The garden of Redenta’s Garden owner Ruth Kinler
October 12, 2020 It was the colorful, modern Fermob furniture that first lured me into Redenta’s Garden, a beloved Dallas nursery “for the modern gardener.” (Click for my tour.) So when I visited the home garden of owner Ruth Kinler, I was happily unsurprised to see more of that fabulous ...
She made her garden dreams come true
September 28, 2020 Mandevilla vine I’ve known Amy since I was 17 years old. We met as freshmen at Rice University and became good friends. She was a bridesmaid at my tiny wedding in South Carolina, and I was there for her when she and husband Gary tied the knot ...
Brand-new Houston Botanic Garden showcases tropical and subtropical plants – part 1
September 24, 2020 Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio all have botanical gardens, but until now, the biggest and most international city in Texas did not. Last weekend Houston finally got its due with the long-anticipated opening of Houston Botanic Garden. I road-tripped with my daughter three hours east ...
Water, water everywhere in Cat’s wildlife-friendly garden
September 22, 2020 Every time I visit my friend Cat Jones‘s garden, it’s lovelier than the time before. Over the past 4 to 5 years she’s been busily making her Steiner Ranch garden, which overlooks a wildflower meadow and a wooded canyon, into a retreat for her and her family ...
Tropicalesque Tanglewild, where bananas and palms grow big and bold
September 17, 2020 With the arrival of cooler weather it’s garden visiting season, and I’ve started calling on gardening friends who are willing to have me over for a socially distanced, masked, outdoor visit. How I love touring gardens! This week’s tour is at Tanglewild Gardens, a 1.7-acre garden in ...
Circle Garden’s shades of green
August 18, 2020 Our elevated deck offers a nice overhead view of the Circle Garden. And as I recently discovered, when you climb a stepladder on the deck, you can get almost the whole garden in the frame, including the new rose and salvia planting at the base of the ...
New landscape lighting for back garden
June 24, 2020 Uplighting on an agave, path light near a yucca in the foreground, and existing string lights It only took 12 years, but we finally installed path lighting and uplighting in the backyard, and what a big difference it makes. We already had two sets of string lights ...
Early May, summer as it should be
May 08, 2020 Hesperaloe ‘Desert Dusk’ flower spike I’m always grateful when early May rolls around, even though it means summer’s sauna-like heat is right around the corner. Why? Because the 20 mature live oaks in my garden are finally done dropping daily heaps of leaves and pollen catkins. And ...
All cleaned up after live oak deluge
March 30, 2020 The garden reemerged last weekend, after copious raking and blowing and bagging, from the annual spring deluge of last season’s live oak leaves and subsequent pollen catkins. I ran around with the camera, capturing the gorgeousness of new flowers and fresh foliage, like this pretty combo of ...
Mexico City: Frida Kahlo’s Blue House and garden
March 23, 2020 Bird of paradise flower at Frida Kahlo’s Blue House Before the scope of the coronavirus crisis had crystallized, my husband, daughter, foreign exchange-student daughter, and I made an early spring-break trip to Mexico City. Had we known how fast the situation would escalate at home, I don’t ...
Springtime garden glow
March 07, 2020 Responding to warm temps and a good rain this week, the garden is awash with new growth and pockets of spring color, like glowing yellow bulbine. Mild winter temps didn’t kill it back, and now each bloom spike is a yellow sunbeam. The coral-red flowers of ‘Blue ...
Snow in Austin sugars the garden
February 06, 2020 Crazy Texas weather strikes again! After a high of 79 F on Tuesday, this happened Wednesday night. Sure, local meteorologists had predicted a few snow flurries in the Hill Country, but temps in Austin, they assured, would hold at 32 F. Banking on over-hype, I brought indoors ...
Floral decor at Tribeza Interiors Tour 2020
February 04, 2020 Tribeza‘s annual Interiors Tour, held this year on January 26th, offered a voyeuristic opportunity to explore 8 beautifully decorated private homes throughout Austin. My eye always goes straight to any floral elements, like this elegant yet simple bouquet of camellia and pine on a woven gold tray… ...
Sculpture worth visiting at Rice University
December 07, 2019 Rice University is my alma mater, and if the weather’s nice when I’m in Houston I’ll often take a walk around campus. It’s not all for nostalgia’s sake, though. Rather, Rice has really upped its sculpture game in recent years, and much of it is open to ...
Modern-rustic dining patio at Texas French Bread
December 04, 2019 All you really need for a garden, as Phoenix landscape architect Steve Martino says, are a tree, a chair, a wall, and a little water. The rustic-modern patio at Texas French Bread reminded me of this when I stopped by for lunch yesterday. Designed by Christy Ten ...
Hilltop getaway at Two Coves Garden: Austin Open Day tour
November 21, 2019 The last garden I visited on the Open Day tour sponsored by The Garden Conservancy was designed by B. Jane Gardens, and which B. has continued to maintain for the last three owners. Located off City Park Road, the Two Coves Drive Garden perches atop a hill ...
