June 16, 2013 It’s so simple, but I really enjoy this collection of potted plants on my back steps. I can see them from my bedroom and living room windows, and they’re a focal point when sitting outside on the upper patio. I just chose single plants to pot up …

June 15, 2013 I’m discovering the joy of growing cactus, not just for the plants’ unique shapes and light-catching spines, but for their stunning flowers as well. Their flowering may be brief — generally just a day or two, so you don’t want to miss it — but what they …

June 13, 2013 Santa Barbara’s 23rd annual I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival was held Memorial Day weekend on the plaza in front of the Old Mission. We stopped by on that Monday to see both. A crowd was gathering under bright-blue skies to watch the artists — the madonnari …

June 11, 2013 The day after arriving in Santa Barbara over Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I used our Wildflower Center membership for reciprocal free admission to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Like the Wildflower Center, the SBBG is a natives-only garden — but here of course the plants …

June 09, 2013 Just before closing at Santa Barbara’s Lotusland, we explored the Cactus Garden, which I found even more fascinating than I expected. Despite what outsiders may imagine my home state of Texas to be like, this isn’t it. Tall, columnar cactus like these, for example, are largely unknown …

June 08, 2013 Around back of the main house at Santa Barbara’s Lotusland, you find a Spanish-style courtyard with curlicue wrought-iron gates, pink stuccoed walls, and verdigris cafe seating. A Moorish tiled fountain and rill, on axis with the gate, make a cooling focal point. The tile work makes me …

June 06, 2013 As we charged into Santa Barbara, California’s Lotusland, knowing we had a limited amount of time and wouldn’t be able to see everything, my first must-see areas were the oft-photographed Aloe Garden and the Blue Garden. Luckily both are fairly close to the visitor’s center. A kidney-shaped, …

June 05, 2013 It might easily have been all Italian cypress, boxwood, and roses. But Lotusland‘s Madame Ganna Walska, self-proclaimed “enemy of the ordinary,” didn’t settle for the expected. One of the first changes she made upon taking up residence in 1941 at the Santa Barbara, CA, estate was to …

June 02, 2013 Grassy amphitheater in the Theatre Garden Lotusland is theater. It’s designed to thrill, seduce, and transport you. And, boy, was I thrilled, seduced, and transported during my visit over Memorial Day weekend. Lotus pond — no blooms yet. The lotus bloom later in the summer. This Santa …

May 30, 2013 Last Saturday my husband and I flew to Los Angeles, rented a car, and drove to Santa Barbara, where we spent a relaxing 3-day weekend and celebrated our 23rd anniversary. We visited Lotusland and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (my picks), as well as the historical Old Mission …

May 23, 2013 Sometimes my publicist lets me know ahead of time that Lawn Gone! will have a mention in an upcoming publication. Other times it’s just a thrilling surprise. Like when I opened my copy of Wildflower (Summer 2013), the magazine of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center… …and …

May 22, 2013 We knew that the screech owl in our owl box was raising at least one chick and that it was getting big. Mama owl had moved out but was still roosting nearby, as was papa owl. But any chicks were being shy about showing themselves, so this …

May 20, 2013 Austin’s lovely, unexpectedly extended spring appears to have faded into summer’s mid-90sF heat and humidity. While I may be complaining about the sauna-like conditions, my garden doesn’t mind. Take this cute little cactus for example. Last year it resided on a sunny windowsill in the kitchen, but …

May 19, 2013 I’m always excited to see a mention of my book, Lawn Gone!, in a magazine or newspaper article, and this week there are two. On page 41 of the June 2013 issue of Woman’s Day magazine, you’ll see an article about freshening up your patio garden, which …