Moon flowers and sun flowers
Night-blooming datura greeted me when the sun went down. As dusk fell, it unfurled platter-sized, white blossoms with a lemony fragrance. Moths and other night pollinators, here’s your welcome mat.… Read More
Cactus blooms, round two
Summer is here in Texas, and the heat is on, with temps in the 90s all this week. While I’ll miss cooler temps, the collection of cacti on the deck loves it, blooming in unison for the second time this month.… Read More
Rainy day visit to Jenny Stocker’s garden
October 23, 2018 A visit to Jenny Stocker‘s gorgeous walled garden is always a treat, even on a chilly, rainy day like last Friday (and actually all this month). Jenny kindly opened her garden to me and my friend Susan … Read More
Today is the last day of cactus and succulent sale at Zilker Garden
September 02, 2018 Need a plant fix today, my fellow Austinites and succulent lovers? Sunday, 9/2, is the final day of the Austin Cactus & Succulent Society’s fall show and sale at Zilker Botanical Garden. I arrived just after opening … Read More
Garden powers through a Texas heat wave
July 24, 2018 Arizona-level heat is plaguing us here in Austin this week. Temps reached 110 F (43.3 C) yesterday, and we’re cooling down to “only” 101-105 F all the rest of this week. The Death Star is on high … Read More
Yellow flowering prickly pear glows like sunshine
June 06, 2018 Hot weather and sunshine bring out the beauty of prickly pear (Opuntia) flowers. This gigantic spineless prickly pear growing in a neighbor’s yard stands about 6-1/2 feet tall, and it’s covered with butter-yellow flowers. The toughest plants … Read More
Succulent pots set out for spring, but too early?
February 22, 2018 A balmy breeze smelling of spring convinced me to move my cold-tender potted succulents back out into the garden over the weekend. It’s so nice to see them gracing a plant table on the deck again, after … Read More
Mowing the sedge, and other expressions of hope for spring
January 30, 2018 Central Texas gardens got walloped by Old Man Winter this year, and a lot of plants that normally contribute to Austin’s evergreen palette — bamboo muhly, sago palm, flax lily, even ‘Alphonse Karr’ bamboo — are sporting … Read More
Spiky garden of Matt Shreves
December 10, 2017 Six months ago I visited the spikylicious garden of Matt Shreves, an Austin gardener I met on Instagram (see his Instagram page at OG_Agave). Last month, he kindly invited the Austin blogger group over (or maybe we … Read More
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, part 2: Succulents, Ocean Trail, and Dahlia Garden
August 29, 2017 In my last post I showed you the Perennial Garden and Heath and Heather Collection at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Ft. Bragg, California, which I visited in early August. Today let’s continue the tour, starting with … Read More
Hanging on through summer’s end: August Foliage Follow-Up
August 16, 2017 By mid-August this Texas gardener is looking for any shred of hope that summer’s heat will be waning soon. But even though I’m barely hanging on — along with this shed cicada skin — many of my … Read More
Glass art and cacti galore at Living Desert Ranch
April 13, 2017 The weird and wonderful, from plants to garden art, can be found at Living Desert Ranch in Spicewood, Texas, about 30 miles northwest of Austin. Part cactus and succulent nursery and part art gallery, Living Desert is … Read More
Visit to Lotusland, part 5: Cactus Garden
June 09, 2013 Just before closing at Santa Barbara’s Lotusland, we explored the Cactus Garden, which I found even more fascinating than I expected. Despite what outsiders may imagine my home state of Texas to be like, this isn’t it. … Read More
Visit to Lotusland, part 2: House Garden with cactus and euphorbia
June 05, 2013 It might easily have been all Italian cypress, boxwood, and roses. But Lotusland‘s Madame Ganna Walska, self-proclaimed “enemy of the ordinary,” didn’t settle for the expected. One of the first changes she made upon taking up residence … Read More