Gardens on Tour 2011: Eanes Circle garden
May 10, 2011 Steelwork appealed to me in the final garden on the Wildflower Center-sponsored Gardens on Tour last Saturday. Take this planter box, for instance. The plants will look better when they fill in, but for now the box is fabulous. I also liked these bent-stake plant labels—clever. And ...
Gardens on Tour 2011: Ridgecrest Drive garden
May 10, 2011 A recent client of mine wanted design ideas for a pretty, xeric, low-water planting on her septic drain field. The Ridgecrest Drive garden on last Saturday’s Wildflower Center-sponored Gardens on Tour is inspirational in that regard. The septic field is front and center on this West Lake ...
Gardens on Tour 2011: Stratford Drive garden
May 09, 2011 Imagine a steep, overgrown hillside of invasive nandina, bamboo, and ligustrum. That’s what the homeowners on Stratford Drive looked out on after building a contemporary, 5-star green home (as rated by the Austin Energy Green Building program) in the Rollingwood neighborhood of west Austin. According to the ...
Gardens on Tour 2011: West Monroe Street garden
May 08, 2011 The distinguishing feature of West Monroe Street’s front garden, which I toured Saturday on the Wildflower Center-sponsored Gardens on Tour, is a no-mow Berkeley sedge lawn in place of the standard St. Augustine. Alternatives to the traditional lawn were definitely a theme on this year’s tour. Designed ...
Last chance for giveaway, plus upcoming garden events
March 19, 2011 I’ve had a remarkable response to my giveaway of the succulent living picture kit. This Sunday, March 20, at 11 pm is the deadline for entering the drawing. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on my post about Garden Up! (Note: you ...
Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve: Healing “the sorriest piece of land”
February 27, 2011 Chaperone duty during my kids’ school field trips over the years has taken me to some interesting places. But last Monday it got me in on a private tour of the esteemed Selah, Bamberger Ranch, a privately owned nature preserve of 5,500 acres in the Texas Hill ...
Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve: Healing "the sorriest piece of land"
February 27, 2011 Chaperone duty during my kids’ school field trips over the years has taken me to some interesting places. But last Monday it got me in on a private tour of the esteemed Selah, Bamberger Ranch, a privately owned nature preserve of 5,500 acres in the Texas Hill ...
Getting a neglected garden back in shape
June 08, 2010 Long-time readers, I bet you thought you’d seen the last of my former garden since I said goodbye to Green Hall when we moved to a new home nearly two years ago. Oh, if only selling a home were that easy in this economic climate. BEFORE. For ...
Great summer watering advice
May 26, 2010 As Austin ends the month of May below average in rainfall and above average in temperatures, I wanted to share some great advice about watering your plants and preparing them for summer from Merrideth Jiles, who blogs at Garden Spot for The Great Outdoors nursery. Please click ...
Gardens on Tour 2010: Highway 45 South garden
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 ...
Garden Designers Roundtable: Foliage, the Thick and Thin of It
February 23, 2010 In a couple of weeks, as bulbs begin to bloom, perennials re-leaf, and spring arrives in earnest here in central Texas, the floral displays at the nurseries will sing their siren song, and it’ll be all too easy to forget about the structural foliage plants that anchor ...
Garden Designers Roundtable: Regional Diversity in Design
January 06, 2010Gardening With a Sense of Place Today I join 12 other garden designers across the U.S. in posting on the topic Regional Diversity in Design. The idea of creating gardens with a sense of place is dear to my heart. In A Garden That Says “Howdy” (May 2007), ...
Front yard design dilemma: Putting ideas to paper
December 13, 2009 Last week I posted about the problems I want to address with a design for my new-old house’s entry. Many of you responded with suggestions, great ideas, your own experience with similar problems, and encouragement. All the ideas got me feeling creative and energized about doing some ...
Dam fun & native plants at LCRA’s Wilkerson Center
November 27, 2009 Queen butterfly in the Wilkerson Center’s native-plant garden The siren song of beautiful fall weather, combined with school holidays last week, pulled us, unresisting, outdoors every day to enjoy local sightseeing in Austin. On Wednesday I took the kids to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) on ...
Dam fun & native plants at LCRA's Wilkerson Center
November 27, 2009 Queen butterfly in the Wilkerson Center’s native-plant garden The siren song of beautiful fall weather, combined with school holidays last week, pulled us, unresisting, outdoors every day to enjoy local sightseeing in Austin. On Wednesday I took the kids to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) on ...
Water as a “sacred element” in southwestern gardens
August 27, 2009 Softleaf yucca (Y. recurvifolia) I nearly always read the last page of a magazine first. So when my Garden Design (Sept/Oct 2009) arrived today I flipped to the back to read about Arizona landscape architect Christy Ten Eyck. I’ve seen her work featured in magazines, and I ...
