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Tour of Austin Garden Bloggers Fling’s beautiful gardens

I’m not sure I could pick a garden favorite at last May’s Austin Garden Bloggers Fling. The itinerary included a taste of unique ecclectic, xeric, formal, contemporary, and cottage style gardens — a smorgasbord of landscaping styles to delight the senses.

My favorite shot, this picturesque view of the Austin skyline served as the backdrop of a bed running along the back of the Burrus garden.

This rustic stone water trough at the front of the house is surrounded by lush shade plantings.

A quaint cottage-style garden house was built using rock from the property, incorporating vintage windows, and serving as home to beautiful climbing roses.

This sweet dog quietly sat guard throughout our tour.

Flanked by a long driveway peppered with structural agaves and native trees, visitors get a glimpse into the xeric garden that awaits them above.

The Jamison garden, with its cottage ambiance, provided a winding path along the sides and the back of the garden. Filled with ephemera, water features, seating areas, and secret spaces, it’s charm was enchanting.

After running out of room in her own garden, Burrus began beautifying the land that divides her street that runs by an elementary school. With no means of irrigation, she filled it with xeric plants and provided seating areas for neighbors and school children to enjoy.

When we arrived at this garden, the torrential rain that drenched everyone at the Wildflower Center and at my garden had abated and slowed to a light sprinkling. Special thanks to Laura Wills , Austin Fling co-planner, for the insight to order colorful ponchos for this rainy day.

The weather didn’t slow the tour as bloggers walked toward the contemporary xeric garden filled with sculptural yuccas and agaves and Cor-ten steel elements.

Stay tuned for more Austin Garden Bloggers Fling garden tour highlights.

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-01-20T10:55:11-06:00January 20th, 2019|2018, 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling, Agave, animals, Austin gardens, bench, bloggers, Cor-ten steel, dog, garden tour 2018, GBF2018, seating, shade plants, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized, water feature, water features, whales tongue agave, Wildflowers, wildlflower|4 Comments

Garden paradise at the Austin Pond Tour 2018

This summer, Laura Wills of Wills Family Acres, and I went on the Austin Pond Tour. It was blazing hot, and being in gardens with water feature focal points was a little relief from the heat. (But not much!)

I’m not sure what I expected. The ponds we saw ranged from absolutely amazing to I’m-not-sure-why-this-is-on-the-pond-tour. This one was my absolute favorite. I would never leave the garden if I lived there.

We arrived at the garden and began the tour in the front of the house next to the entrance.

It was a lovely waterfall that spilled down the side of the walkway and passed underneath the puddle on the other side.

Set on a hill, the front of the house was up a fairly steep slope so the pond looked very natural cascading with a beautiful rock design.

In addition to a collection of native plants and wildflowers, water plants were scattered throughout the pond, making it feel like a lush oasis.

Well done and surrounded by plants, it was lovely. It was a little small, though, and not quite what I expected. I also thought that I’d prefer to have it in the back yard, where I could relax beside it.

And then, we ventured around to the back.

Wow. Just wow. No other words. In the many private gardens I’ve been lucky enough to see, I’ve never seen such a beautiful landscape with a half dozen waterfalls and ponds.

The back landscape started deep in a ravine-like depression. Stone and decomposed granite paths criss-crossed up the steep hill to the back of the property. Interwoven with the paths and ponds and waterfalls, an array of the native and adapted plants of a collector delight visitors at every turn.

Even in the heat of a scorching summer day, we wound our way up and up and up, toward the top.

More waterfalls and ponds covered the sides of the back yard as well.

Nestled on one side of the main waterfall, a structure designed to look like a boat peeks out from the cover of trees and plants.

With a lovely deck and a large inside room, this haven must have been designed as a playroom for children or a secluded retreat for reading, writing or respite.

The garden (and the house) were for sale when we visited.

While the landscape was stunning, it clearly required a dedicated owner and garden lover who would attend to it with care. I wished it were mine, and came with a large contingent of diligent helpers!

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-01-02T08:00:46-06:00January 2nd, 2019|hard scape, hardscape, hillside, monarda, pond, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized, water feature, water features|8 Comments

Getting cozy in the greenhouse…

In Central Texas, sunny 80-degree days dance with us periodically throughout fall and winter. But, we still have to prepare for the occasional cold spell.

I have to be particularly careful because most of the potted plants in my collection are tropical or subtropical. The plumerias begin to wilt at close to 50, dripping and dropping yellow leaves.

Two weeks ago, we prepared for a 47-degree low and all the pots were rushed into the greenhouse. (You can see more about this annual process here.)

A few of them needed haircuts to fit into their winter home and the rest were carefully nestled inside like a Tetris puzzle.

The greenhouse has to be divided to provide sun for the sun lovers and shade for the more delicate plants.

I typically drape shade cloth down the middle of the greenhouse on a shower rod on top of the ceiling supports.

But, I’d thrown out the shade cloth bits and scraps I’d cobbled together for the last few seasons and didn’t have any in time for the emergency arrival of the immigrants.

So, I improvised. Now a colorful collection of beach towels from around the world adorns the little glass house.

One is from Costa Rica and another is from a cruise Jeff and I took to Santorini, Greece in 2000. In case you were wondering, the 3rd is from Target!

After mid-day, the plants on the east side get some much-needed shade and those on the right get to bask in the sun for the rest of the da

Shade lovers also get to hang out on the bottom shelves while those on the upper bunk provide cover.

In close quarters, I get to enjoy the plants one-on-one through the winter. I keep the automatic heaters on when it gets below 50 to keep the tropicals happy and prevent dormancy.

On hot days, the automatic fan turns on and I open up the 4 ceiling windows and the doors.

The greenhouse temperature on sunny days will get about 20 degrees higher than the outside temperature.

If it reaches more than 80 degrees outside, I wet the pea gravel floor once or twice throughout the day to help cool it down inside.

Sometimes, on a sunny-but-cold day in the dead of winter, I’ll pull in a lawn chair, turn on my iTunes, eat some lunch and soak up the sunshine for a little while.

Here they are, all tucked in for the winter chill.

Can you name all the plants in this picture?

See the before pictures as we began prepping the site to install the greenhouse. I posted about it exactly ten years ago today!

Now that everyone is settled in, I’ll turn my attention to propagating, planting seeds and digging up some outdoor landscape plants to overwinter in the crystal palace.

I love it when volunteer plants show up in the garden and I can pot them and keep them in the greenhouse until spring.

Where will your potted friends spend the winter?

How far into the moving process will you be before this comes out of your mouth?

“I’m not going to plant so many pots next year.”

Let’s just get it over with now. You say it. We all know you’re lying, because we’re telling ourselves the same lie. Just get it off your chest and embrace the obsession. You’ll feel so much better come spring!

Have yourself a happy little winter.

By Diana C. Kirby|2018-11-04T20:58:20-06:00November 5th, 2018|2018, greenhouse, plumeria, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized|4 Comments

Contemporary, xeric garden showcased at Garden Bloggers Fling

As Pam Penick, Laura Wills and I planned the recent 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling in Austin, we aimed to showcase a wide variety of garden styles that would provide inspiration to participants.

Located in southwest Austin, this spacious garden highlighted many native and adapted plants in a stunning contemporary setting.

Armed with rain ponchos, 92 gardeners braved the rain, and it was well worth it.

In the vegetable garden, edibles and ornamentals spill out of contemporary Cor-Ten steel planters.

Using raised planters makes gardening much easier here in Central Texas, where our inhospitable clay and limestone soil presents a real challenge.

Even with regular amendments to the soil, the weather extremes of drought and flood here require serious elbow grease to bring forth vegetables without a raised bed.

While we were hoping for sunshine during our visit to this garden, the crops were relieved to have the rain.

Rain droplets on the yucca bloom add another dimension.

One of the quintessential plants of our region, the yucca provides structure, evergreen color and beautiful blooms in the garden.

The semi-soft form of the bloom provides a contrast to the seriously spiky leaves.

This one must have been missed by deer passersby, left for bloggers to admire.

But, when the inevitable heat and drought arrive, and the deer are searching for food, they love to nibble on these blooms.

The clean lines of the pool contrast with the soft and spiky collection of native plants beyond the edge.

We surveyed the garden under the watchful eye of this little guy. I’m sure he wondered what all these people were doing in his garden while he was left inside.

I think he was ready to get his yard back to himself.

This clean and simple arrangement was the only decor on the patio overlooking the pool and the vista beyond, creating a lovely focal point.

Around the corner of the house, tucked away out of sight against a wooded area, the gorilla awaits any intruders.

Or eager grandkids.

I imagine most little kids would be thrilled to share their secret hiding space with this big fella.

The perfect setting for some make-believe play, a collection of trucks and other toys are carefully parked, waiting for the next play day with King Kong.

A striking garden in a beautiful setting, this one was a real gem.

By Diana C. Kirby|2018-08-17T15:27:55-05:00August 17th, 2018|2018 Garden Bloggers Fling, Austin bloggers, Austin gardens, garden bloggers, garden bloggers fling, garden tour, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized, xeric, xeric plants|2 Comments

Bountiful fig harvests mean it’s fig jam time

Over the last week, 3 of my friends and neighbors have shared figs from their drooping, fig-laden trees with us.

We had 2 or 3 different varieties of figs. The ones in the middle, came from my mail carrier. We talk plants periodically when I’m outside and he’s actually hopped out to take a peek at my vegetable garden. (Shhh – don’t tell anyone!) My figs aren’t ripe yet – they seem to be larger than the small ones and smaller than the large ones. I know that mine is a Brown Turkey fig tree. No idea what these were.

I believe the large purple ones are Black Genoa, Black Spanish or Purple Genca. They were the sweetest figs. The figs on the left were larger than those on the right (though it’s hard to tell from this pic) and came early, soI think they are Celeste. Those are just guesses. Who knows what the really are. There are more than 700 varieties of figs, some don’t fruit and some require two trees for pollination. All these figs came from single trees. That’s all I know for sure!

The first figs went into a delicious salad of field greens, walnuts, peppadew picante goat cheese, and proscuitto. I made a balsamic reduction with balsamic vinegar, honey, spicy Asian plum sauce and poured it warm over the salad. It was amazing.

We ate fresh figs everyday throughout the first days we had the figs and then Jeff made refrigerator fig jam.Chop, chop, chop. (It takes a lot of figs to make jam).

Then comes the sugar. These figs were all so sweet, we agreed that the next time we’d use less sugar, and might add some balsamic vinegar to bring out the natural sweetness of the fruit.

The house smelled great as they were bubbling in the pot. Mother Nature’s air freshener!

He didn’t can them, though he sometimes goes that extra step. This refrigerator recipe will keep for up to 3 months in the fridge. I can tell you they won’t last that long in our refrigerator.

After scooping them into the jars we shared some of them and bought some English muffins. You know what happened next.

A wonderful, fresh home garden treat, we’ll be enjoying the jam this winter as well.

There are hundreds of other recipes for fresh figs or fig jam, chutney, sauce, etc. I’m already thinking of pairing the fig jam with pork chops, among other things.

If you don’t have a fig tree in your yard, trust me — you’re missing out.

By Diana C. Kirby|2018-07-19T09:14:37-05:00July 19th, 2018|Black genoa fig, brown turkey fig, Celeste fig, fig, fruit, fruit trees, recipes, Sharing Nature's Garden, trees, Uncategorized|3 Comments

Bloggers celebrate 10th Anniversary of Garden Bloggers Fling

Wow. What a great Garden Bloggers Fling. With long-time friends and new, we laughed, we shared, we took tens of thousands of photos, and we reveled in stunning gardens and event spaces.

A whopping 92 swag bags lived at my house for 4 months – taking up space equal to about 3 queen-size beds. The Austin team, Diana Kirby, Pam Penick, Laura Wills, Jennifer Brown and Sheryl Williams, had 4 stuffing parties as swag arrived so we didn’t have as much to do at the end. (There might or might not have been some Prosecco involved.) We were blown away by the generosity of our wonderful sponsors. This room was also home to dozens of big boxes full of fabulous raffle items. From beginning to end, it felt like we were on the magical mystery tour.

A few bloggers in town early, were treated to a delightful brunch at Laura Will’s house and garden. Then, after two years of planning and prep, the Austin team began welcoming bloggers at the hotel on Thursday afternoon. Shown here – Laura Wills, Pam Penick, Diana Kirby and Sheryl Williams. Not pictured, Jennifer Brown who was clearly busy at work while we were hamming it up.

After the festivities and fajitas at the opening reception, bloggers headed up to the rooftop garden at the new Austin Public Library to enjoy a warm breeze and get a bird’s-eye view of Austin

Gardeners got to know one another and spend down time relaxing before three days of fun-filled garden tours.

Back at the hotel, the Austin team took advantage of tequila shot goodies we included in swag bags while holding the final planning meeting in Pam’s room.

The first Fling stop was at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. While bloggers photographed the wildflowers, the anxiously anticipated clouds gathered and burst forth with a real Texas gully washer. Armed with the rain ponchos from their swag bags, some continued exploring while the majority of folks spent time drying off in the Center’s gift shop.

Then everyone arrived at my house. Along with the pelting rain. I opened up all blinds so they could see the garden from inside. But most ventured outside in their ponchos, seeking some shelter on the back patio, and in the covered outdoor kitchen and cabana. The brave ones continued on to see the garden, though the rain made taking quality photos difficult.

I’m collecting photos from bloggers, because of course I was busy and didn’t have any time to take photos here. So, if you have a few good pics you’re willing to share in high res, I’d love to have them.

Sitting with friends on the bus is a great opportunity to catch up from previous flings and get to know newbie flingers.

We all took shelter with a box lunch under the revival tent at the Natural Gardener and listened to John Dromgoole, an Austin gardening icon and owner of the nursery.

The platoon of ponchos on the march at the next garden.

Color echos in the garden.

Made in the shade.

Follow the yellow brick road.

Finding the best shot.

This feet-in-the-pool shot is becoming a tradition.

A relaxing reception at Articulture provided the perfect setting for BBQ dinner, drinks and live music. We enjoyed taste testing two tequila recipes of our dear friend and Austin icon, Lucinda Hutson. Bloggers also shopped in the store and traded impressions of the gardens. Bloggers traded contact information and started setting their sights on Denver in 2018.