Sharing Nature's Garden Archives | Page 11 of 124

Wildflower Center bursting with beautiful spring blooms…

For spring break this year we’ve decided to have a ‘staycation’ and do a little sightseeing right here in and around Austin. Today’s tour took us to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, one of my favorite Austin garden destinations. Kallie couldn’t remember any of our many visits there — she was quite a bit younger the last time we were there. And Jeff said he’d never been.

Our timing was good — owlettes are nesting at the entrance right now. The owls nest there every year, and sometimes you’re lucky enough to get a glimpse of them.

I didn’t capture it with my camera, but I did see one owl up there in the corner.

Some sight lines in the garden are wide open, and some are peek-a-boo cute.

The plants at the Center are drought tolerant natives, but several water features help add depth and a cooling element to the gardens.

I love how they designed an oversized arc with these yuccas in the granite.

The family garden offers a plethora of areas just waiting for hands-on adventures like this mosaic wall — a maze and seating/balancing bean all in one!

The mosaic tile artwork intermingled with the natural limestone rock reminds me of the work of Antoni Gaudi, whose amazing structures we saw in Spain several years ago.

It’s not really hilly at the Wildflower Center, but these beautiful rocks simulate a cliffside, teaming with more yuccas.

And what would a children’s garden be without ample hide and seek nooks and crannies?

I wonder what’s through that arch?

This scorching-hot swath of orange is brought to you by globe mallows. Their hot orange color lights up this bed, tempered only by the soft grey-green of their foliage.

Mexican feather grasses and cacti join the party.

Notice how the peach and terra cotta colors in the stones echo the plant blooms?

Another view of the top of the rock ridge with yuccas.

This is the event pavilion in the children’s garden.
Water ripples between and under these massive rocks, inviting hands-on play.

Who wouldn’t be enticed to follow these mysterious dinosaur tracks?

The tunnel leads under the waterfall where a window lets you peer out through the streaming water.

Are the cranes about to step gingerly onto the rock path?

The family garden is also filled with wonderful places to climb and hide.

More of Mother Nature’s sculptures.

Another water feature provides the bubbling background music for the chirping birds.

There’s something to learn in each segment of the demonstration garden.

The tangerine crossvine creates a stunning pop of color on this limestone wall.

More demonstration garden displays.

I always enjoy seeing the turtles sunning themselves at the entrance pond. It’s the perfect spot to get a tan!

Terra cotta pots line the entry walkway, and seem to say, “y’all come back now, ya hear” as you walk out. We sure will!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:56-06:00March 14th, 2016|Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Daffodils make the spring garden delightful …

When pressed, I’d say daffodils are my favorite flowers. and now they peek out at me from amongst their close neighbors, the quince flowers.

But then I’d say, though I’m truly in love with Japanese Quince, too. Harbingers of spring, they are both the first blooms to grace my garden each year when the sun starts to warm things up. My quince has grown quite a bit since I first planted these ‘double Campernelle’ daffodils several years ago, and now they peek out at me from amongst their very close neighbors, the quince flowers.

This is the first of the ‘jet fire’ to bloom this year.

I believe this one is called ‘ice follies,’ according to my sales receipt.

I planted several of these last year, and lovingly labeled them. Sadly, the copper labels didn’t hold the Sharpie permanent marker and so now I have to guess which ones went where. I can’t seem to figure out which one this is. Any ideas?

I just had to have these glass flowers when I saw them at the store. Now I have daffs in my garden year-round!

These are the ‘double campernelle’ that are so frilly. They are heirlooms and date back to the 1600s.

Finally, the sweet, short daffodils, Tete-a-tetes, that make perky little clusters all through my garden.

I should have blown away the piles of oak leaves surrounding them, but you’re seeing them as they are in the garden naturally, warts and all!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:56-06:00March 8th, 2016|Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Mountain laurels about to release their great grape scent …

Last year’s Mountain Laurel buds at my house were slow to develop and then succumbed to an ice storm on February 28th. In 2010, we didn’t see the blooms until March 15th. In 2009, they began opening their buds on February 18th. So, it wasn’t a total surprise to find a few single buds open this weekend on February 20th.

The branches are all heavy with buds — most of them will wait a little before unfurling their precious purple leaves, but the parade is about to begin.

Grow, my little grape delights, grow!

We’re waiting for you!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:57-06:00February 21st, 2016|Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden, Texas Mountain Laurel|0 Comments

Winter is planning season in the garden

We’ve had such a mild winter here in Central Texas – we haven’t even had an official freeze yet at our house. A few plants have been affected by close-to-freezing temps. (Though some other gardnerers in cooler spots around the city have had one or two brief dips to or just below 32.)

It even hit 88 degrees last weekend, and I welcomed it complete with shorts, sunscreen, big hat and a few much-needed breaks inside to avoid what truly felt like heat stroke. It was January, for goodness sake!

I’d been sketching out a few ideas for changing beds — vowing to treat my own garden with the same care that I give to design clients. Than means I need to tame some overgrown plants, move some others to better locations and add in some more evergreen color to create a cohesive design.

The bed in front of the garage did well last year, but I’d neglected to prune back the pale pavonia right in front of the window. Last fall I moved the purple-blooming salvia ‘Amistad’ in front of the pavonia – they were small and leggy in their previous spot. Well, they REALLY liked this bed – so much that they grew even bigger than the pavonias behind them. Gorgeous, but unruly and completely out of scale. Pavonias: chop. Salvia ‘Amistad:’ move. Dianella: add.

They looked beautiful against the Senorita Rosalita cleome I planted in front of them, but they soon grew OVER the cleomes and the yarrow and tried to accost guest walking down the sidewalk! They will now look beautiful in the bed at the corner of the house now — I hope!

After a trip to the candy store — well, really, Vivero Growers — I found some beautiful new plants to complete my design. I added in a third variegated dianella and put in several Loropetalum ‘cabernet’ to provide more evergreen color in the bed. I left one ‘Amistad’ in between the pavonias and I promise I will keep it pruned down just a bit.

A stunning Japanese maple, Acer palatum var. dissectum ‘Tamukeyama,’ went in toward the house, where an ‘Edward Goucher’ abelia came out. To echo the burgundy colors, I added a few more Ajuga ‘black scallop’ around the dianella. The maple has deep red bark and delicate weeping branches. The leaves are very fine. I can’t wait to see it bud out. It will only get early morning sun in this spot and will be protected by the house.

The deciduous tree in front of the new maple came out – it’s a Caesalpinia gillesii, or often called by one of its common names, Yellow Bird of Paradise. It needed a drier bed – so I relocated it across the driveway to a sunnier spot with tougher conditions.

And here you see my favorite shovel — I bought it at Red Barn and it has a nice foothold for pushing down on and the handle makes it easier to get some oomph into your motion!

I haven’t re-mulched after adding in some Geo Growers thunder dirt to the bed — I’m still debating whether or not I want to plant some seeds in here in a few carefully selected spots.

Because I’m a plant collector, I don’t always follow my own design rules (or even loose guidelines) if I’ve found some wonderful new plant that HAS to get squeezed in somewhere. I also suffer from the guilt of getting rid of plants that aren’t working. Thank goodness I know so many other gardeners and garden bloggers who might have the perfect spot for things. BTW – Austin garden bloggers, I still have that nice 5 gallon-sized rock rose that came out of this been and needs a home – it’s about 2-1/2 – feet tall, but the deer keep eating it outside of the fence and I don’t have a place for it inside of the fence…first comment, first come and get it!

What are you sketching for your spring garden?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:57-06:00February 5th, 2016|amistad salvia, Blog, Cabernet loropetalum, Cleome, Dianella, flax lily, japanese maple, loropetalum, planning, salvia, Senorita Rosalita cleome, Sharing Nature's Garden, Tamukeyama|0 Comments

Join me for my Spring Landscape Design Workshop in Austin…

SPRING GARDEN DESIGN WORKSHOP — Thinking about making changes to your landscape this year? Well, NOW is the time to start planning. Whether you’re just making adjustments to your landscape or you’re ready for some serious refreshing or expansion, understanding the basics of garden design will give you a roadmap to ensure beautiful results.

I will be hosting a 4-hour Garden Design Workshop in Austin in March and would love for you to join me. In this exciting 4-hour class, you’ll learn:

• the principles and elements of landscape design,
• how to assess your current landscape’s strengths and shortcomings,
• which native and adapted plants to use to create 8 specific garden styles:

Southwest Desert
Texas Native
Cottage
Formal
Asian
Contemporary
Mediterranean
Tropical

• and how to design a landscape – including drawing a sample plan with my personal review of your design ideas.

If you’re interested in taking the class, please leave me a comment with your contact info and I will contact you with the registration information and the workshop cost.

Details are still being finalized — date and location will be announced next week based on number of participants, so let me know if you’d like to attend.

If you know someone else who might be interested, please feel free to pass along the information.

Hope to see you soon!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:57-06:00January 27th, 2016|Blog, landscape design, landscape project, Sharing Nature's Garden, workshop|0 Comments

Build beautiful hardscape projects in your garden now

Now that winter is keeping us out of the garden, what’s a gardener to do? That’s easy — plan. Plan for all the big ideas you’d like to turn into reality once spring planting fever hits. It’s the perfect time to start planning structural hardscape changes in your landscape.

Today, our landscapes are becoming extensions of our homes. They bring us outdoors, in rooms and areas that provide entertaining space, room for kids and pets to play, or maybe a quiet reading nook.

Where to start? Ask yourself — was your patio too small for entertaining last year? Did you, or your dogs, wear a dirty path in the grass to get from area to area? Or do you just want to remove some grass, water a little less or solve a drainage problem with a dry creek?

Now what?

Ask yourself some preliminary questions. First, consider your personal style – are you traditional, natural or contemporary? Think about the existing area – do you want to use the same material as your house or other structures, or do you want something different? Identify whether you’d prefer creating a color contrast color or seamless hues of a single color.

Consider the type of material best suited to your project. Stone is sold by the ton — decomposed granite by the yard — your local landscape supply yards can help you determine how much you’ll need based on your measurements. Here are some of the choices that are commonly used for hardscape projects.

Flagstone – Can be used for a variety of landscaping projects, from paths to patios and walls. It can be mortared into place or simply set in decomposed granite or gravel so it remains permeable. Wondering what to do with the sidewalk strip in front of your house where the grass is perpetually dying? Consider some attractive flagstone set in decomposed granite. If you want a softer look, add a few Mexican feather grasses or a few small agaves or a boulder or two for interest.

River Rock – Available in a variety of size ranges, river rock is smooth and comes in a blend of colors. It can be used to create a meandering dry stream through your landscape or to solve drainage issues. You can also simply replace grass with an attractive contrast of natural material in your yard. It can be used to puddle below a water feature or a birdbath. Always be sure to vary the size of the rock in a dry creek, scattering in the larger rocks before you put down the smaller size for a more natural look.

Pavers – Man-made pavers come in very imaginable color and size. The most commonly used are made of concrete and can be used for patios and porches, paths and even walls. They can be laid on a bed of sand, placed close together for a more manicured look, or can be laid with spacing to allow for either grass or pretty little ground covers to grow between. Pavers create a more manicured, formal style in outdoor rooms.

Decomposed or crushed granite – Weathered granite that has broken down into small pieces and particles of silt, DG is commonly used in patios, paths and even beds with arid plants. It’s versatile as a filler for many different projects – just be careful not to use it on a steep hill – our periodic gully washers can wreak havoc with it. You’ll want to make sure to use some sort of edging – metal or stone – to keep the granite in place and separated from grass or beds adjacent to it.

Gravel – Available in many different colors and sizes, gravel is a great material. It can work wonders to help with small drainage issues and it adds texture and contrast to the garden. Because it is larger, when used in a path, it is less likely to wash away than decomposed granite.

Chopped block – Most stone can be purchased as a rough-hewn brick-like shape that is more natural in form. These are used to build retaining walls, benches, planting beds or pathway borders.

River rock, flagstone, chopped block and other stones come in specific palettes of color – Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado or New Mexico – are some of the choices you can find around Austin. From golds to browns and reds or grays and pinks, the right hues in your garden can be like a fresh coat of paint in your house.

If you are creating paths or dry streams, remember to use long, sweeping curves to provide flow and make your garden more natural and inviting.

Adding different types of material to you landscape can make it interesting and inviting – creating contrast and texture that enhance your garden.

These are all landscape design projects I created. For more ideas and information, go to Diana’s Designs and see other projects.

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By Diana C. Kirby|2020-06-25T08:28:49-05:00January 22nd, 2016|Blog, dry creek, flagstone, granite, hardscape, hell strip, leuders, paths, patios, paver, river rock, rock, Sharing Nature's Garden, stepping stones, stone, stone edging, walls|0 Comments

Sharing Nature’s Garden

Wildflower Center bursting with beautiful spring blooms…

Daffodils make the spring garden delightful …

Mountain laurels about to release their great grape scent …

Winter is planning season in the garden

Join me for my Spring Landscape Design Workshop in Austin…

Build beautiful hardscape projects in your garden now

Escape in the garden