Agaves

February 05, 2008 Front garden, Early Summer 2007. Purple coneflower and ‘Belinda’s Dream’ roses harmonize, while silver artemesia and chartreuse Salvia greggii foliage add a little punch. Like many gardeners, I love color in the garden. Pinks reign in the front, reds and blues in the back. At this time ...

February 05, 2008 Front garden, Early Summer 2007. Purple coneflower and ‘Belinda’s Dream’ roses harmonize, while silver artemesia and chartreuse Salvia greggii foliage add a little punch. Like many gardeners, I love color in the garden. Pinks reign in the front, reds and blues in the back. At this time ...

January 20, 2008 This not-so-gentle giant—my arms still bear scratches from transplanting it last week—takes center stage in my new foundation planting. I fell in love with this variegated agave’s writhing arms and green-and-yellow racing stripes last spring after I spotted one sprawling out of a simple concrete trough at ...

December 08, 2007 I spotted this beautiful curbside garden at a house near St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and had to stop to admire it. While my own garden is cottage style, with a combination of drought-tolerant natives and tough cottage favorites, I find myself drawn more and more to this ...

December 05, 2007 At the Wildflower Center last weekend, I was drawn to the agaves and their sharp spikes, just as Aurora is drawn to the spindle of Maleficent’s spinning wheel in Sleeping Beauty. But without Maleficent thundering, “Touch it, I say!” This closeup of the central spiny leaves, furled ...

October 30, 2007 When a travel opportunity knocks, I’m usually grabbing my suitcase on the way to the door. This year I resolved to mesh my love of travel and of gardens by visiting local gardens on my trips. Since August I’ve explored and blogged about Chicago’s and San Antonio’s ...

October 11, 2007 Squid agave (Agave bracteosa ) For those who ooh and aah over spiky drama in the garden, as I do, check out Ivette Soler’s agave love-fest at The Germinatrix. Man, she’s inspired me to try to squeeze a few more agaves into my tiny garden. I particularly ...

October 03, 2007 Unfolding like stiff petals the parts add up to something spiky yet beautiful. ‘Whale’s Tongue’, one of my favorite agaves. Queen Victoria agave (Agave victoriae-reginae ), daintier and more refined. Gopher plant (Euphorbia rigida or E. biglandulosa ) offers softer spikes. Even the spiders are getting spiky ...

September 06, 2007 At summer’s end, Pride of Barbados ( Caesalpinia pulcherrima) steals the show at the entrance to the Botanical Garden, paired with butterfly weed and a tall ornamental grass. On a business trip in San Antonio last week, I lucked into an hour to spare before I needed ...

August 16, 2007 Mexican oregano and white narrowleaf zinnia Yesterday I spent 8 hours in the car, driving home from a visit to my mom’s, so I missed Bloom Day. The temperature in Tulsa soared over 100 every day, but Mom still had a number of plants blooming, including cleome, ...

August 16, 2007 Mexican oregano and white narrowleaf zinnia Yesterday I spent 8 hours in the car, driving home from a visit to my mom’s, so I missed Bloom Day. The temperature in Tulsa soared over 100 every day, but Mom still had a number of plants blooming, including cleome, ...

July 30, 2007 Late-afternoon sun lights up Mexican oregano in the front garden. On the right—‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave, narrowleaf zinnia, and miscanthus grass. Check out the August/September 2007 issue of Garden Design for a 10-page spread on a dramatic Austin garden. Terraced with plates of Cor-Ten steel and planted with ...

July 30, 2007 Late-afternoon sun lights up Mexican oregano in the front garden. On the right—‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave, narrowleaf zinnia, and miscanthus grass. Check out the August/September 2007 issue of Garden Design for a 10-page spread on a dramatic Austin garden. Terraced with plates of Cor-Ten steel and planted with ...

May 10, 2007 Does this look like Texas to you? More specifically, does it look like Austin? I hope so. I posted two days ago about The Landscaping Revolution, which proposes, among other things, that homeowners make their landscaping look less homogenous and more regionally diverse—and therefore more interesting—by using ...

May 10, 2007 Does this look like Texas to you? More specifically, does it look like Austin? I hope so. I posted two days ago about The Landscaping Revolution, which proposes, among other things, that homeowners make their landscaping look less homogenous and more regionally diverse—and therefore more interesting—by using ...

April 25, 2007 BSN’s modest sign welcomes visitors, along with roses tumbling over agave and prickly pear. Hmm, I wonder where I picked up that roses-and-cactus aesthetic? With sunny skies and warm, humid temperatures promising a typical spring day in Austin, I decided to pay a visit to an atypical ...