A fusion of nature and art in Scott Deemer’s garden: Denver Garden Bloggers Fling
July 11, 2019 A “designer showpiece” garden conveys a grand gesture, expensive hardscaping, and maybe not much in the way of plants. At the home garden of Scott Deemer in Niwot, Colorado, a grand-gesture fireplace and beautifully designed hardscaping create a wow moment as soon as you step onto the ...
Unscripted beauty in Scripter meadow garden: Denver Garden Bloggers Fling
July 10, 2019 Larry and Mary Scripter grew up in prairie country, Larry on a farm in Kansas and Mary in the Black Hills of South Dakota, surrounded by the Great Plains. So it’s not surprising that they’re drawn to grassy meadow gardens and have created one at their home ...
Wild for wildflowers at Mueller’s Southwest Greenway
June 10, 2019 A week ago I buzzed around Mueller, a sustainable, mixed-use neighborhood built on the site of Austin’s old Mueller Airport. When the concrete runways and asphalt parking lots were jackhammered out, acres of blackland prairie soil saw the sun for the first time in decades. What an ...
Cat’s pollinator garden with a canyon view
May 16, 2019 Three years ago my friend Cat Jones (check out her IG and blog) and her husband, Derrick, newly empty nesters, sold their house and Cat’s lovely garden and moved to a different home in their Steiner Ranch neighborhood, not to downsize but — fellow gardeners, can you ...
Hill Country bluebonnet drive
April 05, 2019 Bluebonnets peak a little later in the Hill Country than in Austin and San Antonio. The superbloom I photographed south of San Antonio two weeks ago whetted my appetite for more, and since Austin’s roadside ‘bonnets have faded, I headed into the Hill Country on Wednesday. Cruising ...
Wildflower superbloom south of San Antonio
March 23, 2019 Is Texas experiencing a superbloom of wildflowers this spring? It’s certainly the best display I’ve seen since the epic flowering of 2010. Following a mild and wetter than normal winter, bluebonnets have burst into bloom several weeks early, turning roadsides and fields azure. Indian paintbrush have joined ...
Wildflowers revving up at Wildflower Center
March 19, 2019 Although its name is a bit of a misnomer — the gardens at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center showcase native Texas trees, shrubs, grasses, perennials, succulents, vines, and water plants, not just wildflowers — the Wildflower Center really does shine in early spring when bluebonnets, pink ...
Winter meadows and fiery possumhaws at Wildflower Center
February 09, 2019 Mexican plum and redbud may be blooming at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center by now. But last Sunday afternoon the gardens were still in the “grip” of an unusually mild winter. Flowers were few, but the tawny and russet hues of early February offer their own ...
Play outdoors in magical Family Adventure Garden at San Antonio Botanical Garden
November 10, 2018 I’ve visited a lot of play gardens, and I play in ALL of them. But one of the most exciting I’ve seen opened this spring at San Antonio Botanical Garden. The Family Adventure Garden at SABG offers the delights of nature exploration that children instinctively love, and ...
A close encounter with Devils Tower in Wyoming
September 18, 2018 The ultimate destination on our mother-daughter road trip through the Great American West last month was Devils Tower National Monument in northeastern Wyoming. (Yes, the lack of apostrophe is the correct geographic spelling.) I’ve wanted to see it for years, ever since it appeared as a hub ...
On the trail in Eldorado Canyon near Boulder, Colorado
September 01, 2018 Two weeks ago, my youngest left for college. Three weeks ago we spontaneously took a Great American West road trip up through Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming, seeking out lonely but epic scenery. For me it was also, of course, about putting off the blues of her ...
Topiary meadow and sunken pond garden at Great Dixter, part 2
August 14, 2018 In part 1 of my recap of my tour of Great Dixter in England earlier this summer, I confessed that I didn’t like the overplanted, claustrophobic feeling of the Peacock Garden and surrounding hedged gardens. But I found breathing room and the longer views I’d craved along ...
Sissinghurst Castle Garden, part 2: White Garden, meadow, and tower views
August 04, 2018 Has any garden been more admired, copied, and written about than Vita Sackville-West’s White Garden at Sissinghurst? We visited in mid-June, and I was excited to finally step into this glowing space and see it for myself. Twilight would be better for appreciating the pale effect of ...
Cotswolds country charm at Victoria Summerley’s Awkward Hill Cottage
July 19, 2018 It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that my family and I traveled to England last month to see gardens. Particularly, romantic English gardens in the rosy flush of June. And specifically, three gardens I’ve longed to see for years: the famous estate gardens Sissinghurst and Great ...
Old school sightseeing in Oxford, England
July 16, 2018 English longhorns at Christ Church Meadow in Oxford Last month, after two nights in London, we rented a car and drove to Oxford, our home base for several day trips we’d planned for the remainder of our vacation. Oxford is a lovely old city, and we enjoyed ...
The buzz at Kew: The Hive and its pollinator-attracting meadow
July 11, 2018 At London’s Kew Gardens last month, I explored the buzzed-about interactive art installation The Hive. Airily constructed of aluminum and towering nearly 56 feet high (which seems even higher atop a small hill), The Hive was created by artist Wolfgang Buttress for the 2015 Milan Expo. It ...
