Bugs and butterflies at the Wildflower Center, part 2
October 04, 2016 Continuing our garden stroll through Austin’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (here’s part 1 of my visit), let’s enter the Family Garden, where paving by the restrooms and shade pavilion is softened with rain gardens planted with water-appreciating native plants. A rain garden, Texas-style, planted with mistflower, ...
Early autumn color at the Wildflower Center, part 1
October 02, 2016 Showy palafoxia (Palafoxia hookeriana) That first hit of cool autumn air early last week sent me running (well, battling Austin traffic) for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Arriving on a solemn, overcast morning, I was surprised to see quite a few other visitors there too. But ...
Inspired at Squire House Gardens: Minneapolis Garden Bloggers Fling
July 31, 2016 Our tour buses took us out of Minneapolis on the last day of the recent Garden Bloggers Fling — an annual event with 60+ garden bloggers touring Minneapolis this year — through St. Paul and on into charming Afton, Minnesota, where we visited nursery and gift shop ...
Need shade? Read my article about native vines in Wildflower
July 11, 2016 It’s summer. It’s Texas. And we all know it’s only getting hotter. That’s a line from an old radio ad, but truer words were never spoken. If you need shade in order to enjoy your yard at this time of year, how about giving a native vine ...
Formal gardening with native plants in Wildflower magazine
February 24, 2016 Native plants have come so far in the past 20 or so years. Once considered weeds, they’re now treasured by those who make gardens that attract pollinators and other wildlife, need less irrigation to thrive, and convey a unique sense of place. Enthusiasts readily fill their cottage ...
Smart, water-saving landscaping at UT’s Dealey Center
December 08, 2015 On a chilly, rainy Saturday in mid-November — a quiet traffic day — I headed to the University of Texas campus and actually found street parking at the G. B. Dealey Center for New Media (renamed from the Belo Center in 2021), whose landscaping I’ve wanted to ...
Dry and Mighty: How to design a dry garden
October 26, 2015 If gravel accented with a few lonely cacti and a cow skull is all that comes to mind when you think of a dry garden, it’s time to update this dusty Old West vision. Drought across the western U.S. and widespread interest in gardening more sustainably, with ...
My Dry and Mighty article is in Wildflower magazine
May 21, 2015 If you’re a member of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, you’ll soon find the Summer 2015 issue of Wildflower magazine in your mailbox. I’m thrilled to announce that I wrote the cover story, “Dry & Mighty.” What’s it all about? “A dry garden doesn’t have to ...
Keeping Houston weird at Joshua’s Native Plants
March 04, 2015 Shoehorned into a corner lot in the historic Heights neighborhood of Houston, Joshua’s Native Plants and Garden Antiques is a treasure trove of interesting plants and unusual garden art that you won’t find at every other nursery you visit. Despite a downpour that had me huddled under ...
Autumn amble at New York Botanical Garden
October 24, 2014 After touring Wave Hill on October 11, my daughter and I took the train to the New York Botanical Garden. Although both NYBG and Wave Hill are located in the Bronx, mass transit between the two ate up some time, and we had tickets to a Broadway ...
Native plants and modern garden furnishings at Redenta’s Garden Arlington
October 14, 2014 Whew! I just got home from a whirlwind trip to New York City to visit public gardens, and does Austin ever feel blissfully small and non-crowded in comparison to Manhattan. The High Line was the highlight, and I’ll have pictures for you soon. But first I’ve been ...
Interview with Luci Baines Johnson about Wildflower Center’s new Family Garden
March 19, 2014 Water feature with streams, pond, rocks, and grotto in the new children’s garden Some of you already know this story. In early 2000, while visiting the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center with my baby daughter and 3-year-old son, I unexpectedly met Lady Bird and her daughter Luci ...
Interview with Luci Baines Johnson about Wildflower Center's new Family Garden
March 19, 2014 Water feature with streams, pond, rocks, and grotto in the new children’s garden Some of you already know this story. In early 2000, while visiting the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center with my baby daughter and 3-year-old son, I unexpectedly met Lady Bird and her daughter Luci ...
Trio of Texans: 3 native plants for winter interest
January 29, 2014 I spotted these three Texas beauties at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center last weekend: Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana), Texas nolina (Nolina texana), and Texas bluegrass (Poa arachnifera). You reckon they planned that combo based on name alone? All material © 2006-2014 by Pam Penick for Digging ...
Bonny bluebonnets and more at the Wildflower Center, part 2
April 22, 2013 I promised you Texas bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) in my previous post, part 1 of last Friday’s visit to the Wildflower Center, and bluebonnets you shall have, with a bonus of winecups (Callirhoe involucrata)! This little boy was certainly enjoying the bluebonnet meadow, running his hands along the ...
Blossoming spring morning at the Wildflower Center, part 1
April 21, 2013 April is high season for wildflowers in Texas, and if you can’t get out for a country drive to admire them in meadows and fields, an Austinite can always get a fix at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. I stopped by for a wildflower stroll on ...
