Containers

May 12, 2010 The final garden I visited last Saturday on Gardens on Tour 2010 is a large rural property tucked at the end of a long, gravel drive off Highway 45 South, not too far from the Wildflower Center. Wildflower meadows surround the home and nearby guest house/retreat center ...

May 10, 2010 The Bridle Path garden in the Tarrytown neighborhood was my favorite on Gardens on Tour 2010 because it had the best of both worlds: a naturalistic garden for sun and shade in the front, with a charming council-ring style seating area tucked out of sight of the ...

May 05, 2010 The Wildflower Center has redesigned part of its demonstration garden, and wowza—look at this! Stock tank mania! The first three beds are now devoted to stock-tank planters or stock-tank ponds. But there’s a twist that I’d never seen before: some of the stock tanks have been cut ...

May 01, 2010 Variegated American agave, recovering from a winter freeze that claimed its lower leaves and reaching for the stars The month of May may bring spring flowers to more temperate climes in the Northern Hemisphere, but it brings hot, sticky summer to Austin. Many of our plants respond ...

April 30, 2010 It’s the perfect time of year for sitting on the upper patio, looking out over the raised beds as a succession of plants burst into bloom. Little details please me, like this bird in my succulent dish. Dianthus ‘Bath’s Pink’ perfumes the garden with a delicious clove-like ...

April 28, 2010 While my dad was in town last week, I invited us over to Jenny Stocker’s garden for a visit, knowing that it would be spectacular at this time of year. Jenny, who blogs at Rock Rose, kindly overlooked the pushiness of my request by not only welcoming ...

April 28, 2010 While my dad was in town last week, I invited us over to Jenny Stocker’s garden for a visit, knowing that it would be spectacular at this time of year. Jenny, who blogs at Rock Rose, kindly overlooked the pushiness of my request by not only welcoming ...

April 26, 2010 Today I join 10 designers from Garden Designers Roundtable in posting about focal points. (Photo: English Walled Garden, Chicago Botanic Garden) Placing a focal point in your garden is like wielding a magic wand to cast a spell over your visitors. A well-placed object has the power ...

April 22, 2010 Flowers like exploding fireworks are blazing above the Aloe saponaria (aka A. maculata). The orange blossoms add sizzle and pop to the green and blue color scheme. When the bloom stalk appears and begins to soar skyward, the flower is green and pointed like this. And then…Ka-pow! ...

April 13, 2010 It’s the perfect time of year to refresh your container plantings or create new ones. Here in Austin, where long, sweltering summers are the norm, I’ve learned to plant only succulents or cacti in my containers in order to avoid being a slave to the hose all ...

April 06, 2010 Azure carpets of Texas bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) on the roadsides are wowing central Texans this spring. I’ve never seen such a good show in my 16 years in Austin. In my own garden, a very small patch in a raised bed brings the show home and elevates ...

March 27, 2010 A sweet Saturday filled with friends and gardening and gardening friends lies ahead. As I make the rounds in the springing-to-life garden this morning, I think a picture of my chirpy succulent dish is in order. I hope you have a happy day in the garden too! ...

March 25, 2010 Tender green leaves, new buds and flowers, balmy air, June bugs flying around crazily, rain dripping from the eaves—yup, it’s springtime. Join me for a twilight stroll around my garden. Pictured above, left to right: ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia); iris and dianthus foliage; potted ‘Angelina’ sedum, ...

March 22, 2010 Over spring break we drove 3,200 miles (5,149 km) round-trip to Florida, with stops in Orlando, Miami, Everglades National Park, the Keys (all the way to Key West), and finally Naples to see the brand-new botanical garden there. Planted last August and opened to the public in ...

March 16, 2010 New leaves are unfurling on shrubs, vines, perennials, and ornamental trees. Spring has sprung in Austin. But I still can’t overlook the beauty of succulents on this Foliage Follow-Up, a celebration of foliage on the day after Bloom Day. I mean, just look at this blazing orange, ...

February 16, 2010 Today is Foliage Follow-Up, a day for garden bloggers to celebrate foliage after admiring flowers for Bloom Day. In my freeze-recovering garden, spring has been slow to make an appearance, which is why my favorite greenery right now is brand-new. Here is fresh new growth on one ...