Decor

December 10, 2009 Christmas is a-coming, and we’re decked out at home. I’m not a big seasonal decorator, but I always like to have a pot or two of amaryllis in addition to wreaths and a Christmas tree. Browsing in Target a few days ago, I found two silver tins ...

August 26, 2009 Funky if increasingly gentrified South Congress Avenue lured me into the heat one recent afternoon. I only did a bit of window shopping, but that’s half the fun on this must-see Austin street lined with independently owned, only-in-Austin stores. Pictured above, a vision of coolness on a ...

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 ...

May 10, 2009 On Saturday I joined Diana of Sharing Nature’s Garden, Lori of The Gardener of Good and Evil, and a friend of Lori’s from Arizona to visit four private gardens on the Wildflower Center-sponsored Gardens on Tour, an annual tour of gardens that predominantly feature native Texas plants ...

April 21, 2009 Before the roller derby, we spent part of a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon at Living Desert, a cactus nursery and gift shop out on Highway 71 West in Bee Cave. Living Desert is known for piles of colorful slag glass for sale in the back yard and ...

January 23, 2009 My pictures of the blue adobe courtyard at the Antique Rose Emporium in San Antonio drew several comments from readers who didn’t know about the Alamo City location. While ARE in Brenham/Independence is better known, the Emporium in San Antonio is actually closer to us Austinites. As ...

October 07, 2008 I’m back! After a whirlwind weekend of packing, lifting, and unpacking, we’re settling into our new house. I will post pictures of the new yard soon, but all my attention so far has been focused on the inside of the house. Boxes still loom in the hallways ...

May 19, 2008 You’ve seen Tom Spencer’s garden, which I visited on Mother’s Day weekend as part of Gardens on Tour 2008, a self-guided tour of Austin gardens that feature native plants and green-gardening practices. Sponsored by the Wildflower Center, the tour’s focus has varied wildly over the three years ...

May 14, 2008 Blue pot with dianthus Can a garden you’ve visited only three times, briefly, seem almost as familiar as your own? It can if it’s Tom Spencer’s. At Soul of the Garden, Tom has been chronicling his garden—and “exploring the garden of life”—with stunning photographs and introspective essays ...

May 14, 2008 Blue pot with dianthus Can a garden you’ve visited only three times, briefly, seem almost as familiar as your own? It can if it’s Tom Spencer’s. At Soul of the Garden, Tom has been chronicling his garden—and “exploring the garden of life”—with stunning photographs and introspective essays ...

May 03, 2008 A naturalistic stream chattering around boulders and splashing into a large pond is the centerpiece of my garden—that is, the garden I dream of having one day. In reality, my small, flat garden is never likely to support this vision, so I make do with a 100-gallon ...

May 03, 2008 A naturalistic stream chattering around boulders and splashing into a large pond is the centerpiece of my garden—that is, the garden I dream of having one day. In reality, my small, flat garden is never likely to support this vision, so I make do with a 100-gallon ...

March 18, 2008 Front porch vignette Last Friday we drove three hours east to Houston to visit my sister and her partner in their house in the Heights. Despite unseasonably hot and humid weather on Friday and Saturday, we had a wonderful time kicking around at the Houston Rodeo, shopping ...

March 18, 2008 Front porch vignette Last Friday we drove three hours east to Houston to visit my sister and her partner in their house in the Heights. Despite unseasonably hot and humid weather on Friday and Saturday, we had a wonderful time kicking around at the Houston Rodeo, shopping ...

March 05, 2008 Next to my front door hangs a “wish” wreath made for me by my mother about 9 years ago. It remains one of my most treasured gifts. Why do I love it? Aside from its appealing Texas-gardening theme—the grapevine wreath is accented by a barbed-wire star, tiny ...

January 06, 2008 Path to the garden shed Yesterday afternoon I took my camera into the garden. It was 75 degrees, cloudy, balmy—a pleasant winter day in Austin. A strange thing occurred. My eyes saw the frost-browned salvias that seem to beg to be cut back, although I’ll leave their ...