May 10, 2011 Steelwork appealed to me in the final garden on the Wildflower Center-sponsored Gardens on Tour last Saturday. Take this planter box, for instance. The plants will look better when they fill in, but for now the box is fabulous. I also liked these bent-stake plant labels—clever. And …

May 10, 2011 A recent client of mine wanted design ideas for a pretty, xeric, low-water planting on her septic drain field. The Ridgecrest Drive garden on last Saturday’s Wildflower Center-sponored Gardens on Tour is inspirational in that regard. The septic field is front and center on this West Lake …

May 09, 2011 Imagine a steep, overgrown hillside of invasive nandina, bamboo, and ligustrum. That’s what the homeowners on Stratford Drive looked out on after building a contemporary, 5-star green home (as rated by the Austin Energy Green Building program) in the Rollingwood neighborhood of west Austin. According to the …

May 08, 2011 The distinguishing feature of West Monroe Street’s front garden, which I toured Saturday on the Wildflower Center-sponsored Gardens on Tour, is a no-mow Berkeley sedge lawn in place of the standard St. Augustine. Alternatives to the traditional lawn were definitely a theme on this year’s tour. Designed …

May 08, 2011 Yesterday I toured the five private gardens on Austin’s Wildflower Center-sponsored Gardens on Tour 2011. The annual tour is designed to showcase gardens planted predominantly with native plants. My favorite garden this year? Landscape architect, plantsman, and rock hound Tait Moring‘s personal garden on Bee Cave Road …

May 06, 2011 “Night Magic” Seduced by the glimmer of a single open blossom on my Datura metel, I set up my tripod in the night garden and used an upturned flashlight to create a glowing illumination. A screech owl trilled in the trees above. It was a magical moment …

May 04, 2011 Vertical gardening has gotten a lot of attention lately (see my recent review of Garden Up!), and deservedly so. While gardeners have always planted vines and greened up their walls, a renewed interest makes sense for those of us who garden on tight urban or fenced-in suburban …

May 02, 2011 The great horned owl chicks nesting at the Wildflower Center suddenly look like owls rather than fuzzy, gray buzzards, which the owlets resembled only a week and a half ago, before their down had been replaced with brown, adult feathers. Yesterday I popped over to the Wildflower …

April 28, 2011 Heartleaf skullcap (Scutellaria ovata) romps through my garden with greater vigor each year. Belonging to the mint family, it spreads with abandon, and yet it never seems a thug because it’s so easy to pull out and dies back in summer to let other plants have their …

April 27, 2011 My new ‘Buff Beauty’ rose is knocking me out with its luscious color and sweet fragrance. I’m giving it some support with a low, arched trellis made of cattle panel. Next to it I’ve planted ‘Acapulco Salmon & Pink’ agastache, whose rosy, warm colors should complement ‘Buff …

April 26, 2011 Although I’m not posting this time around, I hope you’ll check out my fellow designers at Garden Designers Roundtable, who are offering up their choices today for “Top Landscape Plants.” Of course gardening is local, and top plants for Denver or San Jose will not necessarily be …

April 24, 2011 Lace cactus in flower Gardening in central Texas is all about embracing extremes—of temperature, of rainfall, of summer’s brutal duration, and, most delightfully, of the contrast between soft and spiky. One element of good design is using contrasting forms, and our native plants offer many opportunities, as …

April 22, 2011 The winecup (Callirhoe involucrata), one of Texas’ native wildflowers, is quieter in my garden this year, not sprawling as far as in previous springs nor producing as many flowers. And yet a close-up look (convenient since it’s planted atop a retaining wall) in the light of late …

April 21, 2011 I’m always amazed by cactus flowers, unfurling with such beauty and rich color from such a seemingly inhospitable plant. For instance, this purple prickly pear (Opuntia macrocentra), with its Mickey Mouse-ear shape and needle-like spines. Each spring, horn-like buds appear… …and blossom into a buttery cup of …