Butterflies/Moths

March 21, 2014 The first day of spring yesterday saw me prowling through various nurseries in town, enjoying a beautiful day surrounded by plants. I spotted this white-lined sphinx moth doing the same thing at The Natural Gardener. I usually see these in the twilight hours of dusk or dawn ...

November 22, 2013 A blue norther blew in last night, chasing away yesterday’s 80-degree F high. The glow of the copper canyon daisies (Tagetes lemmonii) out front was just as warm as the temperature yesterday, and I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures. I’m glad I did since it’s too ...

November 07, 2013 On a perfect fall day last Saturday at the Antique Rose Emporium near Brenham, Texas, after I’d given my Lawn Gone! talk, I strolled around for an hour taking pictures in the golden light of late afternoon. Felder Rushing, the final speaker of the day, was entertaining ...

November 05, 2013 What happens when you get a gorgeous fall day in Texas, with sunny, blue skies, a cool breeze, and every perennial in the garden flowering its head off? If the 25th Annual Fall Festival of Roses is going on, you set your own garden aside for the ...

November 08, 2012 My fourth stop on Saturday’s Open Days tour was the Bonnell Drive Garden in hilly West Austin, created by my friend Curt Arnette of Sitio Design. (For a post about Curt’s fascinating personal garden, click here.) The contemporary front garden complements the Texas-modern style of the wood-and-limestone ...

October 29, 2012 An early morning photo shoot at Tucson Botanical Gardens, one of the events at the recent Garden Writers Association symposium, gave me (and about 60 other garden writers and photographers) a chance to see the gardens relatively uncrowded and illuminated by the rising sun. I expected a ...

October 28, 2012Morning light gilds the cactus and succulent garden Keith and Helga Zwickl welcomed us to their Tucson, Arizona, garden during the Garden Writers Association symposium a couple of weeks ago. I really enjoyed this garden, not only for its stunning collection of cacti and succulents, but also for ...

October 01, 2012Buddha says, Support your local nurseries. Each week in October, which is Support Your Independent Nursery Month, I am featuring one of my favorite Austin-area nurseries here at Digging. To make things even more interesting, I’m also hosting a giveaway every week—one from each nursery! This week I’m ...

August 15, 2012 Last week I took a quick trip to central North Carolina to visit my dad, who lives in the charming Fearrington Village planned community. (Pics of the Fearrington House Inn garden coming soon.) Many of his neighbors—and this is a neighborhood of retirees—have opted out of extensive ...

May 01, 2012 Happy May Day to you! In celebration, a few pictures of earthly delights from the garden, starting with the first lovely datura flower of the season. Mmm, heady scent! Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa) in full buttery bloom. This was actually taken a couple of weeks ago, but ...

November 28, 2011 The Little House Garden—the children’s garden—beckoned on our way out of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center last Friday afternoon. The child-sized door leads to the Little House, a craft and educational room for kids; the open wooden door leads to a small courtyard with a vine ...

November 28, 2011 The Little House Garden—the children’s garden—beckoned on our way out of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center last Friday afternoon. The child-sized door leads to the Little House, a craft and educational room for kids; the open wooden door leads to a small courtyard with a vine ...

November 27, 2011 Friday’s blue skies enticed me outdoors and down to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for a stroll. For yesterday’s post about the entry courtyard, woodland garden, and Hill Country Stream, click here. A limestone wall separates the woodland garden from the sun-drenched demonstration garden, which opens ...

November 27, 2011 Friday’s blue skies enticed me outdoors and down to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for a stroll. For yesterday’s post about the entry courtyard, woodland garden, and Hill Country Stream, click here. A limestone wall separates the woodland garden from the sun-drenched demonstration garden, which opens ...

October 21, 2011 Sometimes you just luck into a great garden visit. Last weekend my family and I drove up to Dallas for the state fair, staying overnight at my father-in-law’s house in Richardson, a northern suburb. The day we left Austin I realized that we would be staying very ...

August 10, 2011 What could top off a day of garden touring at the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling? A happy hour, complete with swag bags, at stylish urban nursery/garden shop Ravenna Gardens. Located in an upscale outdoor mall just a couple of blocks from our hotel in the University District, ...