Diana C. Kirby, Author at Diana's Designs Austin

About Diana C. Kirby

Diana Kirby is a lifelong gardener and longtime Austinite, who loves the Central Texas climate for the almost year-round opportunities it offers for active gardening and seasonal splendor. Known as an impassioned and successful gardener, Diana began by helping friends design and implement their landscapes. Soon, she was contracted as a professional designer by a popular local landscaping installation firm, where she designed landscapes for residential and commercial clients for several years. In 2007, her new passion blossomed with the launch of her own firm, Diana’s Designs. ... Diana is a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, the Garden Writers Association of America, and she writes a monthly gardening column for the Austin American-Statesman. Diana teaches the Landscape Design classes for several county Texas Agrilife Extension Service Master Gardener certification programs and speaks about gardening and design for garden centers and other groups. Learn more about presentation topics, availability and speaking fees.

June tip: mixing and matching plants by water needs

verbena-squid-agave Most of the gardeners I talk to are eager to conserve water and to lighten their landscape maintenance load as they simplify their lifestyles.

It all starts with planning. There are so many ways to organize plants in your landscape – by color, by style, by size, by design element. However, grouping plants by water needs should top the list when you’re building a new bed or trying to update your landscape. Planting water-wise grasses in a bed with thirsty annuals will inevitably lead to unhappy plants unless you are committed to hand watering each of the thirsty plants individually.

Grouping shrubs and perennials and annuals into water use zones will help you use only the water you need for those specific areas. For example, I have many full sun, drought tolerant beds with plants that have low water needs. But I also have a shade bed with plants that need just a little more H2O, so I give them an extra hand watering once in a while – to keep my water use to a minimum and to target the plants directly.

Read the full article.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:01-06:00June 27th, 2015|Tips|Comments Off

Group plants by water needs for thriving garden

Damianita When writing about gardening in Central Texas, I routinely include tips for dealing with extreme heat and drought. Lately, however, I find myself focused on how to deal with rain – and lots of it. It may be an El Niño year this year, but the shortage of water has been an age-old problem and is likely to remain an ongoing issue in Texas.

While we can’t control the weather, we can plan our gardens to make the best of a variety of challenging situations. We can garden smarter.

Most of the gardeners I talk to are eager to conserve water and to lighten their landscape maintenance load as they simplify their lifestyles.

Mixing and matching plants by water needs starts at home (as opposed to planning on the fly after an impulse stop at your favorite nursery). Good garden books, magazines, and websites provide detailed information about plants, including water, soil and light needs. When checking national resources, be sure to look for plants that will thrive in our USDA hardiness zone, as well. Austin is generally Zone 8, with a few microclimate exceptions. The Native and Adapted Landscape Grow Green guide, published by the City of Austin and the Texas AgriLife Extension service, highlights recommended plants specifically for our area and details the water and light needs of each plant. Available at local nurseries, it’s the perfect starting point for planning landscaping projects.

Once you’ve made a wish list and headed to the nursery, check to make sure plant labels indicate whether a plant has low, medium or high water needs. If you’re not sure, ask the staff about their experience with particular varieties of plants as well.

Excellent tough-as-nails plants for our Central Texas area include native and adapted grasses, agaves, cacti, yuccas, and woody perennials that can tolerate extreme drought conditions and miserable clay and limestone soils. A wide array of native and adapted plants—in any shape, size, color, texture or form—will thrive here with proper planting, care and water. Simply combine the right types of plants to create your favorite style—whether you prefer a Southwestern cottage look, a tropical design, or a more contemporary aesthetic.

I love the sculptural look of agaves and yuccas in the garden. I create contrast in my beds by pairing those dramatic elements with softer, gentler native or adapted flowers like salvias or grasses. Designing with complementary colors and forms and textures helps to add definition and interest.

Plant THIS with THAT

Some examples of interesting plant combinations with similar water needs include:

Low Water

Grey weberi agave and thryallis
Bright edge variegated yucca and Mexican oregano
Squid agave and prairie verbena
Raspberry salvia greggii and Mexican feather grass
Gulf muhly grass and silver ponyfoot

Medium Water

Radrazz knock-out rose and variegated Aztec grass
Sapphire showers duranta and coreopsis
Japanese aralia and river fern
Indigo spires salvia and bat-face cuphea
White tropical sage and society garlic

As you plan your next gardening project, start grouping the plants in your plan by water needs as well as design features – it will save you water, time and money.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:01-06:00June 27th, 2015|Articles|Comments Off

Heavenly hillside gardens on Garden Bloggers Fling in Toronto

Last week marked my participation in the 8th Garden Bloggers Fling. Held this year in the lovely city of Toronto, I flew to Canada with Fling travel mate, Pam Penick, of Digging.

The weather, at least 10 degrees or more cooler than back home in Austin, welcomed us as we prepared for 3 days of jam-packed garden tours. On the bus at 8:30 a.m. each day, our itinerary was filled with eye-opening private gardens, public gardens and other interesting Toronto highlights.

On our first day, we toured a series of hillside gardens located around High Park’s Grenadier Pond.

Nothing says “welcome to my garden” like an open gate — inviting almost 80 garden bloggers to meander about, enjoying the cool morning and oohing and ahhing over luscious plants, vivid vignettes and beautiful views.

This cozy little corner window was framed by a lush green vine, delightful square flower pots and some a variety of pretty plants.

There were many amazing plant specimens to take in on our garden tours — some of which I recognized, but many of which we cannot grow in my Zone 8b garden in Central Texas. So I thought of the landscape beds as beautiful arrangements filled with eye candy.

While many of the plants shown here — like these wide-leafed hostas — won’t be part of my plant palette at home, there is a place for good garden design in every landscape.

I particularly like seeing interesting garden decor adding a focal point to an otherwise ordinary space in the garden.

I feel like I didn’t do this garden justice with my photography. I was on the phone for 15-20 minutes, working with the AT&T rep, trying to authorize my husband to buy me a new phone. I left mine somewhere in the Chicago O’Hare airport. Thus ,my photography was limited to half-hearted, one-handed snaps. But I managed without a phone. In fact, it may have helped me focus more on being in the moment – once I quit trying to get one via Fed Ex!

As we walked down the street, even small spaces in the limited front yards were filled with pretty plants, all tucked into the rocks.

One of the things I observed was the frequent use of burgundy and lime-colored foliage in the landscape. With the sunny days, they often made for beautiful design contrasts, but tricky photo-taking.

I loved happening upon these darling metal flowers towering over the real ones.

Large, lush plants dotted the hillside down to the pond – which you can see here off in the distance. I guess that’s what happens in gardens with good soil and abundant rainfall.

Little bits of rock retaining walls partnered with sweet little plants to adorn the way down, or the way up, depending on how you look at it!

Almost to the bottom, here’s a shot of the broad expanse of the pond, a lovely reward for making the trek down the hill.

Gardeners are all about the details. Framed by a gnarly piece of wood, this pod viewing spot is a something to see all on its own.

I took a total of 1,415 photos on this trip, so it may take me a while to post about the entire excursion. There were so many wonderful sights to see, and our Toronto Garden Bloggers Fling hosts, Helen Battersby, Toronto Gardens, Lorraine Flanigan, CityGardening Online, Veronica Sliva, A Gardener’s World, and Sarah Battersby, Toronto Gardens and Fiesta Gardens, did an amazing job of delighting us each and every day.

Next up — an artist’s garden, full of inspirational creations designed to wow as much as the landscaping itself. Check back for some design insight and beautiful art in my next post.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:01-06:00June 13th, 2015|Blog, curves, Fling 2015, garden art, Garden Bloggers Fling 2015, garden decor, gate, hostas, seating, Sharing Nature's Garden, Toronto, wooden railing|0 Comments

Delightful garden tour on a challenging slope …

It’s a treat to get together once a month with other Austin garden bloggers to share stories, enjoy each others’ gardens, eat, drink and pass along plants at our plant swap.

On Saturday, we were treated to double the fun. In addition to our monthly gathering at the stunning garden of David and Jenny of Rock Rose, we also ventured nearby to their neighbors and were given a guided tour of another beautiful garden.

Located on approximately one and one third acre, this garden’s hills and vales are interwoven with ribbons of rock and drainage solutions that blend into the landscape.

As we walked into the back yard, I was immediately drawn to this line of dramatic whale’s tongue agaves. They sit perched atop a river rock berm, surrounded by softer foliage that draws the eye far out into the garden.

Here’s a longer shot of how they are incorporated into this first layer of the overall landscape.

A closer look at the other plants reveals a cottage-like aesthetic, complete with a bird bath, gazing ball and obelisk to serve as focal points throughout the space.

The blend of sun-loving plants crosses traditional garden style boundaries in some areas, making the garden more intriguing.

Then the path evolved into a more desert-like garden, filled with sculptural cacti and agaves and garden art.

As dry as the garden appeared, it was hard to imagine the torrential rains that must have swept through these beds only days before.

As you keep meandering through the back of the garden, you wind your way through a shadier, wooded pathway.

Just as the garden becomes sunnier again, so does the garden decor. Brilliant pops of orange and cobalt blue are sprinkled throughout this section of the landscape.

Hot garden plants fill the brightly colored planters.

A single orange slice of wall acts as a backdrop for this dramatic planter, home to either a sago palm or a dioon edule.

More beautiful tropicals.

This is a view from the garden back to the house and a covered patio area.

Another painted wall houses this creative trellis displaying an array of cacti in terra cotta pots.

Just past the driveway, this colorful rooster seems to be peering through the salvia to spy on our group of gardeners.

This chocolate mimosa makes a striking statement against this dark wooden gate the the bright limestone.

This Asian-style bench welcomes visitors as they near the front door — and just beyond — this imposing soldier seems to be guarding the entry area as well.

The garden was spectacular — I loved not only the collection of plants, but also the fascinating garden sculpting to address drainage issues.

Special thanks to the homeowners for inviting us to share in their beautiful space.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:01-06:00May 31st, 2015|Agave, barrel cactus, bench, Blog, cacti, chocolate mimosa, drainage, dry creek, focal point, garden art, garden decor, garden tour, pots, pottery, Sago, Sharing Nature's Garden, tropical color, whales tongue agave|0 Comments

El Nino is quenching the garden’s thirst…

Our devastating drought has altered the state of our gardens here in Central Texas and it’s changed our mindset, too.

We’re not used to rain. Not a little rain, not a lot of rain. We’ve had so much rain here this month that we don’t know what to do with it.

There’s so much green in my garden that I have to wear shades to walk through it. My plants would now like a little sun to shine as well, but they’ve never been quite so lush.

A ribbon of catmint, Mexican feather grass and lamb’s ears lines the front of this Southwest cottage-style bed.

The lamb’s ears make a dramatic statement when they are all standing at attention in full bloom.

The black and blue salvia and lingering bluebonnets echo the blue in the large ceramic pot in the front bed.

Soft and spiky plants share this bed, providing sculptural interest and contrasting textures. Soon the color of Mexican limelight salvia and orange tecoma stans will add to this palette.

Beautiful blooms are vying for my attention in the cutting garden – ready to come join me in the house!

Ditch lilies, Klondike cosmos, larkspur, shasta daisies, purple coneflowers and clematis are all showing off in the cutting bed.

This morning, I picked this bouquet for my mom and dad, who are celebrating their wedding anniversary today. But tornado warnings and unrelenting thunderstorms kept me home this afternoon and they had to enjoy them via a photo. So, now we can all enjoy them.

New spring plantings are growing and the caladiums are shooting up out of the ground as fast as I can count them.

I’m smitten with the Mexican bird of paradise, Caesalpinia Mexicana, and its exotic and wispy blooms.

The brilliant purple flags of these Amistad salvia provide a backdrop for senorita Rosalita cleome, dianthus and yarrow.

It’s delightful to walk through the garden with the grass squishing under your clogs, appreciating the much-needed rain.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:38:52-05:00May 25th, 2015|amistad salvia, black and blue salvia, blackfoot daisies, Blog, bouquet, catmint, cutting garden, Klondike cosmos, Lamb's Ears, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Mexican feathergrass, salvia, Senorita Rosalita cleome, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

May tip: there is no such thing as deer proof.

gardening-with-deers

You plan, you carefully select plants, you dig (which, in our area requires a major commitment), you mulch, you water and then you stand back to enjoy your newest landscaping project.

And, the next morning you find that the fruits of your labor must have tasted like fruit to the deer that browsed your buffet the night before, leaving nothing standing but stalks.

Even though some plants are thought to be deer resistant, each and every plant, garden, year, and deer, means a different situation fraught with risk if you live and garden where deer like to play.

My advice: Buyer beware.
Encroaching development continues to remove more natural wildlife habitat around the Central Texas area. Compound that with the horrific drought and it’s tough being a deer. During stressful times like these, deer will eat almost anything. And, trust me, your garden looks awfully tempting.

First, there is no such thing as deer proof. Even with plants that deer are known to dislike and generally avoid, the smell of freshly turned soil and mulch can entice a young deer into your garden. And while the deer may not actually eat the plant, they may paw at it until it comes up out of the ground and then simply leave it lying there, roots exposed, to dry up and die before you even notice. They even pulled the same little plant out of my bed three separate times this spring.

Deer resistant plants do exist. Read the full article.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:01-06:00May 23rd, 2015|Tips|Comments Off

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