Blog Archives | Page 5 of 116 | Diana's Designs Austin

Great garden color combos to perk up the fall garden…

A big package from Plant Delights made me squeal with delight yesterday. Because I already had two flats of small plants for containers and the garden waiting impatiently in the garage, I vowed to spend the time to get these right into the ground.

As I considered where to put them — they are additions to collections I’ve already started — I thought I would just mix them in with the existing varieties. The order included 3 heucherella ‘Solar Eclipse,’ and 2 hellebores — ‘Berry Swirl’ and ‘Golden Lotus’ — and 1 sprekelia (red – so going elsewhere). And, sitting in my garage for two weeks – 2 ‘Tutti Frutti’ shrimp plants.

Hmmmm. chartreuse and burgundy and cranberry and yellow — that looks like a fabulous combination. So, I looked for a spot to place them all together and found a corner with 1 existing ‘Tutti Frutti’ and plenty of room.

Oh, and see my new shovel? It’s the first time I’ve used it — it has a nice flat bar to step on and provide more power and stability and has a nice handle that makes it easier to press down on it and put some oomph into it. Especially great for me, with tendonitis in my arms and an occasionally cranky back.

It was much easier to use and it’s a little smaller than a standard shovel – just my size. I found it at Red Barn Garden Center up north when I was up shopping for a client the other day.

It was getting dark when I finished, so this isn’t the best photo of it all done.

Now, Central Texas is flooding, the rain is about to come into my garage and I expect my plants to swim by at any moment. So much for getting them in before a nice rain!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:58-06:00October 30th, 2015|Berry Swirl bellebore, Blog, Golden Lotus hellebore, Hellebore, Heuchera, heucherella, heucherella Solar Eclipse, shade plants, shades of green, Sharing Nature's Garden, shovel, shrimp plant, tools, tutti frutti|0 Comments

Garden art, water features & sweet seating vignettes in this garden on Inside Austin Gardens tour

Be sure to put the popular Inside Austin Gardens Tour on your calendar – it’s a garden event you don’t want to miss. Saturday’s tour provides a rare look inside six private gardens and one public experimental garden. The gardens demonstrate the practical beauty, variety and stamina of native and well-adapted plants in Central Texas gardens.

I was invited to a preview tour with other local garden bloggers, and that means you get a sneak peek at the wonderful gardens that will be on the tour.

Cottage garden in Crestview

1315 Cullen Ave 78757

This garden was a delightful, free-form space, full of garden art, seating areas and eclectic touches around every corner. Multiple paths wind through plants and interesting features and focal points.

If you’re looking for creative inspiration for gardening, water features or found garden art, don’t miss this garden.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:00-06:00October 14th, 2015|Blog, garden art, garden decor, garden tour 2015, Inside Austin Garden Tour, seating, Sharing Nature's Garden, water features|0 Comments

Morning sun in a shady spot…

There was an undercurrent of cool in the air this morning. It almost felt like fall. Almost. But the forecast for today is 97. No kidding. Unbelievable.

Standing on the front porch watering pots, the light was beautiful, highlighting a very shady corner of the garden with the only sun it ever gets. Surrounded on 3 sides by house and growing under the high canopy of majestic oaks and a pomegranate, it only gets a dribble of filtered morning sun through the trees.

Because it’s so protected and the area takes a long time to dry out after rain or watering, it doesn’t need a lot of extra water, which is a plus.

Root beer plant (Hoya santo ) – which means sacred leaf in Spanish) forms a commanding background for Pam’s pink Turk’s cap (Malavisious drummondii ‘Pam Puryear’)and Persian Shield (Stobilanthes dyerianus). Look closely and you can see the Poms coming on in the tree.

I’ll propagate the Persian shield before it gets cold and those new plants will live through the winter in the greenhouse. It is an annual here and I have to replace the plants every year. Such a striking plant in the garden, I wouldn’t be without them. The deer will eat them, but these are up against the house and I’ve been lucky with them in this spot. The deer would almost have to ring the doorbell to get at them. (And now, of course, they’ll get eaten since I bragged that I’ve outsmarted them!)

Though it’s a later bloomer than it’s red Turk’s cap cousin, I love the pop of pink it adds to this space.

This umbrella plant (Cypereus involucratus), just across the dry creek from the other plants, comes back year after year, giving a great texture and contrast to this space.

This is one of my favorite spots in the garden. And, it requires absolutely no care and it bursts forth beautifully every year without any help from me. You can’t beat that kind of performance.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:00-06:00October 12th, 2015|Blog, Hoya santo, morning sun, Pam's pink Turk's cap, Persian shield, pomegranate, propagation, root beer plant, shade, Sharing Nature's Garden, umbrella plant|1 Comment

Flashy natives garden can handle the heat on Inside Austin Gardens tour

Here is another one of the wonderful gardens that will be on the popular Master Gardeners Inside Austin Gardens Tour 2015 on Saturday, October 17. The tour provides a rare look inside six private gardens and a public experimental garden.

The gardens demonstrate 7 unique styles. This is my preview of the Flashy Natives Garden. Enjoy this sneak peek and then see it in person on the tour next weekend.

401 Cloudview Dr Austin, TX 78745

This garden is very much a collector’s garden, with many different varieties of plants to create wonderful combinations of texture and color and form.

This garden is a very Southwestern cottage style, incorporating yuccas and grasses one might not see in a cooler climate traditional cottage garden.

Patio pots offer more focal points around the seating areas.

And no cottage garden would be complete without a little picket fence.

Tickets for all 7 gardens are $19 in advance or $20 at any garden location on the day of the tour. Single garden tickets for $5 can also be purchased at each garden. Purchase advance tickets here.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:00-06:00October 11th, 2015|Blog, contrast, cottage garden, firebush, garden art, garden tour 2015, Inside Austin Garden Tour, loropetalum, patio, pots, rock rose, seating, Sharing Nature's Garden, vertigo pennisetum, yucca|0 Comments

Inside Austin Gardens Tour – Breathtaking garden with Lake Austin backdrop

Last week I got a preview of the wonderful gardens that will be on the popular Master Gardeners Inside Austin Gardens Tour 2015 on Saturday, October 17. The tour provides a rare look inside six private gardens and a public experimental garden. With the theme of For Gardeners, By Gardeners, the tour showcases 7 gardens with distinctly different garden styles. Tickets for all 7 gardens are $19 in advance or $20 at any garden location on the day of the tour. Single garden tickets for $5 can also be purchased at each garden. Purchase advance tickets here.

Sunbathing Natives1012 N Weston Lane 78733

The relationship between stone and plants creates an intricately woven tapestry as you enter this garden. Beautiful yet unassuming in its simplicity, this garden entry and driveway area is lined with deer resistant, drought tolerant and heat-loving natives. And they are all doing much more than holding their own.

This imposing lion stands guard at the front of the house.

And behind the glass these two imposing figures make up the secondary security team!

Step through a shade-lined rock path and the rest of the garden comes at you with an intensity that is palpable. First, there is color. A lot of color. And plants. Bright, hot, tropical colors and plants.

And then there is this.

And suddenly, your eye isn’t quite sure what to look at. The explosion of plant colors, the water right here, the water wayyyyyy down there…there is just so much to see.

The hot tub was crafted to replicate the water feature just inside the entrance to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

We had a special treat and were invited in to see the view from the owner’s wife’s painting studio upstairs. I’m not sure I could ever take my eyes off of that view!

Not only was this a beautiful garden set on an amazing piece of property, but the garden design was wonderful, enhancing the space and adding to the wow factor with the composition of plants and stone. You don’t want to miss this one! Get your tickets now and get there early for some great photographs.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:38:50-05:00October 9th, 2015|Blog, drought-tolerant, garden tour 2015, hillside, Inside Austin Garden Tour, Kirk Walden, lake Austin, Master Gardener tour, natives, pool, seating, Sharing Nature's Garden, stone, sun, tropical color|0 Comments

Inside Austin Gardens tour features delightful deer resistant garden…

Last week I got a preview of the wonderful gardens that will be on the popular Master Gardeners Inside Austin Gardens Tour 2015 on Saturday, October 17. The tour provides a rare look inside six private gardens and a public experimental garden.

With the theme of For Gardeners, By Gardeners, the tour showcases 7 gardens with distinctly different garden styles. Each garden focuses on practical beauty, plant variety, and native or well-adapted plants.

Tickets for all 7 gardens are $19 in advance or $20 at any garden location on the day of the tour. Single garden tickets for $5 can also be purchased at each garden. Purchase advance tickets here.

This is my sneak peek into the Oh Deer! – deer-resistant, not deer-proof garden at:
4503 Mountain Path Dr 78759

This is a garden I’ve had the pleasure of visiting many times. It belongs to my good friend, Pam Penick, author of the garden blog, Digging, and the book, Lawn Gone. I’ve watched her transform this deer-resistant garden from a pedestrian suburban space when she and her husband bought this house, to the magical creation it is today. She’s taken advantage of each of the garden’s unique spaces, adding interesting elements, a wonderful plant palette and a unique blend of styles. Her recent addition of brightly colored stucco walls makes a dramatic impact in her garden. Water features, eclectic art and a wonderful array of plants await you at this delightful garden. And the entire front garden frustrates Bambi and her family with its deer resistant variety of plants. You don’t want to miss it.