If you’re looking for something fun to do with family over the holidays, why not burn a few calories while checking out the fun public art in downtown Austin? …

For dazzle and shine and small-town Christmas spirit, there’s no better place than Johnson City, Texas, about an hour west of Austin, and the headquarters of Pedernales Electric Co-op, where a grove of live oak trees is annually transformed into a nebula of twinkle lights …

Hamilton Pool called my name last month, and I answered by scheduling a visit through the state’s reservation page. Yes, Hamilton Pool Preserve is so heavily visited nowadays that the county park system requires a reservation to visit on weekends, and every day in warmer months. Is it worth the …

Season 4 of Garden Spark kicks off in January and brings 3 exciting speakers to design enthusiasts and keen gardeners in the Austin area …

Known for her moody, incandescent images, photographer Claire Takacs’s book, Dreamscapes, features 69 dreamy gardens …

Rice University is my alma mater, and if the weather’s nice when I’m in Houston I’ll often take a walk around campus. It’s not all for nostalgia’s sake, though. Rather, Rice has really upped its sculpture and art collection game in recent years, and much of it is open to …

All you really need for a garden, as Phoenix landscape architect Steve Martino says, are a tree, a chair, a wall, and a little water. The rustic-modern patio at Texas French Bread reminded me of this when I stopped by for lunch yesterday. Designed by Christy Ten Eyck, the patio’s …

Fall color in Austin was surprisingly good this year, including the show put on by the ornamental trees in my own garden, like the species Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) …

The xeriscape garden at Rollingwood City Hall, designed by Scott Ogden, Lauren Springer Ogden, and Patrick Kirwin, eschews lawn to showcase the beauty and diversity of our native Texas plants, including wildflowers in all seasons, as well as many excellent non-native but adapted plants …

The Two Coves Garden is a luxurious retreat with a simplified plant palette and an emphasis on clean-lined, beautifully crafted hardscaping …

Having visited Ruthie Burrus’s garden before, I knew it would be one of my favorites on the Austin Open Days tour in November, sponsored by The Garden Conservancy. Let’s start with the entry garden, where a concrete trough softened by ferns gently trickles …

November 19, 2019 The Nuevo Santander Garden on the Austin Open Day tour, sponsored by The Garden Conservancy earlier this month, reminded me of native-plant gardens from the old Wildflower Center tour that used to be held Mother’s Day weekend. With its wild and woolly design using Texas natives, it …

An Old Austin-style garden awaited across the street from the Greenway Garden on The Garden Conservancy’s Open Day tour two weeks ago. What does Old Austin style look like? To me it means a mature tree canopy and a lush understory of sturdy subtropical evergreens like boxwood, pittosporum, sago palm, …

Before the big freeze I went to see fall color at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on a beautiful Sunday afternoon …