November 02, 2018
Art Institute Garden in Chicago
June 04, 2009 Heading back to the hotel after spinning under the Bean, Diana and I couldn’t resist a quick peek at the Art Institute‘s north garden (we missed the south garden). Here are just a few images from this small but lovely public garden. Pictured above is prairie smoke …
On Cloud Nine in Lurie Garden
June 03, 2009 One of the highlights of Spring Fling Chicago was a guided tour of Lurie Garden by chief horticulturalist Colleen Lockovitch. Colleen provided the ultimate insider’s guide to the garden, pointing out her favorite plants and explaining how she and her staff maintain them, suggesting we ask our …
The people behind the blogs
June 03, 2009 Layanee of Ledge and Gardens enjoying a glass of wine on Mr. McGregor’s Daughter’s patio. Layanee kept me in stitches with her wry humor. I’ve posted mainly about the gardens we saw at Chicago Spring Fling, but of course the real reason we all went was to …
Trudi Temple’s garden
June 02, 2009 On Sunday after the official Spring Fling activities had ended, Mr. McGregor’s Daughter picked up several of the late-stayers for additional garden tours she’d arranged in the western suburbs of Chicago. The star attraction was the beautiful garden of author Trudi Temple, who welcomed us with open …
Chicago Botanic Garden wows Spring Flingers
June 02, 2009 Tulips and toadflax Where to begin? Yesterday afternoon I returned to Austin from the second annual Garden Bloggers Spring Fling, held in Chicago this year, feeling dazzled by all the spring-blooming Windy City gardens, hoarse from talking so much with friends old and new, and dog-tired from …
Best of Friends daylily
May 27, 2009 That mouthwatering, apple-green throat Those glittering, sugar-dusted petals Those blushing, coral stamens topped with golden, pollen-coated anthers Those delicately ruffled petals. I just adore ‘Best of Friends’ daylily. And I adore my best friend of 19 years, my husband, with whom I celebrated our anniversary yesterday. Ah, …
Garden curiosities
May 26, 2009 After a holiday weekend with a surprise one-inch rainfall, much swimming in the pool, and a few extra kids hanging out with us, I poked around the garden yesterday to see what was new and found this interesting bloom on the sparkler sedge (Carex phyllocephala ‘Sparkler’). Cool, …
That post-rain glow
May 24, 2009 Heuchera and ‘Toffee Twist’ sedge, also called copper sedge ( Carex flagellifora) The new-baby garden glowed green and wet yesterday afternoon. Memorial Day weekend is typically rainy in Austin, and this year has proved no exception, despite the ongoing drought. ‘Wilson’s Yellow’ daylily This puny rain gauge …
Visit to Inner Space Cavern
May 22, 2009 If you dig deep enough in central Texas you might just find a big hole in the ground. That’s what happened back in 1963, when the highway department was taking core samples of bedrock limestone in preparation for the construction of I-35. In Georgetown, 25 miles north …
Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’
May 21, 2009 My sunny beds in the new garden are few and far between, but I found room by the Lion King rock for my cool new acquisition, this Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies.’ This is becoming a silver-blue, purple, and orange bed, with ‘Powis Castle’ artemesia, ‘Goblin’ gaillardia (both …
Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies'
May 21, 2009 My sunny beds in the new garden are few and far between, but I found room by the Lion King rock for my cool new acquisition, this Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies.’ This is becoming a silver-blue, purple, and orange bed, with ‘Powis Castle’ artemesia, ‘Goblin’ gaillardia (both …
Circle garden progress: Lawn is gone!
May 20, 2009 Carlos, Jorge, and Alex are all smiles after digging out the circle lawn, leveling the slope by moving soil, and bringing in almost two cubic yards of decomposed granite. Thanks to their hard work, I’m smiling too. On Monday I faced facts. If I were going to …
Visit to Umlauf Sculpture Garden
May 19, 2009 In mid-April we took out-of-town visitors to Umlauf Sculpture Garden, located near Barton Springs and Zilker Park on the site of Charles Umlauf (1911-1994) and his wife’s former home and studio. More than 130 of Umlauf’s sculptures, drawings, and paintings are on display here, including Lovers V …
Manic Monday mish-mash
May 18, 2009 A small field toasted with the orange-red of blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata ) and punctuated by the lemon-yellow flowers and green trunks and leaves of Parkinsonia aculeata , variously known as retama, Jerusalem thorn, and paloverde. This lovely vista greeted us on our way to one of the …
