river rock bed Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

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

Creating a new garden and dog-friendly landscape

We moved in June, and left behind the garden I built over 16 years. I feel like I’ve left behind so many dear friends and labors of love.

I have moved on, as the new garden really needs me desperately. The new owners of my garden have asked for my help in getting to the know the garden and how to care for it. And, they’ve been very generous about my collecting some seeds and a few volunteers as well. I look forward to teaching them to care for all my plant children.

So, the new house. The new old house. Ivy, actually, three kinds of ivy – English, Jasmine and Virginia creeper, have eaten the entire large, corner lot, and are now trying to eat the house and all of the beautiful live and red oak trees. Ugh. And because I need to keep a little of it, eradication is going to be labor-intensive to say the least.

In the back, there was a tiny square of what I believe may have once been grass. But, it was sad – invaded by ivy, a half dozen volunteer trash trees and a small circle of weeds, it was a poor excuse for a yard for the boys. So, the first step was to clear the trash trees, dig out the ivy and the primrose jasmine, and open the chain link fence to install a gate to the next grass-creating project.

Dog inspection was critical to the leveling and retaining wall work and they were eager to check out their new space.

Once done, it was a fine yard for exploring and enjoying, and a lovely loquat tree was rescued from the encroachment, providing just a little shade.

Then, onto the next part of the project. Along the back of the deck, another incredibly steep slope of ivy and trash trees. (Surprise, right?)

More leveling, more retaining walls, more soil and more Zoysia grass. Opening up the trees and adding irrigation made a great, long yard for the boys to run behind the deck all the way down to the side street to watch passersby.

A gate at the bottom gives us some more flexibility and access.

The retaining walls will hopefully keep water from rushing down the hill during the periodic gully washers.

One last dog-friendly project awaited. On a steep hill, the house has catwalks from the driveway and carport to the house. In the space below, the owners had let poor grading and dirt erode the side of the house, so we regraded, took out more volunteer trees, installed a French drain and filled the space with river rock. I had two more gates created so the dogs could run from the back yard and deck to the front next to a courtyard where they watch everyone go by the front yard.

Then it was time to create the first garden bed! Whoo hoo. I was so ready for it by this time. It was the peak of summer and I didn’t have a single flower in the ground on the entire property. I can’t tell you how depressing that was.

A spindly Crape Myrtle reached so far into the other oaks above the only bare trunks were visible, so we removed that and added an attractive curve to the river rock, building a bed behind it. A spindly Crape Myrtle reached so far into the other oaks above the only bare trunks were visible.

In sad shape, the enormous concrete wall needed attention. Step number 1 – get the bed prepped and find the right plants.

Then came concrete painting. After a good bit of pondering what color would work with the dark sage green of the house, the gray fences and the red doors, I settled on a medium shade of blue.

I decided that the iron art I designed was worthy of so much more than an air conditioning screen, so I placed three of the panels as a focal point in front of the blue. Wow, does that pop.

We’re not sure if the large plastic owls mounted all over the property were to keep the local hawk family away from their tiny dog, or to keep birds from pooping on the deck or what. But, for all the trees, there are precious few birds. I put a birdbath on the edge of the courtyard and since we are rarely out there, I’m hoping some nearby feeders and houses serve to invite some feathered friends.

Add a table, more plants and a chandelier and, voila, the perfect spot for morning coffee or afternoon iced tea. It’s starting to feel like home. Once again, I’m able to say I have a “happy place” to sit and relax.

Check back for the next saga of “Save the Garden,” where I’ll walk through the before and after of the two main beds directly in front of the house.

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-10-06T12:09:11-05:00October 6th, 2019|2019 Garden, art, beds, bird bath, dog, dogs, dry creek, Escondido Cove, focal point, garden art, garden decor, garden rooms, garden sculpture, garden whimsy, landscape design, landscape project, loquat, metal sculpture, painting, patio, patios, projects, retaining walls, river rock, river rock bed, rock, rock wall, rust, Sharing Nature's Garden, stone, stone work, Uncategorized, vine, vines, walls|13 Comments

Rain, rain…well, just take a break, please…

Living with frequent drought makes dealing with torrential rains tricky. We want rain. We need rain. But, in the Hill Country, it’s tough for the ground to absorb. Which leads to floods. Dangerous floods.

Beyond the frightening potential human toll, gardeners also have to deal with plant-killing floods. I just turned in my article for next week’s Austin American Statesman, where I write about plants that “don’t like to have wet feet.” Today, that’s gonna be all of the plants in my garden. That’s from 3.34″ this morning alone and 8.29″ for the month.

Having lived through the sizzling, scorching drought, I am hesitant to wish for an end to the rain. But, geez, it can take a break for a little while — enough already!

Our home sits downhill from several other homes and so we get run-off. Serious run-off! We have French drains and dry creeks in 3 separate places, designed to deal with days just like today.

And our drainage abatement IS working. Water is moving to where it’s been directed.

The dry creek is no where near dry.

No sign of any let up right now, but it’s ok, cuz the rain is “Rollin’ down the river…” We also have a 10,000 gallon rainwater tank, which is totally full. I’d take a picture of the gauge and the tank for you, but I’d have to get wet. No thanks!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-11-11T21:45:48-06:00May 19th, 2016|drainage, dry creek, rain, rainfall, river rock, river rock bed, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

New dry creek project done and ready for rain!

The dry creek remodel is done and I can’t wait for it to rain so I can see how well it works.

I know that the very front of the dry creek already works because I washed all the dried dirt from the driveway puddle area into the creek bed and it just dropped down between the rocks like it’s supposed to, instead to swirling in the dirt and lapping back at me.

The moss rocks are gorgeous. (I know my crew thought I was crazy when I oohed and aahed over the great colors on them!) They’re set for the most part, but I will adjust them some more so that they look random. (I don’t really do random, so it will have to be a very carefully-arranged faux random.)

And, as always, one project begets another. During these two days, I:

created another bed which begs to be filled,
extended the path and opened up more area that needs to be planted,
removed rock from a bed that now needs more of the moss rock and Oklahoma to define it
put two new Oklahoma flagstones where old limestone steps were, so now I need a few more to make it look even nicer,
need to take all of the white/gray flat native stone that used to line the bed and move it to the back of the property to make a path to the shed so we don’t have to walk in the mud back there when it rains.

Then there are the plants. It’s time to move a few things, say good bye to a few things and go nursery trolling for some fabulous new additions to fill holes and begin new experiments.

This week’s lows in Austin range from 44 to 31 and next week’s lowest point only gets down to 39, so I will go ahead and start planting. We can most certainly have another freeze as far out as the next 4 weeks, but isn’t that what gardening is all about? Testing Mother Nature!

After the last two wonderfully warm days, I am eager to get into the garden – and glad to be done with digging and moving rock. Plants are much easier.

What tops your garden to-do list for this spring? Happy Gardening.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:38:53-05:00February 22nd, 2015|Blog, drainage, dry creek, flagstone, hardscape, landscape project, moss rock, Oklahoma, path, projects, river rock, river rock bed, Sharing Nature's Garden, stepping stones, stone|0 Comments

Spring garden spruce up…

While the weather was cold and before it was planting season, I started a project at my house to add a chopped limestone edge and an Oklahoma flagstone cap to the beds along the front walk. It turned out great and I was very happy with the result.

But then the nice weather came, and with it, clients. Clients who wanted designs and hardscaping and landscaping and the items left unfinished on my project remained unfinished. Until this week.

An unexpected opening for the crew found them at my house with 4-1/2 yards of great soil – Thunder Garden Soil from Geo Growers. That was worked into the front beds, which are now, in essence, raised beds. Miscellaneous volunteer seeds – zinnias and salvias and other random plants were hoed out and given the boot.

I stood back and took stock of my bed and tried to view it as I would a client’s. I’d been unhappy with it for a while. So off I went, three days in a row, to the nursery to load up every inch of my car with plants.

We filled the holes and created structure and contrast and texture (all the things I preach about!) These are the plants I added:

Foxtail ferns
Variegated agapanthus – these are way cool!
Persian shield
Sparkler Sedge
Purple pixie loropetalum
Mexican bush sage
Amistad salvia
Bat-faced cuphea
Blackfoot daisy
Mexican honeysuckle
Purple skullcap
Yellow zinnias
Skeletonleaf goldeneye
Sun coleus
Copper plant
Helianthus maxmilliani
Whale’s tongue agave
Miss Molly buddleia
Yellow bulbine
Hibiscus
Mexican bird of paradise

These didn’t all go into the walkway bed, I filled holes in other beds, too. I finally replaced my critically-wounded franzosini agave with a whale’s tongue. It will never be the same, but it also won’t make 30 pups a month that have to be cut out and it won’t get 20 feet tall and it won’t freeze as easily.

I love the new plants and the new mulch that followed, but one of the things I’m most excited about is that they finally brought me moss rocks to put in the section of dry creek right by the front door. After lots of — no, tilt it this way, no, bury that end, no turn it around, not this way, that way — I am happy with the placement of the rocks. They add so much to the natural look of the entire area.

Though they are still small, the Persian shield and loropetalum will add a nice purple to the lime spikes of the sparkler sedge and the hot gold Cuban duranta that’s now just emerging from dormancy.

My new passalong bronze iris from Robin at Getting Grounded went into this bed along with some coleus to mirror the lime and purple on the other side.

These foxtail ferns (my first ever) will provide some structural contrast for the rock rose volunteer in the center that I babied over the winter. The yellow zinnias will coordinate with the yellow skeletonleaf golden eye and the bright edge yucca further down the bed.

I can’t wait to see the brilliant purple Amistad savlias bloom next to the bright edge and the agapanthus. (It’s still hard to envision it all since almost nothing is blooming quite yet.)

This vignette is at the end of the path – yellow columbine, golden grass, sun coleus, creeping jenny, a yellow lantana and hidden – a copper plant that will grow to become a nice tall bronze backdrop on the left.

This is just a little slice of the bed behind the pool. The ginormous Maggie roses used to live here. Now the center piece will be this Miss Molly buddleia, surrounded in front by a semi-circle of pure yellow bulbine. On either side of the bed are phlox paniculata and lavender trailing lantana and Mexican oregano.

I moved the Amistad salvias from behind these bright edge yuccas last fall. They just didn’t do well in this bed – I think it was too hot for them here. The stock tank I painted holds an evergreen wisteria planted in the fall – check out the amazing bloom color here. So now between the two I have three Mexican honeysuckles with their hot orange blooms to play off the purple, yellow and lime. Love those combos.

So, now I wait, and water a lot by hand. Bought a few new expandable hoses (yes, I love them and will do a post soon). And I’m using rainwater from the tank, so that feels great. I think there are probably 200-250 gallons in there and that’s going to go fast if it’s going to be 90 every day.

I’m happy with the result and enjoyed walking through the garden tonight with gin and tonic in hand, surveying all the new things and appreciating my garden.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:07-06:00May 3rd, 2014|Blog, bright edge yucca, buddleia, coleus, dry creek, foxtail fern, Mexican honeysuckle, Miss Molly buddleia, new beds, Persian shield, river rock bed, Sharing Nature's Garden, sparkler sedge, spring planting|0 Comments

Landscaping project solves drainage problem…

We’ve lived for 10-1/2 years with a terrible drainage problem on our front sidewalk. When we get a good rain, a lake forms in front of the front door, making it impossible to come into the house without wearing galoshes or looking for a ferry. (Well, that might be an exaggeration.) If you look carefully, the edge of the stained concrete porch stops and you can see a tiny sliver of the sidewalk on this side of the puddle before you step up to the porch.

This is only a moderately-sized lake. When we get gully washers it’s much bigger.

I try not to think about the builder and the contractor who thought it was ok to build a sloping sidewalk that comes down the hill, and then goes back up with the next piece of concrete, making a V in which water will always puddle. They did the same thing in front of our garage doors as well, making a 3-car trench over which we also have to leap when it rains.

But I digress.

So, in addition to addressing our sprinkler/rain drainage and erosion problems in the beds that line the sloping sidewalk, we are fixing the entire sidewalk.

My crew dug the sides of the sidewalk out, separated the two pieces at the angeled joint and placed a BIG ‘ol pipe under it. They then deepened my dry creek trench (the first attempt to fix the problem, but it was inadequate).

I could not believe how meticulous they were with the cement pieces as I was sure they would crack in the process – the sidewalk is 14 years old after all. They cut it to fit together so it is perfectly level and far above the trench that will carry away the water. Before, the two pieces of cement met at an angle roughly down where the pipe has been laid.

It’s hard to see, but it’s all nice and level now!

And they made great progress today on the Oklahoma flag stone cap for the limestone edging. In this photo the mortar is still wet and they haven’t finished cleaning and brushing the excess off. But you can see where it’s going.

It was cold and windy and damp and they worked really hard today. And it all looks great. I’m proud of my crew and their skills, but I really was in awe today. Craftsmanship.

Oh, and did you see all that beautiful red clay they dug out around the sidewalk in the first pictures? I’m happy to say that it is officially basura (Spanish for trash) and is going away, to be replaced by 3-way garden soil and covered with fresh native Texas hardwood mulch when the edging is all done.

It should all be finished this week. I can’t wait to see it. And I really can’t wait for the warm sunshine of spring so I can start planting in it.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:11-06:00February 3rd, 2014|Blog, concrete, drainage, dry creek, erosion, flood, flooding, hardscape, projects, rain, river rock bed, rock, Sharing Nature's Garden, stone edging, stone work|0 Comments

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