Trees

November 20, 2007 May 2007. The Vitex agnus-castus in bloom was a sight to behold. Unfortunately, its beauty as a front-yard focal point was limited to about three months in late spring–early summer. Each summer it put on a tremendous amount of growth up top, but underneath the canopy, even ...

November 08, 2007 Berries are reddening on the weeping yaupon holly. Yaupon holly is so versatile, with varieties ranging from little, round balls to the punctuation marks of ‘Will Fleming’. But the weeping yaupon remains one of my favorites. This is one of the very few plants I didn’t plant ...

November 06, 2007 Bigtooth maple in Lost Maples State Natural Area Leaf peeping can be a disappointing pursuit here in central Texas. Absent the flaming oranges, yellows, and reds of eastern hardwood forests, our trees either stay green all winter (live oaks and junipers) or their leaves color faintly before ...

September 20, 2007 Last January’s ice storm damaged this Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra ), breaking some of its branches while bending it almost to the ground, and burning all its evergreen leaves. Its northernmost native range is South Texas, and it can be damaged by temperatures colder than 28 degrees ...

July 13, 2007 My favorite African animal Just now, at midnight, I walked down my dark driveway to drop a bag into the garbage can. The tree shadows and my imagination made it seem a little creepy out there. It reminded me that while visiting the national parks of Tanzania, ...

May 16, 2007 A twisted live oak frames a sweeping lawn of ‘Palisades’ zoysia and a potting shed in this estate-sized garden. Our next stop on the garden tour led us to a luxurious home in a West Austin neighborhood. Surrounded by the open, palatial St. Augustine lawns of the ...

April 14, 2007 Purple prickly pear On Bloom Day this April, sweet spring is in full swing in the garden. Sensory impressions: the delicious scent of ‘Marie Pavie’ roses; hot pink roses near the street that I’ve dubbed “Stop ’em dead roses”; birdsong in the back garden and peep-peeps from ...

April 14, 2007 Purple prickly pear On Bloom Day this April, sweet spring is in full swing in the garden. Sensory impressions: the delicious scent of ‘Marie Pavie’ roses; hot pink roses near the street that I’ve dubbed “Stop ’em dead roses”; birdsong in the back garden and peep-peeps from ...

March 19, 2007 Quiet, little purple oxalis has begun flowering under the daylily foliage. The green eyes pick up the green of the daylily leaves, and the pale lilac petals faintly echo the eggplant-colored oxalis foliage. The polar opposite of dainty oxalis, crossvine (Bignonia capreolata ‘Tangerine Beauty’) flowers shout, “Look ...

March 06, 2007 Bottle tree at sunrise Garden bloggers are always looking at their gardens in close-up, filling posts with macro photos of plants and flowers. I tend to do this more than some. So today I thought I’d compensate by including several long-shot photos. It’s easier to see how ...

February 25, 2007 Driving in the Wimberley area today, we stopped at John Knox Ranch and strolled down to its spring-fed creek, which, like Barton Springs Pool in Austin, remains a chilly 68 degrees year-round. Blue Hole is what they call the swimming hole at the ranch (not the same ...

January 11, 2007 Ashe juniper—at this time of year, the “mountain cedar” is on many Austinites’ Most Wanted lists. An editorial in the Austin American-Statesman today sums up the agony of cedar fever sufferers. I joined their ranks in 1999, five years after moving to Austin. It took a second ...

January 02, 2007 Barton Creek One of our favorite family activities in winter is a trail hike on one of Austin’s greenbelts or at St. Edward’s Park. This New Year’s Day, we decided on an early afternoon hike at the Barton Creek Greenbelt along the popular Twin Falls trail. It ...

January 02, 2007 Barton Creek One of our favorite family activities in winter is a trail hike on one of Austin’s greenbelts or at St. Edward’s Park. This New Year’s Day, we decided on an early afternoon hike at the Barton Creek Greenbelt along the popular Twin Falls trail. It ...

December 13, 2006 This is what winter looks like in Austin: autumn leaves persistently hanging on, ornamental grasses bending in a north breeze, evergreen live oaks and cedars (junipers, actually), and bright blue skies. It may not be everyone’s idea of a winter wonderland, but I love it. I visited ...

November 27, 2006 Smooch! On Sunday afternoon we drove downtown, parked under MoPac, and walked the 3-mile loop around Town Lake. Reds, oranges, yellows—the trees along the lake blazed with color. Well, they blazed by Austin’s standards. It was a gorgeous day—about 79 degrees and partly cloudy—and we strolled along, ...