Otherworldly trees and rocks at Joshua Tree National Park
August 03, 2020 Oh hi! Let’s pop back into the national park road trip. From the central coast of California, back in late June, we headed home to Austin via a more southerly route than our outbound one. We zipped through Los Angeles — regretful that the pandemic prevented any ...
Agave ovatifolia switcheroo
June 22, 2020 Aw, how fast they grow up! Agaves, that is. And then they start nipping at your shins every time you walk past. …was only this big 3 years ago — the perfect size for this spot, but still with room to grow. Recently we added to our ...
Drive-By Gardens: No-lawn front yards in South Austin
June 05, 2020 Driving through Bouldin and Zilker neighborhoods in South Austin, I cruise slowly to check out the diverse styles of architecture among the many, many remodeled homes. It’s just as interesting to see what people have chosen to plant in their front yards. Many have opted out of ...
Cactus flowers and 3D-printed agaves
May 30, 2020 Ka-pow! Colorful cactus flowers are knocking my socks off. Look at these orange beauties. And these in satin pink! Mwah! I love them. And check out these bamboo-textured agaves my son printed on his 3D printer. Cool, eh? They look especially good displayed on a Charley Harper-illustrated ...
Reopening at San Antonio Botanical Garden, part 2
May 21, 2020 A wildflower meadow studded with Yucca rostrata in bloom — yes, please! Let’s continue with last week’s visit to San Antonio Botanic Garden and this path into the cactus and succulent garden. More flowering yuccas! And more, with shiny-leaved palm trees and a blue, blue sky. And ...
Plant This: ‘Old Mexico’ prickly pear
May 17, 2020 Everyone needs at least one beautiful beast of a plant in their garden, a tough old boot intent on annexing adjacent real estate, but not so quickly that you can can’t beat it back. Texas tough. Meet ‘Old Mexico’ prickly pear (Opuntia gomei), also called wavy-leaf prickly ...
Xeriscape in bloom at Wells Branch Community Garden
May 14, 2020 Lemon-lime retama trees in bloom caught my eye recently as I drove by the Wells Branch Community Garden and its native xeriscape garden. Someone takes really good care of this waterwise garden, which dresses up the exterior of the walled community-garden plots. Until a few years ago ...
Cactus flower jewel tones
April 20, 2020 A corona of a non-viral kind tops mammillaria cactus in bloom. It’s a crown of jewel-toned flowers! This particular specimen elicited chuckles from certain dirty-minded members of my family, when I cajoled them outside to see the cacti in bloom. All I see is a ’60s flower ...
Mexico City: Bosque de Chapultepec botanical garden and more
April 05, 2020 One morning during our stay in Mexico City we explored the city’s “lungs”, the Bosque de Chapultepec, or Chapultepec Forest. At 1,695 acres, it’s one of the largest city parks in the Western Hemisphere. Chapultepec means “grasshopper hill” in the Aztec language, and in fact the park ...
Mexico City: Jacaranda purple haze, Centro Histórico, and native plants
March 27, 2020 A romantic, violet veil brightens Mexico City each spring, when jacaranda trees unfurl a profusion of purple flowers on bare, sinuous trunks lining parkways, park paths, and residential streets. Jacaranda trees I caught sight of the purple haze from the airplane as we descended over the smoggy ...
Grapey gorgeous Texas mountain laurel
March 13, 2020 Who poured out a gallon of grape Kool-Aid around here? Central Texans recognize that sweet grape scent as the smell of springtime. It came a few weeks early this year, as the Texas mountain laurels (Sophora secundiflora) took advantage of a mild winter to explode into wisteria-like ...
Winter stroll at Zilker Botanical Garden
January 23, 2020 In need of a garden fix a couple of weeks ago, I stopped by Zilker Botanical Garden with my daughter, looking forward to strolling around the gardens for 45 minutes or so. I was surprised when the gate attendant told me admission for two Austin-resident adults is ...
Fall xeriscape garden at Rollingwood City Hall
November 25, 2019 ‘Strawberry Fields’ gomphrena blazes with color amid bold agaves and barrel cactus. While driving through West Austin on the Open Day garden tour earlier this month, I had a sixth-sense feeling that a garden was calling my name. Oh yes, I thought, remember the xeriscape garden at ...
Hilltop getaway at Two Coves Garden: Austin Open Day tour
November 21, 2019 The last garden I visited on the Open Day tour sponsored by The Garden Conservancy was designed by B. Jane Gardens, and which B. has continued to maintain for the last three owners. Located off City Park Road, the Two Coves Drive Garden perches atop a hill ...
Planting for a drier future at Nuevo Santander Garden: Austin Open Day tour
November 19, 2019 The Nuevo Santander Garden on the Austin Open Day tour, sponsored by The Garden Conservancy earlier this month, reminded me of native-plant gardens from the old Wildflower Center tour that used to be held Mother’s Day weekend. With its wild and woolly design using Texas natives, it ...
Leaf nursery opens a North Austin location
October 25, 2019 North Austin gardeners have been under-served in the retail business for years. I’m grateful for the excellent Hill Country Water Gardens and Nursery in Cedar Park and Green ‘n Growing in Pflugerville, both just north of Austin, as well as Shoal Creek Nursery in midtown. But compared ...
