November 02, 2018
More Texas wildflower joy near Independence

March 26, 2024

More Texas wildflower joy near Independence
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Display gardens at Sunset Publishing headquarters: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

Display gardens at Sunset Publishing headquarters: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

July 22, 2013 Our 2nd stop on the 2nd day of the San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling was the low-slung headquarters of Sunset Publishing Corp. in Menlo Park, where we toured Sunset’s display gardens. While central Texas is just east of the western U.S. region covered by Sunset magazine, the …
Filling the frame with Saxon Holt: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

Filling the frame with Saxon Holt: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

July 19, 2013 The 2nd day of the San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling opened with an optional photography workshop with professional garden photographer Saxon Holt at San Francisco Botanical Garden. While participants arose early, we still did not arrive at the magical “golden hour” of sunrise, and by 8:30 a.m …
Surfing the Wave Garden: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

Surfing the Wave Garden: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

July 18, 2013 Our last stop before dinner on the 1st day of the San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling was the aptly named Wave Garden, a Bay-hugging, terraced garden — all curving, terracotta-tinted paths, wavy metalwork, and a cascade of colorful, exotic plants from South Africa, Australia, and other frost-free …
And the Lawn Gone! giveaway winner is...

And the Lawn Gone! giveaway winner is…

July 18, 2013 Congratulations to MaryEllen Krautter for winning a signed copy of my book, Lawn Gone! Big thanks to everyone who took the time to enter my giveaway this week. MaryEllen, I’ll be in touch today via email. For anyone in the Austin area still wanting an autographed copy …
Plant-stravaganza at Annie's Annuals: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

Plant-stravaganza at Annie’s Annuals: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

July 16, 2013 We stopped for shopping and lunch on the 1st day of the San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling at Annie’s Annuals & Perennials, a retail and mail-order nursery tucked behind high, wire-topped fences in a blighted neighborhood. “Plant heaven in the ‘hood,” adorable owner Annie cheerfully dubbed it …
California texture for Foliage Follow-Up

California texture for Foliage Follow-Up

July 16, 2013 Heck, I don’t know what these plants are except that the green, grassy plant at bottom is probably some type of rush (Juncus). All I know is that the combo made my heart sing when I spotted it while touring gardens at the San Francisco Garden Bloggers …
Organic Mechanics Garden, an apartment dweller's refuge: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

Organic Mechanics Garden, an apartment dweller’s refuge: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

July 15, 2013 Our second stop on the first day of the Garden Bloggers Fling in San Francisco seemed inauspicious: a security door into a tall apartment building on the edge of the Tenderloin, a downtown residential neighborhood with a somewhat seedy reputation. We walked single-file down narrow halls and …
The vertical hillside garden of Matt Gil: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

The vertical hillside garden of Matt Gil: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

July 14, 2013 As the Garden Bloggers Fling in San Francisco officially kicked off on June 28, two buses full of about 75 bloggers split up, navigating the city’s challenging hills separately so that the small gardens we visited could better accommodate us. My bus headed for sculptor Matt Gil‘s …
Cocktail party at Shirley Watts' Garden: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

Cocktail party at Shirley Watts’ Garden: San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

July 12, 2013 Early arrivals to San Francisco for the recent Garden Bloggers Fling were invited to a cocktail party at designer and artist Shirley Watts‘ home in Alameda. Shirley graciously opened her home and garden to about 50 complete strangers, and we eagerly trooped through her kitchen and into …
Audubon magazine cites Lawn Gone!

Audubon magazine cites Lawn Gone!

July 11, 2013 I’m about to plunge into a series of posts about gardens I visited in San Francisco late last month, but first I must share my excitement about a mention of Lawn Gone! that appears in this month’s Audubon magazine. Titled “Food Network,” the article by Rene Ebersole …
Lawn Gone! GIVEAWAY and other perks from San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

Lawn Gone! GIVEAWAY and other perks from San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling

July 11, 2013 Did you miss me? I’m back from nearly two weeks of fun Flinging with garden bloggers and sightseeing with my family in beautiful San Francisco, California. Since 2008, the Garden Bloggers Fling has been an annual tradition for me, a can’t-miss meet-up of garden bloggers from across …
Read This: Succulents Simplified

Read This: Succulents Simplified

July 02, 2013 Succulents are a garden trend that shows no sign of slowing down. Easy to pot up for summer and tolerant of watering forgetfulness, they make the perfect seasonal accent even in freeze-prone climates. For those in mild-winter climates, a variety of succulents can be grown outside all …
Read This: Landprints: The Landscape Designs of Bernard Trainor

Read This: Landprints: The Landscape Designs of Bernard Trainor

June 27, 2013 I was captivated by Bernard Trainor‘s designs the moment I saw one of them on the cover of New Garden Design, which I briefly reviewed in 2010. The image: A brimming bowl of water, mirroring the sky, is set apart on a gravel patio. To the left, …
Shirley Fox's golden xeriscape garden in San Antonio

Shirley Fox’s golden xeriscape garden in San Antonio

June 25, 2013 A week ago I traveled to San Antonio to give a public Lawn Gone! talk at the invitation of the Gardening Volunteers of South Texas. Among the 100 or so people in attendance, two Alamo City bloggers I follow, Shirley of Rock-Oak-Deer and Heather of Xericstyle, were …