Clik here to view.
Out Like A Lamb, Sort Of
What a crazy ride this March has been! And it’s not over yet, since we’re sweating on Wednesday and “shivering” on Thursday. Calendula and golden groundsel (Packera obovata) handle it well. Some tiny...
View ArticleClik here to view.
DIY Lavender, Ollas, Lose Lawn Makeover
For weeks, it’s been hard not to slam on the brakes driving by in.gredients in east Austin. Their Carolina jessamine, aloe maculata, and globe mallow rival any speed bump. When I stopped by, I could...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Structure + Soften
Can you believe the bearded iris this year? Even when not in bloom, I like them for drought defiant garden structure all year. A shot on my way to work. Dutch irises don’t keep their foliage, but what...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Creative Concepts
Poppies are popping our eyes out around town! What creative little hybridizers they are. I love it when plants are craftier than we are. My native Salvia lyrata seeds plopped down in narrow chinks of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wildlife, Wild Water
The most exciting thing in recent years is that more gardeners are growing for wildlife. Wildflower peepers love Indian blanket (Gaillardia pulchella), but so do the bees. We’re conserving water, too,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Palms, Shade Design, Spring Wow!
It’s “Amaryllis by Morning” in my garden with Johnson’s amaryllis (Hippeastrum x johnsonii), also called St. Joseph’s lily. Flagging attention in another bed, as they do every spring: dazzling...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Healing plants & safe edibles for us & wildlife
At a time that bees and butterflies are troubled, I’m certainly glad I’ve got things to eat for them. Right now, they’re going for my star jasmines, shaped as “shrubs” near my patio where I can get a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Annual, Perennial Wildlife Raves
What a color! I’ve had 7 years of good luck with my experiment, ‘Linda,’ an Asiatic lily I couldn’t resist for its intensity and as I’ve discovered, tenacity. Until I find a spot for a retama...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Garden with Ponds + Homemade Bamboo Shoots
First, on a quick spin around my garden, Peter’s Purple bee balm popped out to cheer on returning hummingbirds! Angelica pachycarpa in a shady bed is about to retire until next winter, but not before...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Superstar Plants, Pool to Pond, Fungal Control
Despite downpours, hard freeze and drought, Cordia boissieri (also called Mexican olive or Texas wild olive) is still on my list. For a few years, I’ve regarded a neighbor’s small shrub/tree as a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Water solutions + East Austin Succulents home garden
Some of our xeric plants weren’t big fans of our generous rain. But that’s not what happened to this cenizo (Texas sage), though too much water and bad drainage can do them in. Nope, what happened to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shawna Coronado Vertical Gardens, American Botanical Council, Hypertufa
On my strolls: I love this wall screen, one of many ideas I picked up on a quick trip to Toronto for the Garden Bloggers Fling. Already, I’m spinning ideas to spruce up a boring exterior wall. Another,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Master Naturalists, Pond Outdoor Living, Garden Cocktails
Not everyone connects to nature by serious hiking or birding or other “outdoorsy” things. Often, it’s something very simple in our own backyards, like an anole’s crazy antics to catch its dinner....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Worms, Wonder, Oak Leaf Fungus, Bougainvillea
It’s crinum time in the city! My passalong ‘Ellen Bousanquet’ jumped right in with the crowds. Perhaps all that rain prompted shy bloomers out there, since many gardeners report flowering at last. My...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What’s a Gardener To Do?
Oh yes, 2015 is The Year of the Fungal Disease. Johnny Twist’s Mexican ash is looking a little scary. All’s okay, though! Daphne noted anthracnose, but turned to Texas A&M Forest Service forester...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Farmer Lessons, Succulents, Popsicles
Sometimes we all grouse about the weather and problems in our gardens, but you know what? Whenever I meet a local urban farmer, they’re always upbeat, like Michael Hanan at neighborhood micro-farm Ten...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To Wilt or Not to Wilt
Admit it: we got spoiled for a few months there. Now we’re back to wilting reality. Here’s my Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) in late afternoon when the sun briefly hits. Back in shade twenty...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hang out on patios and porches
When I visit gardens, porch and patio designs tell me the gardener’s story before we’ve spoken a word. Here’s one porch restoration that clued me into the serene person I was about to meet. In another...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Make an Entrance and Then Sit Down!
No longer are porches simply all about cute doormats. Decorative tiles really step up this porch. Some neighbors of mine recently jazzed up utilitarian concrete with floor tiles. Arbors, too, say “Step...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ideas for Cabbage-Sized Patios
In June, I made a quick trip to Toronto to join garden writers from the U.S., Canada and England, like Kylee Baumle from Ohio and Tony Spencer from Ontario. Walking over six miles a day was a breeze in...
View Article
