Gardens galore at Paxson Hill Farm, part 1
Garden designer Bruce Gangawer owns 30-acre Paxson Hill Farm, where he’s let his imagination run wild to create extensive gardens.… Read More
Potted characters at East Austin Succulents
Weird and wonderful creatures with plants for brains — sound like anybody you know? — greeted me at East Austin Succulents last week. … Read More
Creative display gardens at The Natural Gardener
The Natural Gardener beckoned as a fun first stop on my wildflower drive last Wednesday. Mom was with me, and after we stashed a bunch of new plants in the car, we stepped back out to explore the nursery’s colorful display gardens. … Read More
Post-Fling garden exploring with blogger friends
May 15, 2018 Having said goodbye to nearly 100 garden bloggers at Austin Garden Bloggers Fling, on Monday of last week I picked up 4 late-staying blogger friends — Loree Bohl of Danger Garden, Gerhard Bock of Succulents and More, … Read More
Poppies popping at The Natural Gardener nursery
March 28, 2018 On the hunt at The Natural Gardener nursery yesterday, my eyes popped wide when I spotted rows of magenta poppies near the herb garden. Shazam! Thunderstorms rolled in overnight, and I wonder if the fragile poppies still … Read More
It’s spring-crazy nursery shopping season
March 17, 2018 I’ve been all over town at Austin’s wonderful nurseries this past week, shoulder-to-shoulder with other spring-crazy gardeners snapping up new plants to freshen up the garden and replace goners zapped by winter’s deep freezes. While I was … Read More
Botanical art at Stutsman garden, plus Dallas/Fort Worth nurseries
October 14, 2017 I road-tripped up to Dallas/Fort Worth last weekend with a friend for two days of garden visiting and nursery shopping. The Garden Conservancy was hosting an Open Days tour in Fort Worth on Sunday, and my favorite … Read More
In the Thicket of things: An urban boutique nursery in Portland
September 24, 2017 Sopping up a plateful of sausage gravy with fluffy, fist-sized biscuits at a picnic table outside of Pine State Biscuits, I glimpsed an open gate and profusion of plants just a dozen yards away, tucked behind a … Read More
Garden of Gary Ratway and Deborah Whigham and their Digging Dog Nursery
August 23, 2017 Stepping through a dark-leaved doorway in a beech hedge into the display gardens at Digging Dog Nursery, located in Albion, California, you feel a bit like Alice falling into the rabbit hole. What awaits on the other … 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
Tony Thompson+Hanson garden shop comes to Austin
April 08, 2017 Seven years after the shuttering of Gardens, a boutique nursery and home-and-garden shop on W. 35th Street, Central Austin has a new contender for the high-end gardening market: Thompson+Hanson, an Austin branch of the longtime T+H in … Read More
Read my article in Country Gardens about East Austin Succulents
March 12, 2017 If you like Austin’s thrift-store, anything-goes, fun-loving style, especially in gardening, check out my article about Eric Pedley’s nursery East Austin Succulents in the current issue of Country Gardens magazine (Spring 2017, pages 70-75). You can read … Read More
Rainbow of ceramic succulents and flowers at Hill Country Water Gardens
March 09, 2017 Their Instagram feed was my undoing. On Monday one of my favorite local nurseries, Hill Country Water Gardens & Nursery in Cedar Park, posted a picture of new garden decor hitting their shelves, and I was up … Read More
Pre-spring nursery shopping
February 12, 2017 Stacked pots of pansies, ornamental cabbage, and other annuals at The Natural Gardener Even though the weather’s been terrific for gardening, I’ve been under the weather for about a week, keeping me from my annual late-winter cut-back … Read More