Garden Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

Puget Sound Gardeners Fling – People, Plants, and More

Last month 100 garden social media influencers met in Puget Sound WA to tour gardens, share meals, and make new friends. This was the 15th such annual gathering, called the Gardeners Fling. We meet in a different city each year (except for 2 Covid-fraught summers) and the host city gardeners plan a 4-5 day outstanding garden experience.

Our time in Puget Sound was magical. Each garden, private and public, wowed in so many different ways.

I’ll start my virtual tour with the garden of one of our hosts, Camille Paulsen, @tahomaflora .

She has crafted her space to frame and enhance the many gorgeous views of Mount Tahoma, also known as Mount Rainier. The mountain enjoys almost mystical status around Seattle and Tacoma. The days start with an assessment about the visibility of the mountain and end on the same note. How fortunate her family is to have this National Geographic-worthy sight from their deck, their paths, their hills, and so many other vantage points.

We were there on a clear day, and the mountain was glorious.

This little secret seating area on the edge of the hillside had a special view, too.

I can imagine sneaking away to to escape here.

Several paths wind through the property, all of them welcoming and interesting. And many of them with an eye to the view.

On the back deck, a bit of whimsy highlights the distance of treks to similar mountain hot spots.

The light was striking as it poured in between the leaves of a collection of Japanese maples and other wispy trees.

Camille’s artistic flair extends beyond the curating of plants to include an interesting assortment of art in the garden. Various carefully crafted vignettes were tucked throughout.

Sharing the adventure with so many long-time and new gardeners was as fun as discovering the garden itself.

So many unique details caught my eye.

Sweet spaces scattered everywhere.

The pool area was a lovely gathering spot filled with interesting pots and plants.

Tucked down the hill in the forest, koi languished in a beautiful pond, suprised by all their guests.

Enjoying some pats, Camille’s cat seemed unfazed by all the garden gawkers.

Thanks, Camille, for a great tour of your lovingly created garden.

Another post to come soon highlighting other beautiful sights from the 2024 Puget Sound Gardeners Fling.

By Diana C. Kirby|2024-08-18T09:27:49-05:00August 18th, 2024|2024 Garden Bloggers Fling, 2024 Gardeners Fling, 2024 Puget Sound Fling, Blog, bloggers, blogging, cedar tree, Crocosmia, cypress trees, decor, Fairy, ferns, Fling, focal point, foliage, Garden, garden bloggers, garden bloggers fling, garden decor, garden photography, garden statues, garden tour 2024, garden travel, garden visit, garden whimsy, hanging pots, Japanese garden, japanese maple, landscape design, leaves, Mount Ranier, Mount Tahoma, path, paths, pathway, patio, people, photography, plant, pond, pool, rock wall, Sharing Nature's Garden, statuary, statue, succulents, Tacoma, tour, travel, Uncategorized, water feature, water features|9 Comments

Blooms abound in the spring garden

My morning walk through the garden brightened my day. My garden is still young, compared to my previous 16-year-old garden. Filling in holes where plants have been lost and adding layers over time has paid off. This spring the garden feels full and lush. Today. (Check back with me in August!)

We’ve been fortunate to have had a little bit of rain lately in our part of Austin. Because of our topography, it’s not uncommon for different parts of town to have dramatically different rainfall.

It’s been a rough couple of years. Snowpocalyse Uri in 2021, another terrible freeze in 2022 and multiple days at 110 or higher last summer.

This spring feels like the garden is coming into its own. Things are filling out and look like my vision for the space.

Jerusalem sage is one of my go-to plants. It doesn’t mind our heat and it’s evergreen and deer resistant.

Few things perk up the spring landscape like shasta daisies.

While I have a large swath of bluebonnets along my creek bed, this year I ventured out and bought a few of the cranberry-colored ones to add into the garden.

They look so interesting compared to all the blue ones.

We won’t talk about the idea that they were bred to represent A&M University, the arch rival of Austin’s University of Texas!

A fabulous border plant, purple skullcap looks great trailing over my street-side boulders. This soft, mounding perennial blooms reliably from spring through fall.

This scrappy little Damianita grows throughout the tough landscape of the Texas Hill country in the most difficult conditions. Another great border plant, it grows about 18 inches tall.

The bluebonnets are almost done. I’m just waiting for the seed pods to dry out and start to open before plucking them. In November, I will plant all of this year’s seeds, so we have an even bigger show next spring.

The ditch lilies and the coreopsis intermingle and blow in the breeze together.

Heartleaf skullcap is another of my spring favorites. The luminescence of the tiny blooms is enchanting atop the velvety-soft leaves.

Lemon mallow makes a striking statement against the nearby Henry Duelberg salvia.

It’s 90+ today, but we are all holding out hope that this summer isn’t as brutal as last. Spending as much time in the garden now as we can!

By Diana C. Kirby|2024-05-08T13:18:48-05:00May 8th, 2024|blooms, blue bonnet, blue bonnets, bluebonnet, coreopsis, cut flowers, Daimianita, daisies, daisy, day lilies, daylily, ditch lily, Garden, golden coreopsis, lily, mealy blue sage, sage, salvia, Sharing Nature's Garden, shasta daisy, skullcap, spring, spring bloomers, tall coreopsis, Uncategorized|2 Comments

My garden and design photo faves of 2019

It’s a new year and I’ve just passed the 6 month milestone in a new garden. I miss so many things about my previous garden – an acre and a half that I nurtured and loved for more than 16 years. I’m also excited about having a new challenge. A BIG new challenge!

So, I’m recapping some of my favorite 2019 photos of my gardens, both old and new.

This Japanese flowering quince always joined the daffodils and hellebores as the first harbingers of spring. These are plants I will definitely incorporate into the new garden. I’ve already planted several varieties of daffodil bulbs.

The row of Mountain Laurels lining the old driveway was heady with grape-y goodness when they were all in bloom. Luckily, there is a Mountain Laurel in the new garden.

I dug up and brought several hellebores from my collection to the new house and they are thriving. I lost one in the process (I might have been too busy to take good care of them in their pots for months before I began creating a bed for them).

These lyre leaf sage also came with me. They provide lovely ground cover all year and put up these delicate blooms in the spring.

All of the Austin Garden Bloggers will recognize this as Lucinda’s iris – passalongs that I believe we all share.

Rest assured, Lori, the ditch lilies you brought me back from Wisconsin in a bucket traveled with me to the new house, too. I’d never leave those behind!

Dianella and loropetalum were building blocks in the previous garden and the will be again when I start building some big beds.

I think I’ll find a home for another ebb tide rose, too.

The current yard (it’s not a garden!) is covered with ivy. I hope to craft a happier habitat for beneficials and pollinators and birds.

I loved the hot, confetti pops of color in the front bed at the previous house. This is the one I jokingly called the hideous bed.

Swedish ivy always perked up the shadier nooks and crannies in the garden.

I fell in love with crocosmia at many Garden Bloggers Flings and was happy to add some to my garden two years ago.

I always made room for cordyline in the garden and in ornamental pots.

Of course I brought all of my pots with me. I think we moved 75 of them – yikes! Having them all here made us feel right out home on the big back deck and outdoor living areas.

This eyesore area at the new house needed an overhaul. We had to regrade, take out trees, build a French drain and dig out a dozen trashy shrub volunteers. As a small project, it was my first garden creation.

I started by giving some curves and shape to this part of the French drain to define a new bed area in this square space. Then I painted the dilapidated concrete. This area is the view out of the dining room French doors that open onto a courtyard. I designed these steel panels and had them custom built to surround the AC units at the previous house, but don’t need them here. They were perfect for adding interest to this odd space.

Plants and a bird bath were the crowning touches! The wrought iron table and chairs in the courtyard offer a lovely spot for morning coffee.

Lots of fun projects are on tap for 2020. I hope you’ll come see how things are progressing.

Happy New Year and Happy Gardening!

By Diana C. Kirby|2020-01-05T10:39:28-06:00January 5th, 2020|2019, bulbs, Cordyline, cover plants, Crocosmia, daffodils, day lilies, Dianella, ditch lily, drainage, dry creek, flax lily, four-nerve daisy, Garden, Hellebore, irises, japanese quince, lady bugs, lily, loropetalum, mountain laurel, narcissus, new bed, passalongs, quince, river rock, river rock bed, rose, roses, screen, sculpture, shade plants, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring, spring bloomers, Swedish ivy, Uncategorized|6 Comments

Madrid’s botanical gardens…

This morning we set out to see the Parque del Buen Retiro in the heart of Madrid. Enormous and beautiful, it reminded me of Central Park.
It was primarily green – lush with huge trees and paths and a suprise around every corner. There a few splashes of seasonal color, but this is not a flower garden by any means.
There’s a little lake and rowing and the wide avenues (no cars) were filled with walkers, runners, skateboarders and hordes of roller bladers. They were even giving lessons to kids and adults alike – it was so fun to watch. Then there were people and families like us, the strollers.

It really is a treasure in the heart of the city, and everyone came out to enjoy it on this beautiful Saturday morning.
Even though there were people everywhere, it was still vast open space to enjoy the setting. It includes formal fountains, children’s play areas (we checked all of those out!), outdoor cafes, snack vendors, bubble blowers, fortune tellers, musicians and more.
And it was peaceful – a haven from the hustle and mucho bustle of the heart of the city. The park was once the private playground for royalty.

When we finished going through but a small section of this enormous park, we headed across the street (well, not quite that directly) to the Botanical Gardens. My Spanish is passable at times, but my comprehension when getting directions at a very fast clip is not quite as good. So after several “permit a me’s” we finally arrived at our destination. Missing nuances and words can make a big difference when getting directions – imagine that!

We’ve had internet “issues” with the hotel. We get it — sometimes. So, that’s why this is my first post. Just glad to be able to share it now.

Tomorrow I hope to give you a peek into the Botanical Gardens. You’ll be amazed at what I found there. And I know I’ve made the folks back at the house terribly jealous — sorry. But it is wonderful. More to come…

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:06-05:00June 4th, 2011|Blog, Garden, park, Sharing Nature's Garden, Spain, travel, vacation|0 Comments

Meet Momma Bunny…

This morning, while keeping close watch on the dog, I turned the corner and found Momma Bunny hadn’t quite skeedaddled for the day. I think she was checking out the new chicken wire on the garden.

Just a few feet away, is the table I placed over the baby nest to keep out the rain and lawnmower and NOT the dog. Clearly that wasn’t nearly enough of a deterrent for him.

So, I’m the dog police for a few more weeks and I might take pity on Momma Bunny and put her some acceptable food out there — OUTSIDE of the garden. And, as long as she isn’t eating my plants, she’s kinda cute, isn’t she?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:54-06:00April 24th, 2008|Blog, Garden, rabbits, Sharing Nature's Garden|12 Comments

Spring has Sprung

Signs of Spring are everywhere.

Before my outside bulbs started to open, I’d ordered this little Spring planter from a catalog.

It’s a little wooden picket fence with potted bulbs in it. Very festive to have in the house over the Easter holiday. I set it outside for some fresh air and sunshine today. It was 64 here today and breezy. Supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow.

I’m amazed that the daffodil bulbs I planted in January opened up today. And I’m thrilled to report that two of the allium I planted in the fall have poked up through the mulch. I’ve always wanted some and this is my first attempt.

If you look VERY carefully, you’ll see a tiny, lime-green bud in the middle of this photo. It’s the first sign of life on my coral trumpet vine.
This is the full vine – so much of the woody stalks cut back and it’s still huge. It takes over the whole fence and it’s beautiful when it’s in lucious bloom.

A little structure here – these are my fabulous Gardener’s Supply Co. square, foldable tomato cages. They held up even the 7 foot tall and unwieldy tomatoes last summer. I love them.
These are strawberries, mustard greens, swiss chard, cilantro, peppers and in the back, green beans.
I had to show you my little wooden tee-pee trellis. I got it at the Natural Gardener – paid way too much for it, but it was so beautiful I just had to have it. I can just imagine beans dangling from those cute little wooden sticks!

After all, part of the fun of gardening is shopping, don’t you think? It is for me.
Look closely, high up in the tree that’s behind the bi-color irises and the iron fence, and you’ll see my crossvine – going exactly where I don’t want it to go. (The story of my proverbial gardening life!)
And, finally, this is where the day lilies, a vine, some annuals and something I’ve yet to decide on will go — maybe even this week. I’m going to plant in an arc from the left front around to the back right. Just above this photo is one of our two breakfast room windows, so it will make a pretty sight when we’re eating.