I’m delighted to see that my book is recommended in the May issue of Birds & Blooms magazine.

They dubbed Lawn Gone! one of their “Books We Love.” Yay! Thanks, Birds & Blooms! I love your magazine too.

Speaking of birds, we’ve had quite the saga with our owl box recently. A squirrel had taken up residence, and we kept meaning to drag the ladder out and send the squirrel packing. Every day the squirrel poked her pointy, little face out of the doorway while I was making lunch, apparently enjoying her stolen digs. Then on Wednesday, I looked up from sandwich making and saw the round eyes and circular shape of a screech owl staring out the doorway. Woot! The owl had obviously taken care of the situation and evicted the squirrel. All well and good.

But that night we had hail, and the next morning our dog, Cosmo, flushed an adolescent squirrel out from under a bush and gave it few good shakes, injuring the squirrel so that it couldn’t walk. Obviously the evicted squirrel had nearly grown kits, and this one lacked the sense to sleep in a tree, or perhaps it took shelter from the hail. We agonized about putting it out of its misery but couldn’t do it. So we put it in an old aquarium with towels to snuggle into and prepared for it to be dead soon. The next day, it looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, though it still wasn’t moving around much. I took it to a wildlife rescue facility, just in case it had any broken bones. They gave it a good prognosis, and I went home feeling good about the situation. No more squirrel, and an owl in the box, just as it should be.

The next day I looked out the window and saw a pointy squirrel face looking out of the box again. What?! Are they time-sharing that box, or what?

Lawn Gone! talk and book-signing, TODAY at 10 am
Hey, Texas Hill Country peeps! Please join me today, March 23, at 10 am at Backbone Valley Nursery in Marble Falls for my talk, “Lawn Alternatives for Central Texas” and a Lawn Gone! book-signing. I don’t know about you, but since it’s bluebonnet season, I’m going to take a little wildflower-peeping drive while I’m out there.

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

I opened my mailbox to find the latest issue of Garden Design in there and was delighted to see my latest article, “Small but Spry,” on page 16.

It’s about the huge trend in small plants and small-scale gardening, as evidenced by the resurgent popularity of terrariums, miniature gardening, and fairy gardening and also of container-sized edibles. Big fun! Small plants. Check it out.

Speaking of small plants, are you on board with this trend? Do you have baby lettuces, a fairy garden, or a tiny tillandsia suspended in an elegant blown-glass vase? Do tell!

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

I’m thrilled to tell you that I have an article in Garden Design‘s latest issue (June 2012). “The Plant Man” is a piece about Texas plantsman John Fairey and the design of his renowned garden, Peckerwood, which is home to an astounding collection of rare and unusual plants from northeastern Mexico, Texas, and Asia. Photographer Marion Brenner’s glowing images illustrate the architectural beauty of the garden. I hope you’ll pick up a copy when it appears on newsstands. If you’re a subscriber, your copy is probably already on its way. Update 6/12/12: My article is up on Garden Design‘s website now, so if you didn’t read it in print, you can read it online.

All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.