November 02, 2018
Wildflowers, edibles, and hibiscus-munching tortoise at Teresa Garcia’s garden

May 17, 2024

Wildflowers, edibles, and hibiscus-munching tortoise at Teresa Garcia’s garden
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Plant pictures for your home at Articulture

Plant pictures for your home at Articulture

Every so often I need a unique gift for a garden-loving friend, and I’ll head to Articulture to see what’s new. I don’t think I’ve ever left empty-handed. But first I have to get to the front door, after ogling their gorgeous outdoor planters …
Lyon botanical garden and architecture

Lyon botanical garden and architecture

After Provence, we drove north to Lyon, where we would catch our flight home. But first we had a day of sightseeing. Of course that included a garden. Lyon’s botanical garden is part of Parc de la Tête d’Or, a large city park that also encompasses the city’s zoo, a …
Roman (ruin) holiday in southern France

Roman (ruin) holiday in southern France

I can explore a garden or busy market all day long, but I have a low attention span for cathedrals and museums, no matter how stunning. I joke with my husband, who loves the history and culture of such spaces, that I prefer places that are alive, not dead. So …
Sunny southern France vacation, part 2

Sunny southern France vacation, part 2

We day-tripped through Provence for 5 days in late July, climbing steep lanes in the hill towns of the Luberon, chartering a boat to view the calanques of Cassis, and watching famous paintings come to life at Carrières de Lumières …
Provence lavender fields and rosy Roussillon

Provence lavender fields and rosy Roussillon

Summer in Provence — what do you think of? Fields of lavender and sunflowers, sun-washed hill towns, buzzing cicadas, hot days and cool nights, a glass of wine at a small table along a cobblestone street? Yes, yes, and yes …
Eyeing London during unplanned stopover

Eyeing London during unplanned stopover

When our connecting flight through London Heathrow was cancelled we unexpectedly had 24 hours for sightseeing. Along with hordes of other tourists, we rode the London Eye …
Thomas Rainer to speak in Austin - tickets available

Thomas Rainer to speak in Austin – tickets available

Garden design aficionados, take note! My second Garden Spark speaker of 2019 will be Thomas Rainer on Thursday, September 19th, 8-9 pm, presenting “Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for More Resilient Landscapes.” …
Summer scenes

Summer scenes

Morning light in the front garden, with Berkeley sedge aglow, a hulking ‘Green Goblet’ agave, and a silvery groundcover of woolly stemodia — this is a summer scene I enjoy before the Death Star gets high in the sky …
Skullduggery among the agaves

Skullduggery among the agaves

Amused by skull-tipped agaves in Dan Johnson’s Denver garden, I’ve given a few of my own agaves the Yorick treatment. Turns out, all sorts of skull beads can be found online. Who knew!? I ordered strings of yellow, orange, and white …
Gardening with eyes and heart: Look for my articles in fall issue of Country Gardens

Gardening with eyes and heart: Look for my articles in fall issue of Country Gardens

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Datura superbloom

Datura superbloom

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Plant This: 'Purple Pillar' Rose of Sharon

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Despite its chancy beginning, ‘Purple Pillar’ has thrived, gaining vigor and height each year. Following a wet spring and early summer, when it put on a burst of growth, this hardy hibiscus now stands tall and slender, its showy flowers sporting lavender outer petals with a cherry-red, starburst center …
Via Libre, a free-spirited garden along the freeway

Via Libre, a free-spirited garden along the freeway

Many people wouldn’t consider buying a house sandwiched between MoPac expressway, a multi-lane highway with freight trains chugging down the center median, and its neighborhood feeder road. But Cynthia Williams Deegan and her husband, Bobby, have a talent for transforming an unpromising property into an indoor-outdoor paradise …
Line dancing and Stickwork sculpture at Chatfield Farms: Denver Garden Bloggers Fling

Line dancing and Stickwork sculpture at Chatfield Farms: Denver Garden Bloggers Fling

The Denver Garden Bloggers Fling wrapped up, after 3-1/2 days of touring Denver-area gardens, at Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms. Chatfield Farms, a 700-acre native plant refuge and working farm in Littleton, has a number of interesting gardens, including a prairie garden designed by Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden, …