West Texas meets the Big Easy in the courtyard garden of Curt Arnette
May 04, 2015 Each time I visit the garden of landscape architect Curt Arnette in southwest Austin, I am absolutely agog over the front courtyard, which occupies a corner lot on a typical suburban street of nicely kept lawns and foundation shrubs. His garden stands out in the best way ...
Rock Rose garden abloom before the hailstorm
April 27, 2015 Two weeks ago my friend Jenny Stocker, blogger at Rock Rose and gardener extraordinaire, offered me a division of a water iris for my pond. When I arrived, mid-morning on a sunny, warm day, Jenny gave me a tour and then kindly set me loose to wander ...
The art-adorned, water-saving garden of Mireille Engel
April 24, 2015 Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a new garden, that of Mireille Engel, a French-speaking Swiss native turned Texan and longtime gardener, whose garden helper, Kathy Christian, introduced me and gave me a tour. Located in the Cuernavaca neighborhood and perched on the edge of ...
Classical beauty with a modern edge in Margie McClurg’s garden
April 17, 2015 I’ve been fortunate this spring to visit a number of new-to-me gardens. One of my favorites is this one, the creation of talented landscape architect Jackson Broussard. Located in the Rollingwood neighborhood, the garden belongs to Margie McClurg and is a refresh of an existing garden that, ...
Twilight garden for Foliage Follow-Up
April 16, 2015 Last evening the garden was bathed in the soft glow of a spring twilight. After a day of planting, mulching, and general tidying, I was glad for a quiet moment to just stop and enjoy the garden. The new “monolith” wall has made a handy spot to ...
Twilight garden on Bloom Day
April 15, 2015 I was putting together my Foliage Follow-Up post for tomorrow when I realized that I had pictures for a Bloom Day post too. The flowers of spring can be fleeting, and I want to give them their due, starting with a velvety, wine-colored pond iris that Rock ...
Palo verde paradise at Arizona State University Polytechnic campus
February 13, 2015 For all you snowbound readers up north or eager-beaver gardeners down south, you’ll find lots of floral sunshine in this post, which I’ve been holding onto since last spring. During my Phoenix visit last April, my friend Noelle, aka AZ Plant Lady, took me to some water-saving ...
Hill Country style and a downtown view in the garden of Ruthie Burrus
October 30, 2014 I see a lot of gardens on public tours, which I enjoy tremendously. But being invited for a private tour of a new-to-me garden is a special treat, especially if the garden happens to belong to an avid gardener making the most of a beautiful, hilltop site ...
Read This: A summer round-up of gardening books
July 03, 2014Now that the early summer frenzy of planting, weeding, and watering new plants is behind us and sultry midsummer is here, it’s the perfect time to kick back with a glass of iced tea and a stack of gardening books. I recently read three books authored by friends ...
Drive-By Gardens: Lawn-gone curb appeal in Crestview, Brentwood and Allandale
June 27, 2014 Driving through the north-central Austin neighborhoods of Allandale, Brentwood, and Crestview yesterday, I noticed a number of face-lifted ranches and bungalows, freshened up with paint and/or reasonably sized additions and eye-catching, lawn-reducing landscaping. Let’s start this Drive-By with a charming, painted-brick ranch with a lime-green screen and ...
Vicki Blachman likes playin’ outside in her rosy, leafy garden
May 05, 2014 I met Vicki Blachman, who blogs at Playin’ Outside, at the first Garden Bloggers Fling here in Austin in 2008. She’s been a warm, light-hearted, steady presence at the Fling and other local blogger events ever since, and I’m glad to know her — not least because ...
Sneak peek: Inside Austin Gardens Tour 2014, coming May 3rd
April 24, 2014 Garden-tour season in Austin is here, despite late freezes that set all our gardens back a few weeks. The Inside Austin Gardens Tour, sponsored by Travis County Master Gardeners, kicks things off on Saturday, May 3, from 9 am to 4 pm. The Austin garden bloggers were ...
Drive-By Gardens: Cottage garden color explosion in Houston Heights
March 31, 2014 Go see the flower garden on Peddie Street, my sister urged when I told her I’d be in Houston for a garden tour. It was the same advice I’d recently gotten from a Digging reader, who told me the garden on Peddie was not to be missed, ...
Fall Festival 2013 at Antique Rose Emporium: Arbors, labyrinth & garden shops
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 ...
Fall Festival 2013 at Antique Rose Emporium: Beatrix Potter garden, bottle trees & cottage charm
November 06, 2013 After my talk at the Antique Rose Emporium near Brenham, Texas, last Saturday, I explored their display gardens again, enjoying the golden afternoon light and mild weather. The cottagey Beatrix Potter garden, enclosed by a purple picket fence, contains this charming seating area and whimsical features like ...
Fall Festival 2013 at Antique Rose Emporium: Country Girl mums, grasses, and chapel garden
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 ...
