wisteria Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

Dazzling color in the spring garden…

We all love the spring garden — the awakening of plants that herald the arrival of spring and provide a foreshadowing of more to come.

As the sun shifts in the sky and the breezes begin to warm up, I’m enjoying some rejuvenating time in the garden.

I bought these sweet glass daffodils to bring a pop of color into the garden before the daffodils were ready to open up.

The ‘Kate Izzard’ irises are loaded up and several of them are opening every day. You can tell that I should have divided them last fall, which I fully intended to do, but I seriously need to do that this fall.

Just gorgeous.

Even though traditional tulips aren’t in our Central Texas plant palette, these species tulips, cluisana ‘Lady Jane’ are sweet substitutes in my garden.

This little patch of phlox disappears entirely in the head of summer, but I can count on it to emerge in spring with loads of little blooms.

My cemetery irises are also popping open all over the garden. Our winter clearly made the irises happy.

Bluebonnets are covering my decomposed granite path, and even Kallie’s playground filled with pea gravel. Fletcher enjoys a peaceful moment with them here.

While most of the buds on my monster wisteria were frozen in our last freeze, there are still some opening up and draping delicately from the fence.

And then there is the homestead verbena. What a powerhouse. In the cooler spring and fall, they thrive and liven up any spot in the garden. They will shrivel and look poor in the heat of summer, but just shade your eyes and pretend not to see them until they return again in the fall. Even though many of our bloomers start now and run through the fall, homestead verbena is well worth it’s little summer break.

Now that the threat of freezing is past (I have my fingers crossed as I type this), it’s time to fill in the rest of the garden with new and exciting plants that will herald the summer.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:38:53-05:00March 29th, 2015|Blog, bluebonnet, daffodils, Fletcher, garden art, hideous bed, homestead verbena, iris, iris 'Kate Izzard', phlox, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring, spring bloomers, tulipa clusiana, verbena, wisteria|0 Comments

Old-world patina of New Orleans style captured in inviting Houston tour garden…

Last weekend, my friend and fellow blogger, Pam Penick, traveled to Houston for the Garden Conservancy’s Open Day’s Tour. This was probably my favorite house on the tour.

Located in the posh River Oaks, the New Orleans-style theme of the home was carried throughout the multi-layered gardens surrounding it. The old brick, wrought iron and garden charm of plants typically found in old gardens really appealed to me.

Not only was the wisteria cascading down the front balcony beautiful, its heady scent helped to set the mood for the tour visitors.

This garden incorporated many different garden elements of style. There were several areas with cottage-style layering like this front bed.

Houston gets much more rain than we do here in Austin. While tour volunteers told us that they’d had temperatures down to 20* this winter, the gardens sure didn’t show it. Most of them were filled with stunning azaleas, one of the hallmarks of the tour, but we also saw gorgeous delphiniums in many of the gardens. Tall and majestic, and blue — they stood tall and proud — like exclamation points.

As ubiquitous as the azaleas, the sweet smell of citrus greeted us in almost every garden. Lush with blooms or fruit, they made me long for a more tropical climate — and an orange or a lime or a kumquat!

An amazing pool was the centerpiece of the back yard. With its palms, negative edge and geometric shape, it provided a different aesthetic in this part of the garden.

Several interesting statues and works of art were nestled around the grounds, like this camel carrying an obelisk.

This rhino was tucked into a far corner of the garden, down a long, winding path. He seemed oddly out of place to me, but perhaps he represents something special to the owners. That’s one of the joys of gardening – creating a space that reflects your personality and style, but also creating a space that is intentional and has meaning. So, I decided to embrace the rhino.

And then across the grounds, another area with that French quarter feel – the foliage covered brick wall and the dark iron fountain as a focal point from afar.

There weren’t as many people on the tour when we started – we’re always tour-eager early birds. These two volunteers had finished their work at another tour site and sat down to chat when they arrived to see this garden. It certainly was the kind of peaceful garden that invited you to sit and admire it.

On the side lawn, another vine-laden fence — this one serving as the backdrop for a piece of sculpture. The garden was so inviting, even the sculpture felt welcome to lounge on the grass.

Another view of the fountain – beautifully crafted space with layers of color, texture and contrast.

This is the view from the sculpture side of the garden across the pool – looking into an enclosed pavillion-like space for entertaining.

The garden was also filled with several lush, plant-lined paths, leading mysteriously to another garden nook.

Behind the wall and fountain is another treat — a more elaborately-designed space.

This aged king of the jungle was guarding the area – his mossy patina as inviting and interesting as the walls he was protecting.

A closer look at the fountain on the other side and its little orange occupants, who all seemed to be very happy with their home in this beautiful garden.

Back through another secret pathway, lined again with a mix of plants — including this striking and sculptural agave. It seemed to lure visitors in, while at the same time warning them not to get too close.

This bucking horse seemed to be ready to romp around the garden.

I love the look for old New Orleans gardens, with their old, mossy brick courtyards, fountains and wrought iron. Although this estate was huge, it was designed with inviting spaces and elements that gave it a more personal and intimate feel.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:11-06:00April 1st, 2014|Agave, agaves, Blog, fountain, garden art, Garden Conservancy 2014, garden tour, garden tour 2014, goldfish, Houston, New Orleans, paths, pool, sculpture, Sharing Nature's Garden, wisteria|0 Comments

Rocky, no soil spot? No Problem!

After several years of trying various vines along a fence, the light bulb finally went off in my head. There is a sizable section of fence on the back corner of our driveway, and I really wanted to cover it in beautiful blooms. I have grown morning glories, white potato vine, Mexican flame vine, passion vine, and star jasmine. Some lasted longer than others. The passion vines were decimated by caterpillars almost as soon as I planted them. Others vines just struggled in the hot, rocky, dry bed.

This bed is shallow, and below a few layers of amended soil you will find nasty caliche and rock. No amount of building it up helped, and even then the soil would often wash away. I have been known to keep beating my head against the gardening wall, but I finally got tired of losing.

Then it came to me — I needed a container to fill with good soil. A BIG container. I was motivated by a stunning evergreen wisteria that I just had to have. (It’s not a wisteria at all, it’s millettia reticulata, but that’s one of its common names.)

This was my motivation:

Isn’t this the most amazing bloom?

So, off I went to Tractor Supply in Dripping Springs to get myself a small, 2x2x4 stock tank. Add a few cans of Rustoleum hammered-metal spray paint and I went to town.

I didn’t think the silver would work in that bed, and this is a great color that I’ve used on countless pots, home fixtures and other items when I was flipping houses.

I should mention, in the interest of full disclosure, that the spray paint mist did give my feet and toenails a nice tan that required nail polish remover to take off.

Removed the pathetic jasmine vine and smoothed out the tank’s new home.

There – that looks nice.

Last night, with my dear husband’s help, the wisteria, Natural Gardener garden soil, decomposed granite and Native Texas Hardwood Mulch all went into the tank.

All ready for the rains forecast for this weekend. Didn’t want to miss that opportunity.

The Amistad salvias in front of the tank will have to find a new home this fall — with a little less sun. They struggled there this summer. I haven’t decided yet what will join the bright edge yuccas in that spot. Any ideas? Magenta vine, yellow and lime yuccas, yellow cassias — on the other side is a desert willow. It’s a hot, dry and rocky bed. But I want a hot color to play off the yuccas.

Now we wait for the next bloom on the wisteria!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:39:29-05:00October 11th, 2013|Blog, bright edge yucca, Cassia, evergreen wisteria, millettia reticulata, Sharing Nature's Garden, stock tank, vine, wisteria|0 Comments

Garden resolutions 2013

I’ve long given up New Year’s Resolutions — but I do make some to-do lists. If I call them to-do lists, I seem to get around to them better!

This year I have a long garden to-do list. Perhaps committing it to eternal, world-wide view on my blog will help me check things off my list!

So, here goes:

1. Plant more trees outside the back fence in front of scrubby cedars. I love this smoke tree and planted one for a client this fall, wishing all the while that I had one to enjoy.

2. Have an a corner arbor build to showcase my tangerine cross vine and my wisteria. The cross vine winds along the fence and then climbs 20 feet up into a tree where I can’t see it. The wisteria spends most of its time hanging out on the opposite side of the fence — hiding from me — to be closer to the morning sun. A tall arbor would give them both plenty of room to keep growing — growing where I can enjoy them!

3. Replace the pride of Barbados that I lost over the last two winters. I love the explosion of color these trees bring in the late summer and I’ve missed mine. I vow to find some great hot spots for them to thrive.

4. I will buy more bigger starter plants this year. I’ve bemoaned the fact that my newer plants struggled to come back from harsh winters and scalding summers. Some years they even came back smaller than when I planted them! When I can, I want to invest in more established plants.

5. With too much on my plate, blogging and scrapbooking have waited in the wings too much this year. I love those creative outlets and want to give myself more opportunities for gathering inspiration from them.

6. Divide, divide, divide. I have irises, bi-color irises and lilies that really need dividing. In fact, they needed dividing this fall. This will be the year of dividing, replanting and sharing.

7. Prune, prune, prune. My cottage garden, cutting garden and hot southwest garden all suffered from overgrown-itis this year. Yes, the plants were all beautiful, but I know that pruned properly they would have complemented each other and showcased their individual characteristics better.

8. This year I will plant my bulbs before January … oh, wait … that means today! Yikes – better go find them and get to planting!

9. I WILL make homemade pesto from my basil “trees” this year. I say that every year when my basil gets out of hand — I mean stunning — but this year I really mean it.

10. And last, well, there never is a last, but I plan to dig up most of this and rebuild the dry creek with moss rock and other, larger stones. The recycled glass will come out and I will raise up the bed to help plants thrive there. With very little soil and a berm to avoid soil on the fence, the plants don’t get enough water and the soil just isn’t deep enough. The solution — protect the fence from rotting by putting hardy board against it and rock in the front to add good soil.

That’s the list — for now. As with everything in gardening – it’s organic and will change a thousand times over the next year. But it’s a good start and I feel good about making decisions to tackle some of my current and perpetual problems.

Guess we’ll see where I end up this time next year.

What’s on your garden resolution list for 2013?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:15-06:00December 30th, 2012|2013, basil, Blog, blogging, bulbs, cross vine, dividing, dry creek, pesto, planning, Pride of Barbados, projects, pruning, resolutions, scrapbooking, Sharing Nature's Garden, smoke tree, to do, trees, wisteria|0 Comments

Early bloomers are putting on a show in the spring garden

Even though it’s only March, it’s already spring here in Central Texas.

After our exceptionally mild winter and welcome rains, the early bloomers are already hard at work in my garden.

In addition to the daffodils I included in my last post, many of the other perennials are already flowering.

This loropetalum is bursting with hot pink fringe-like blooms.

It’s the one I’ve pruned to become a small tree.

These pretty little blooms below called to me at the Natural Gardener last week.

And as soon as I started typing, the name flew out of my head! I’m sure you know just what they are – they aren’t mums, they might be gaillardia.

The wisteria is starting to bloom. Like last year, there is some growth on the back side of the fence, but there are plenty of buds for me to enjoy inside the fence.
I love looking at the Mexican plum tree buds against the pretty blue sky.
The stone wall makes a nice backdrop for the trailing lavender lantana behind the pool.
The hellebores would have preferred a colder winter, but some of them are giving me some blooms — this is ‘winter’s wren.’
The strawberries are blooming their ever-loving heads off! Soon we will be able to eat more than one ripe one at a time. I long for the day when we get a small bowl full.
My absolute favorite low-grower is ‘homestead’ verbena. That bright purple color is just stunning.
All of my blackfoot daisies are back again from last year. You just can’t beat these little guys for drought tolerance.
The alyssum is mounding up all over along the rock path already.

‘May night’ salvia can do great in the garden here, but my luck with them has been hit and miss. I love their low-growing form, but they are hard to get established.
Kallie’s window box is full of little pretties that I got last weekend at the Natural Gardener.
After some slacking last year, many of my irises are showing off for the first time. I don’t know the name of the purple or the white iris, though I believe the white one may be a pass along from Pam of Digging or Annie of The Transplantable Rose.

As always, Fletcher wanted to know what I was doing in the garden with that camera around my neck, so he had to come check out the salvia, too! I’m sure he thought there must be something edible in there!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:19-06:00March 4th, 2012|alyssum, blackfoot daisies, Blog, Fletcher, Hellebore, iris, irises, Lantana, loropetalum, May night salvia, Mexican Plum, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring, spring bloomers, strawberries, verbena, winter's wren hellebore, wisteria|0 Comments

Searching for garden delights…

This is a breath-taking spring display.

I love the combination of lavender and coral. This Crossvine is intertwined with the Wisteria as they meet by the corner of the fence.

Sadly, I don’t get to see this view.

I was admiring the Crossvine this week, and bemoaning the fact that the freeze had taken my Wisteria. But wait, isn’t that one solitary Wisteria bud I see?

Hmmmm–I see a blur of lavender through the crack in the wooden fence. Hmmmm…something is fishy here.

I trek out of the back yard and into the wild area outside of out fence (which no one can see, by the way).

What did I find? This. This amazing display of color and texture and wild beauty growing with abandon outside of my watchful eyes!
Short view as I got closer.
And what I see from the front corner of the fence if I walk off the property.
This is my view from the house and inside the back fence. It’s quite lovely, the Crossvine all by itself. And most of it is high — at least 20 feet into the nearby oak tree — which means I don’t really readily see it unless I crane my neck up.
I’m glad that at least the Crossvine has decided to stick around and bloom for me.
Even if this is all I can see of the elusive Wisteria!