November 29, 2023 Beautiful fall weather enticed me and DH out for another walk around Lady Bird Lake last weekend, but first we stopped at Red Bud Isle to check out the bald cypresses going rusty orange. It’s a good show for Austin! Kayakers and canoeists were enjoying it too. The fall color wasn’t as bright at Lady Bird Lake, but the views were good nonetheless. The lake view from Voodoo Temple, a tucked-away arbor on the Hike-and-Bike Trail. Back at home, I had to grumble over fresh antler-rubbing damage to my formerly untouched whale’s tongue agave. Those damn deer! The males are antl ..read more

November 23, 2023 Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Americans! I’m finding much to be thankful for today and hope you are too. I’m grateful for cooler weather, walks around Lady Bird Lake, and a vibrant hometown to enjoy. Beauty all around me Peaceful moments in nature And of course family and friends and the online community of garden lovers. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Oh, and local readers, there are still spots available for my upcoming in-person Garden Spark event with designer Shaney Clemmons speaking. See details below, under Digging Deeper. I hope you’ll come on out for it! I welcome ..read more

November 22, 2023 Picking up my tour of Paxson Hill Farm — from the Philadelphia Area Fling in September — where I left off yesterday, let’s keep exploring! After emerging from the hobbit house hideaway, I followed the path uphill through another weeping-tree arch. The romance! Am I right? The Swamp Ahead lay a swamp garden, marked by a quirky cordyline at the gateposts. A narrow boardwalk promises to keep your feet dry. The marshy ground is obscured by lush foliage, but a weeping tree beckons in the distance. Jim Charlier led the way along the zigzagging boardwalk. You reach dry land und ..read more

November 21, 2023 On the final day of the Philadelphia Area Fling in late September, we stopped at Paxson Hill Farm in New Hope, Pennsylvania, to tour its marvelous garden behind the nursery. Even though Tropical Storm Ophelia had made garden-touring rather sodden (but still plenty fun!), I knew Paxson Hill was worth donning the poncho and exploring every nook and cranny. How? Because I’d visited before, in October 2021, on the recommendation of James Golden. I set off at once for the farthest path, which beckoned beyond spiky-hairdo containers of phormium. Blackberry lily showing off its na ..read more

November 20, 2023 The Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden at Dallas Arboretum opened 10 years ago, but somehow I’d never visited until last month. Why? I guess because my kids had outgrown children’s gardens by the time it opened, and so it wasn’t on my radar despite many visits over the years to the Arboretum. Also, the entrance to the Adventure Garden is waaaaay off to the side of the Arboretum, and unless you park over there, it’s easy to miss. That’s a mistake, because it’s a fun place for parents and kids to explore (you can also visit sans kids, as I did). Admission requires a separ ..read more

November 17, 2023 Patchnose on Lace One of my favorite contemporary artists, for over two decades, is Australian-born photographer Kate Breakey. I fell in love with her Small Deaths series when she was still living in Austin. She’s been in Tucson for many years now, but she still shows new work at Stephen L. Clark Gallery off W. 6th Street. Great Horned Owl I went to see her new exhibition of hand-colored photographs a couple weeks ago, and I’m sharing a few of my favorites with you here. San Juan River, Utah Not only are the works themselves beautiful and tender, but they are gorgeously frame ..read more

November 16, 2023 Last night I headed downtown to Waller Creek to see this year’s Creek Show, an annual exhibition of light-art installations, put on by Waterloo Greenway. While the event is free, let me tell you, it’s worth it to pay $10 for a fast pass that allows you to skip the line to get in. When we arrived at 8:30 pm, that line stretched around the block and was hardly moving. The Creek Keeper The first thing you see is Creek Show’s official mascot, the Creek monster. You enter the trail through his gaping mouth. The Creek Keeper Created by Jake Rosenberg, Clayton Lillard, Mateo Gutier ..read more

November 15, 2023 An Old Austin-style garden was featured on the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days tour two weekends ago: Colleen Belk’s 43-year-old garden. Yes, 43 years! What is Old Austin style, you may ask? I think of it as a lushly planted Austin garden with Deep South-meets-Southwest plant choices, sort of rugged, with winding paths, accents of natural limestone and shaggy cedar, and a collection of potted-up succulents. Check, check, and check! Colleen worked at Barton Springs Nursery for many years, bringing plants home to try them out. Her garden has a wonderfully collected feel, with ..read more

November 14, 2023 Photo: Cambria Harkey Central Texas gardeners, join me on Thursday, December 7, for a Garden Spark talk by Austin landscape architect Shaney Clemmons, principal and founder of Shademaker Studio. She’ll tell us why biodiverse hedges are a greener choice than fences — in every sense — including which hedge-appropriate plants are performing best in Austin’s extreme weather. It’s shrub- and tree-planting season, so come learn about greener ways to screen your garden at Shaney’s talk! Tickets are on sale now, but seats are limited. Grab yours today at https://g ..read more

November 13, 2023 A few weeks ago in Dallas, I met up with Jay of NewTexasGardens at his home garden. It was great to meet a fellow Instagrammer whose photos I admire and who posts interesting content, like measuring the temperature of artificial turf on a hot summer day and comparing it to concrete, mulch, black gravel, and St. Augustine grass. (Surprise! The faux turf measured hotter than all of them.) Jay isn’t a purist about it, but he believes in the intrinsic value of growing native plants. He’s challenged himself to plant his front yard in a central Dallas neighborhood “almost exclusiv ..read more