Nature subdued in new work by Kate Breakey

Nature subdued in new work by Kate Breakey

November 17, 2023 Patchnose on Lace One of my favorite contemporary artists, for over two decades, is Australian-born photographer Kate Breakey. I fell in love with her Small Deaths series when she was still living in Austin. She’s been in Tucson for many years now, but she still shows new ...
Screech owl visitor

Screech owl visitor

February 16, 2022 A few days ago I looked up and noticed a screech owl hanging out in the door of our owl box. First sighting of the season! At this time of year, males are scouting for nesting sites, and perhaps that’s what this little guy was doing, when ...
At Juniper Hill Farm, a country garden gets structure from formal design

At Juniper Hill Farm, a country garden gets structure from formal design

November 23, 2021 Connections to gardeners I’ve made as a writer often lead, like beads on a string, to new introductions and far-flung garden visits. In such a roundabout way I had the pleasure last month of meeting photographer Joe Valentine and his wife, Paula, for a personal tour of ...
Signs of life

Signs of life

March 24, 2021 I planted 5 small bluebonnets before the Big Freeze. The deer took two as tribute, leaving me with three, and they came through the deep freeze just fine. Now they’re blooming, a hopeful sign of spring! Keeping it real, though, this is how the past couple of ...
Early spring blooms and Athena the owl at Wildflower Center

Early spring blooms and Athena the owl at Wildflower Center

March 20, 2021 When they’re offered, I take advantage of late-admission hours to gardens. The light is better for photography in the early evening, and you have a better chance of seeing wildlife. On Thursday our local native-plant botanical garden, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, stayed open late, and ...
Green texture in my live oak-shaded garden

Green texture in my live oak-shaded garden

January 31, 2021 At the end of a dog walk a few days ago, I ran my eyes along the streetside edge of my island bed, automatically checking for fallen branches, weeds, armadillo holes — as one does. Suddenly my perspective shifted, and I saw the plantings anew, as if ...
She made her garden dreams come true

She made her garden dreams come true

September 28, 2020 Mandevilla vine I’ve known Amy since I was 17 years old. We met as freshmen at Rice University and became good friends. She was a bridesmaid at my tiny wedding in South Carolina, and I was there for her when she and husband Gary tied the knot ...
Owl family hanging out

Owl family hanging out

June 11, 2020 Any day now the owlet in our owl box will fly the nest, so I’ve been taking lots of photos while I can. Here’s one of the parents — the mother, I think — on her favorite perch in a juniper tree behind our back fence. She ...
Screech owlet makes a surprise June appearance

Screech owlet makes a surprise June appearance

June 07, 2020 Screech owlet We’ve had a lot of screech owls nest in our owl box over the past 10 years. But after we lost our owl tree and had to relocate the box, it sat empty all last year, to our disappointment. And until two days ago, I ...
Summertime plant whacking

Summertime plant whacking

June 04, 2020 Whacking — it’s what I do in summer as plants grow bushy or tall or lean where they shouldn’t. I had to whack back the Verbena bonariensis in the Circle Garden so that I could walk, not sidle, along the path. The ‘Winter Gem’ boxwoods also got ...
Beebalm, skullcap, and more wild creatures

Beebalm, skullcap, and more wild creatures

May 27, 2020 The early summer flowers are strutting their stuff, so come along for a virtual tour! Here’s dazzling ‘Peter’s Purple’ monarda (Monarda fistulosa ‘Peter’s Purple’) in the driveway bed. It was a breezy day. Looking toward the neighbors’ house and their fast-growing Yucca rostrata In the shady island bed ...
Fawning over this baby

Fawning over this baby

May 22, 2020 A young visitor dropped by my garden yesterday. Actually I think she was here a couple of days ago, although I didn’t see her that day. I was moving around the side of the house and heard a startled rustling in the sedge and thought I might ...
Wild kingdom in the backyard

Wild kingdom in the backyard

April 28, 2020 Texas spiny lizards tend to be skittish, scuttling under the car or a potted plant when you walk by. But one very laid-back lizard has taken up residence on the shady upper patio in recent weeks. It calmly eyes me and holds its ground, even when I’m ...
All cleaned up after live oak deluge

All cleaned up after live oak deluge

March 30, 2020 The garden reemerged last weekend, after copious raking and blowing and bagging, from the annual spring deluge of last season’s live oak leaves and subsequent pollen catkins. I ran around with the camera, capturing the gorgeousness of new flowers and fresh foliage, like this pretty combo of ...
Urban landscaping along Austin's 2nd Street

Urban landscaping along Austin’s 2nd Street

February 18, 2020 While downtown recently for dinner, we walked along 2nd Street and the arched Butterfly Bridge and visited Austin Central Library, first stopping to admire the native-plant landscaping along Shoal Creek. Purple trailing lantana cascades over rock walls to brighten the late-winter garden. More trailing lantana, which blooms ...
Burrowing owl makes a rocky home in Austin

Burrowing owl makes a rocky home in Austin

January 29, 2020 I’m still hoping that a screech owl will move into our owl box this winter. Meanwhile, I got my owl fix yesterday with a different kind of bird — a burrowing owl, which I understand is rarely seen in Central Texas. Burrowing owls prefer West Texas and ...