and coming down

Flowers going up and coming down

April 03, 2023 The first hummingbird appeared last weekend, zooming under the dangling red flowers of soap aloes. No surprise there. Those aloes put out quite the welcome mat for hummers. The spiderwort has had a good run — here’s a volunteer by the covered porch, looking pretty — but ...
Spikes and springtime

Spikes and springtime

March 22, 2023 Spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis), a self-sowing native and a springtime beauty, continues to color my shady spaces purple. Its bee-feeding flowers open at dawn and close in the early afternoon, except on cool, cloudy days, when they may stay open all day. More flower spikes line the raised ...
Late-winter flora and fauna on my 17th blogiversary

Late-winter flora and fauna on my 17th blogiversary

February 14, 2023 ‘Fireworks’ gomphrena gone to seed On Valentine’s Day 2006 I hit publish for my very first blog post. Back then I saw blogging as a way to document my garden through the seasons and to join the online conversation about gardening in Austin. Boy, was it ever! ...
One-of-a-kind design on the 2023 Tribeza Interiors Tour, Part 2

One-of-a-kind design on the 2023 Tribeza Interiors Tour, Part 2

January 26, 2023 I’m so glad Austin’s excellent Tribeza Interiors Tour is back after a 2-year pandemic hiatus. On Sunday’s tour day, I managed to see all 7 of the featured houses, plus squeeze in a picnic lunch courtesy of my touring partner, in the 5 hours allotted to the ...
Color-saturated homes on 2023 Tribeza Interiors Tour, Part 1

Color-saturated homes on 2023 Tribeza Interiors Tour, Part 1

January 25, 2023 A pink front door and chromatic rug make a cheerful entry at Genie Norris’s house The quiet season for gardening makes the perfect season to focus on interiors — and to attend Austin’s annual Tribeza Interiors Tour. After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the tour resumed last Sunday, ...
Layers of natural beauty, predators and prey, in Julia Lucey art

Layers of natural beauty, predators and prey, in Julia Lucey art

January 19, 2023 I’m in love with the enchanting art of California artist Julia Lucey, who’s currently exhibiting her mixed media collages at Austin’s Wally Workman Gallery. I went to see them on Tuesday and stood enraptured before each one, watching as hidden details revealed themselves amid ravishing colors and ...
Zilker Tree spin on Christmas Eve

Zilker Tree spin on Christmas Eve

December 26, 2022 The week leading up to Christmas Day was a whirlwind of holiday gatherings, eating, drinking, and merry-making with friends and family, for which I’m deeply grateful. On a quieter Christmas Eve we visited the Zilker Holiday Tree, which has been lighting up Zilker Park just south of ...
Enjoying fall color and a mellow garden

Enjoying fall color and a mellow garden

December 07, 2022 By the time I hang red Christmas balls from the agave’s spines, the Japanese maple finally blushes red too. Fall comes late to Central Texas, but I’ll take it, even at Christmastime. Last week was peak color for the Acer palmatum. Today, shriveled tan leaves cling to ...