Early summer is a good time in the garden, with late wildflowers in bloom and foliage still fresh and green. I’ve mostly been standing under the owl tree lately, but I do walk around to see what’s new in the garden too.

Let’s start in the Circle Garden, where the stock-tank planter is overflowing with woolly stemodia, winecup, and four-nerve daisy — all natives. A variegated whale’s tongue agave holds court in the center, accented with a rebar bottle bush.

Side view

The whale’s tongue agave “floats” like a waterlily in a pool of silver woolly stemodia.

Four-nerve daisy spills over the edge while holding up perky yellow flowers.

A new addition this spring, Mexican hat offers up sombrero-shaped, rusty-red-and-gold flowers.

Purple coneflower adds orange pincushion cones and tutus of pink petals.

Greenery on the perimeter gives the eye a place to rest. Boxwood and Texas mountain laurel reflect in a fence-hung mirror framed with corrugated steel.

‘Sapphire Skies’ beaked yucca, half hidden by ‘Blue Ice’ Arizona cypress and ‘Will Fleming’ yaupon, plays peekaboo along the side path.

At the other end of the garden, a curlicued squid agave in a tall fluted pot makes an arabesque focal point.

Bat-face cuphea is flowering red and purple. I always think of it as a mascot plant for our bat-loving city.

See those puckered bat faces with red ears?

It pairs nicely with potted mangaves on the retaining wall. The purple-hued one is ‘Bad Hair Day’. The little dusty-blue one is ‘Permanent Wave’.

For fun, check out how green ‘Bad Hair Day’ was last spring. It’s put on some nice color and freckling since then — the result of more sun and/or drought stress, which they can handle. Certain succulents appreciate tough love, or at least reward us for stressing them.

Soap aloes are blooming again.

‘Monterrey Frost’ squid agave has decided to go all leaning-Tower-of-Pisa.

Up on the hot, sunny deck, one of my favorite mangaves, ‘Praying Hands’, steals attention for its weird and wonderful form.

From above, its Cruella de Vil fingernails — actually, orange spines — make a protective huddle over the inner leaves.

‘Opal’ agave is soaking up the summer heat in its steel dish planter.

‘Amistad’ salvia likes the heat too and flowers in the shade.

Deer leave this one alone, so give it a try if you’re blessed tormented by deer and want some flowers.

Another squid agave along the foundation. I wonder how many potted squid agaves I have, actually. It’s become my go-to container plant because it’s bulletproof in summer or winter, it handles shade and sun, deer leave it alone, and it makes a good focal point. Also — very little watering required, doesn’t get too big, and isn’t spiny (the leaf margins are sharp though). I think I’ll write a dedicated blog post about this wonderful plant soon.

The driveway bed is almost in full bloom, with only golden thryallis holding back. Purple skullcap is glorious in front of ‘Bright Edge’ yucca. ‘Peter’s Purple’ monarda adds magenta, and Texas sotol is joining the fun by sending up three tall bloom spikes.

‘Peter’s Purple’ is a beebalm that thrives in the humidity of Central Texas without getting powdery mildew. It only blooms for a couple of weeks, but it sure makes hummingbirds happy. And me.

Mexican oregano does too, and its flowering lasts much longer, both spring and fall. Here it harmonizes with the sunset sky!

The sotol bloom spikes offered a perch for our resident screech owl one evening. When the flowers open, I look forward to seeing who comes to visit for nectar or pollen.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, is available for pre-order at Amazon and other online book sellers. It’ll be released on October 14th, and while that’s several months away, pre-orders are tremendously helpful in getting my book noticed by readers and reviewers. Please consider pre-ordering if you’d like to read it this fall; more info here. Thank you for your support!

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Read all about the Season 8 lineup here!

All material © 2025 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.