Birds and native thorn forest at Quinta Mazatlan
December 19, 2023 In early November, I drove 5 hours south to the Rio Grande Valley, land of citrus orchards and skinny-trunked palm trees. I was there for the final photo shoot for my upcoming book on Texas gardens (due out in 2025 with Timber Press). But I couldn’t leave ...
From mill to Mill Fleurs, a garden of rare plants
November 09, 2023 I love a good play on words, and the garden of Barbara and Robert Tiffany employs two in its name. Mill Fleurs occupies the site where two old mills — from the 1700s! — perch along Tohickon Creek. Thirty years ago, the couple purchased the derelict structures, ...
Happy, colorful courtyards at The Lincoln Marfa
September 18, 2023 I stayed at The Lincoln, a boutique hotel of 14 “unique homes” at a century-old property, when I visited Marfa a couple weeks ago. A bright yellow door and orange cosmos flowers offered a cheerful welcome as I rolled my bag to Unit 7, passing a gigantic, ...
West Texas golden hour and sightseeing
September 16, 2023 I was back in West Texas a week ago to shoot gardens for my forthcoming book (due out spring 2025). Being up at sunrise and staying in gardens until after sunset meant I got to enjoy some beautiful skies every day. Lavender and mango sunsets were a ...
Summer pleasures: Barton Springs Pool and Lockhart art
September 07, 2023 I had reservations for a dip at Blue Hole swimming hole in Wimberley, Texas, just before Labor Day. But the drought has left little untouched in Texas this summer, and I soon received a cancellation notice. Blue Hole has closed for the rest of the season due ...
Grizzlies and geysers at Yellowstone, part 1
August 13, 2023 As we drove toward the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park, I twisted my telephoto lens onto my Nikon and held the camera in my lap. Twenty-three years earlier, on a late afternoon drive in Yellowstone, we’d seen a grizzly sow and twin cubs dash across the ...
Marfa love affair
August 05, 2023 Last week I made my first real visit to Marfa, the tiny (population 1,750) and improbable art mecca in far West Texas. I’d passed through Marfa once before, at the tail end of a spring break trip to drought-bleached Big Bend with small children, and I confess ...
Evening under the Petals at Blanton Museum
July 07, 2023 I’ve been wanting to see the Petals at Austin’s Blanton Museum of Art ever since the flower-shaped shade structures were officially unveiled in May. For one thing, I’m a big fan of shade in Texas. For another, I love public art. The Petals are a grove of ...
Autumn gardens and biking at Biltmore House
November 17, 2022 During our visit to Asheville, North Carolina, earlier this month, we spent one day at Biltmore House — but not to see the castle-like chateau erected by the New York-based Vanderbilts as their summer place. We’ve toured the house before, and it’s interesting, but I didn’t feel ...
Native plant landscaping at ACC Highland Campus, the new home of Central Texas Gardener
October 26, 2022 Teri Speight doing a Central Texas Gardener studio taping Last week, when author Teri Speight was in Austin to give a Garden Spark talk, I accompanied her to a taping at the new Central Texas Gardener studio at Austin PBS. Producer Linda Lehmusvirta had announced CTG’s move ...
Native plants and Hill Country style at Paula Stone’s Fredericksburg garden
October 25, 2022 Two Fridays ago a couple of friends and I drove out to Fredericksburg, a charming town in the Texas Hill Country, founded in the mid-1800s by German immigrants and built out of native limestone block, pressed-tin ceilings, and galvanized roofs. We’d been invited to visit by Paula ...
Hotel Magdalena courtyard evokes Hill Country canyon
October 06, 2022 After an all-day meeting on South Congress recently, I strolled down Music Lane to Hotel Magdalena, a boutique hotel that opened in 2020. I’d been wanting to see the place since learning that Ten Eyck Landscape Architects did the landscaping and Lake|Flato Architects designed the hotel itself ...
Historic adobe church and soaring gorge bridge near Taos
October 03, 2022 Even if you haven’t visited the old adobe mission in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, you’ll likely recognize it. Ansel Adams photographed the church in 1929, and Georgia O’Keeffe painted it in 1930, making it famous to this day. Ranchos Church, New Mexico by Georgia O’Keeffe. Amon ...
Adobe, sky, and bones at Georgia O’Keeffe’s Abiquiu home
September 27, 2022 This time around, I knew to reserve tickets months in advance for a guided tour of Georgia O’Keeffe’s home and studio in Abiquiú, New Mexico, about an hour northwest of Santa Fe. I arrived at midday on August 30th, curious to know what I might learn about ...
Sampling Santa Fe’s colorful art and architecture
September 22, 2022 Santa Fe tops my list as one of the most beautiful cities in America. I love the warm adobe walls that blend with the earth and glow against a bright blue sky; an abundance of public art that speaks to nature and Indigenous culture found all around ...
Doors, gardens, art along Santa Fe’s Canyon Road
September 14, 2022 Santa Fe’s adobe structures seem an extension of the earth itself. Curvy walls in warm, desert hues — tan, soft rose, terracotta — rear up from the gravelly soil to enclose courtyards and residences. Wooden doors, some with slatted windows for a glimpse inside, add mystery and ...
