November 02, 2018
Drive-By Gardens: Colorful culvert pipe planters in Houston Heights
The Heights neighborhood in Houston is free-spirited, as evidenced by this collection of culvert pipe scraps turned annual planters …
Mark Word’s Jardineros nursery in east Austin
March 20, 2013 Is the Great Recession finally over? I see encouraging signs in the number of people hiring garden designers/landscapers these days and in the opening of brand-new neighborhood nurseries like Jardineros. Owned by Austin designer Mark Word and partner Billy Spencer (who did the landscaping at Hotel San …
Yellow flowering desert senna in San Antonio
March 19, 2013 Hey, all you knowledgeable gardeners in the San Antonio area. What is this GORGEOUS flowering shrub? Update: Thank you all for the ID suggestions! The consensus is that it’s desert cassia, also known as desert senna or green feathery senna (Senna nemophila), an Australian native that is …
Spring color and edibles at San Antonio Botanical Garden
March 18, 2013 Two weekends ago my family and I kicked off spring break with a fun day trip to San Antonio and a visit to San Antonio Botanical Garden. We were greeted with a crayon box of annual color in these containers just inside the entry. Geraniums, nasturtiums, pansies, …
Foliage Follow Up at San Antonio Botanical Garden conservatory
March 16, 2013 For Foliage Follow-Up this month, I offer up a leafy extravaganza from the conservatory at San Antonio Botanical Garden, which I visited last weekend (for more SABG pics, click here). This is the fern room, a humid, tropical study in lines and texture. Many of the plants …
Visit to San Antonio's Japanese Tea Garden
March 13, 2013 Day-tripping in San Antonio last weekend, my family and I made time for a stroll through the Japanese Tea Garden, located near the zoo in Brackenridge Park. Constructed in an old limestone quarry, the gardens are framed and accessed by fascinating and unusual stonework, including a pagoda-like …
Visit to San Antonio’s Japanese Tea Garden
March 13, 2013 Day-tripping in San Antonio last weekend, my family and I made time for a stroll through the Japanese Tea Garden, located near the zoo in Brackenridge Park. Constructed in an old limestone quarry, the gardens are framed and accessed by fascinating and unusual stonework, including a pagoda-like …
Picture perfect abutilon packed with pendant pink petals
March 12, 2013 Was it the mild winter? The evenly cool spring so far, combined with plenty of sun? Finally getting its roots settled? Whatever the cause, the pink abutilon (no ID; purchased from Barton Springs Nursery) in the back garden is absolutely loaded with veined, bell-like flowers right now …
Soaking up the sunshine on the deck
March 11, 2013 Y’all. We’re getting the weather we long for all summer in Austin. Cool, sunny days with a bright blue sky floating overhead and a soft breeze carrying the grape-soda fragrance of Texas mountain laurel. If you’re in the Austin area, I hope you’re dashing outdoors every single …
Winner of the LAWN GONE! pillow giveaway
March 11, 2013 What a party! After a fun week of anticipation over 7 alt-lawn-themed giveaways, the Lawn Gone! Book Party—which included personal stories of going lawnless, before-and-after pictures, and reviews of my book on the other participating blogs—is winding down. Huge thanks to Benjamin, Rebecca, Meems, Dee, Gen, and …
Gopher plants at peak bloom
March 10, 2013 As the Texas mountain laurels fade and the redbuds glow rosily at their peak bloom, the gopher plants (Euphorbia rigida) are doing their best to outshine everything else in my garden with their screaming yellow flowers. They outshine even the ‘Color Guard’ yuccas. Pulsing color held aloft …
Steel wall planters are succulicious!
March 08, 2013 Ooh, I am so excited to show you my two steel wall planters that I commissioned last fall from talented metalsmith and Austin blogger Bob Pool at Gardening at Draco. It’s taken me all this time to hang them and plant them, but that was just as …
Redbuds in bloom and Lawn Gone! at the Wildflower Center
March 07, 2013 A blue sky and mild spring breeze drew me outdoors yesterday, and I ended up popping into the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for a brief visit. A raspberry-colored Texas redbud (Cercis canadensis var. texensis) in full bloom arrested my progress through the parking lot. Just look …
Ever seen a white Texas mountain laurel?
March 05, 2013 Well, now you have! I spotted this mature, white-flowering Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora) in full bloom at the Arboretum shopping center in northwest Austin yesterday (at the entrance near Brio, from Great Hills Trail). Surrounded by several of the common (but stunning!) purple-blooming trees, the white …
