Dining, dancing amid flowers on Field to Vase Dinner Tour
May 31, 2016 A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou may be pleasant enough. But add Crayola-bright fields of flowers, a big blue barn, tables adorned with festive bouquets, chef-made dishes, a western swing band, and the starry skies of the Texas Hill Country, and you have ...
The late spring show
May 19, 2016 On this rainy, thunder-rolling day, I’m staying inside. But I have a few photos from earlier this week to share. While today all these plants are droopy with rain, they’ll soon perk back up again. This is one of my spring favorites, ‘Peter’s Purple’ bee balm (Monarda ...
Moby death vigil and other flowerings
April 11, 2016 In case you don’t follow me on Facebook or Instagram, where I’ve been posting pictures since last Wednesday, when I first noticed it, I must break the news to you: Moby is dying. Moby is my beloved whale’s tongue agave (A. ovatifolia) and the most iconic plant ...
Wildflower season, owlets, and native plant sale at Wildflower Center
April 09, 2016 When the universe offers a weekend of perfect weather, don’t squander it. Central Texans, if you’re looking for something to do outside this weekend, head on over to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Their spring native-plant sale is being held both Saturday and Sunday, so you ...
Festive spring at Lucinda Hutson’s purple cottage
April 08, 2016 Many times over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Lucinda Hutson‘s purple cottage in the Rosedale neighborhood of central Austin. It’s always a riot of flowers and festive decor. On Tuesday I stopped by to visit again and am so glad I did. Butter-yellow blossoms ...
Crimson poppy fields at Wildseed Farms
April 01, 2016 Mom and I stopped at Wildseed Farms, just east of Fredericksburg, Texas, on the way home from our Hill Country wildflower drive on Tuesday. Wildseed Farms grows wildflowers for their seed, which it sells to landscapers, retail customers, and highway departments that seed wildflowers along roadsides. With ...
Wildflower drive through the Texas Hill Country
March 30, 2016 Yesterday, under drizzly skies, my mother and I hit the road on a wildflower safari through the Hill Country west of Austin. I try to see the wildflowers at peak every year if we have a decent show (winter rains are the key), and this year it’s ...
Dreamy blues and a few surprises in the garden of Lori Daul
March 29, 2016 When a gardener urges you to come over to see something in bloom, you know you better say yes. Lori Daul of The Gardener of Good and Evil tempted me into a quick visit last Saturday — not with an apple but with “the last of the ...
Mischief managed: Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Orlando blooms
March 21, 2016 Diagon Alley shops and the escaping Gringotts dragon, which belches fire periodically with a coughing roar and a furnace-blast of heat you can feel in the street below Last week for spring break, we packed up the car, dropped off the dog at Grandma’s, and set off ...
Spring visit to Hill Country Water Gardens & Nursery
March 11, 2016A few days ago I visited my favorite North Austin nursery, Hill Country Water Gardens & Nursery, which is actually located in Cedar Park, just northwest of Austin. As the name implies, HCWG carries pond plants, fish, fountains, pond equipment, and other water-garden supplies. But over the past ...
Orange you glad it’s spring?
March 08, 2016 The weather’s not yet hot, but the flowers are. I’m embracing orange and reveling in the saturation. Thanks to an unusual, freeze-free winter, the garden has a jump-start on lush growth. Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) is smothered in pumpkin-colored blossoms, framed by Mexican weeping bamboo (Otatea acuminata ...
Giveaway winner…and bouquets of flowers
March 07, 2016 A Sunday stroll down Austin’s Rosewood Avenue revealed this cottagey sidewalk garden outside Civilitude. Jam-packed with cornflowers, poppies, and more, the flowery strip is a charming gift to the neighborhood. Poppies galore! Back at home, ‘Amethyst Flame’ bearded irises are opening. I love them backlit with bamboo ...
Spring comes like a flash flood in Texas
March 05, 2016 All at once it’s here: the insistent flush of spring. After Austin’s winter-that-wasn’t, spring arrived early this year thanks to above-average temperatures. SXSW attendees may see the unusual sight of Texas mountain laurels blooming alongside Texas bluebonnets, which are beginning to carpet roadsides blue about a month ...
My new book is here! Plus Digging is up for BHG Blogger Award
February 23, 2016 After two years in the making, my new book is released today! To celebrate, I offer you a big bouquet of Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora) blossoms. Just sprinkle a little grape Kool-Aid powder on your screen, and breathe in — that’s what it really smells like ...
Garden is But-A-Dream on Algonquin Island: Toronto Garden Blogger Fling
June 24, 2015 While exploring the Toronto Islands (click for an overview tour) during Toronto Garden Bloggers Fling, I happened upon a cheery yellow cottage near the Algonquin Island harbor. Adorned with a black unicorn and a sign proclaiming the garden’s name — But-a-Dream — it was irresistibly charming. You ...
Plant This: Peter’s Purple bee balm, a pied piper for hummingbirds
May 28, 2015 The plant getting the most attention in my garden right now is ‘Peter’s Purple’ bee balm (Monarda fistulosa ‘Peter’s Purple’), a 4-foot tall perennial with pincushiony, lavender-pink flowers atop long stems. I bought my original plant 5 years ago from Plant Delights (High Country Gardens carries it ...
