xeric plants Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

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

Tuscan transformation…

It’s really quite an honor when a former landscaping client calls us back to design again at a new home. Several clients have entrusted us with repeat projects, including our current installation.

Located on a large ranch in the Hill Country, this Tuscan farmhouse begged for a fresh landscape to match the grandeur of this beautiful home.

I was first struck by the way the existing split rail fence seemed to detract from the view of the home. The entrance to the front door came in from a tight, side angle, the existing path gray and worn limestone. As I walked the front of the property, inside and outside the fence, the existing beds appeared tiny and out of scale. I realized that the front of the home, with it’s fairytale front door, roofline and window detail was lost to visitors coming up the walk from the side so close to the house.

As I explored further back, two large oaks caught my eye and I envisioned a new entrance, winding through the oaks and arriving at the front door straight on, giving guests an opportunity to experience the stateliness of the home.

With the cornerstone of the design determined, the rest of the plan fell into place.

We moved the new fence back a full 40 feet from the house, tore up the existing path and front stoop and build a mortared Oklahoma flagstone path that meandered from the driveway to the entrance. New, deeper beds enveloped the front of the home on both sides, anchored by a series of ‘tiny tower’ cypress trees and traditional xeric, Mediterranean-style native and adapted plants.

You can see where the old stone path came out and the new, albeit muddy, flagstone path meandering through the trees.

Having redesigned a landscape with these clients before, I knew their taste well, so choosing plants they would love was easy. We did leave the existing mature Crape Myrtle in the new landscape. The beds include a mix of rich red Salvia Greggii and Texas Betonies along with Zexmenia, Jerusalem sage, dwarf Greek Myrtles, ‘sandankwa’ Viburnum, Foxtail ferns, Dianella, Catmint, ‘new gold’ and variegated gold Lantana, ‘soft caress’ Mahonia, yellow shrimp plant and an existing Sago palm. The blend of texture and form gives the design a lush feel with many traditional Texas plants.

The project is ongoing – we’ve moved onto the back of the property now, building stone beds around the pool and creating a rose garden. More photos to come as we progress, though it may take a while with rain forecast for the next 7 days.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:55-06:00May 30th, 2016|cypress trees, Dianella, flagstone, landscape design, landscape project, Mediterranean, path, Sharing Nature's Garden, stone work, Tuscan, xeric plants|0 Comments

Beautiful xeric fall bloomer freshens a tired late summer garden…

A profusion of blooms have popped up on my Lindheimer’s Senna, Senna lindheimeriana, in my wild bed outside of the bakc fence. This is deer country, and the velvety leaves of this plant are usually not nibbbled by the deer passing through. This shrub-like perennial is native and grows 3-6 feet.

Glory hallelujah, it likes dry soil, sun or part shade and grows wild in rocky limestone areas all over of Texas. The birds and bees love it, too

I brought this one home as a small starter plant a year or two ago and this year it rewarded me with a growth spurt and tons of blooms. It blooms in late summer, so it’s a welcome sight when some plants are tired and it comes into bloom to perk up the garden in August through October.

This pretty xeric plant is a perfect addition to a hot, dry Central Texas garden.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:39:29-05:00September 8th, 2013|Blog, deer resistant, fall, fall color, Lindheimer senna, Senna, Sharing Nature's Garden, xeric, xeric plants|0 Comments

Landscape drought damage requires long lens on camera…

With the worst drought in Texas history and 80 days with temperatures over 100, plants and people and pets are struggling this summer.

It’s 10 degrees cooler here today — 92 instead of 102 — and we have gusting wind cooling things down as well. Sadly, there are a half dozen wildfires in the Central Teas area around us. We’re safe for now, but 500+ people have lost their homes — burned down to the ground, 2 people have died, and today’s winds are spreading the fires ever further. 25,000 acres have burned. This is the back side of Katia. Instead of the rain we so desperately need that is flooding thousands of other people, we got wildfires. We’re praying for everyone in the path of these terrible fires.

While we are safe from the fires, we are at the mercy of the drought. But with a LOT of hand watering to supplement because we are under water restrictions, the garden looks o.k. overall. The secret? The long shot!

My mother-in-law was visiting two weeks ago and wanted some photos of our house and the gardens. I took lots of long shots, and realized as I looked at them that I rarely post photos like that. And it’s one of my great disappointments when reading other garden blogs — I really want to check out the big picture.

So here are photos of everything in the garden — showing of the bright and colorful and much too far away to see the dead and dying plants.

Come take a stroll around the garden with me…

These plants in the front bed are highly xeric and doing pretty well considering they were planted this spring and have endured this drought while trying to get established. There are dying narrow leafed Zinnias and Euryops and adwarf yaupon holly, but you can’t see them from here.

Yellow Esperanza (Yellow Bells) on the right are native to Mexico and very hardy. They are used to the heat.

The veggie garden needs protection from bunnies and our dogs, hence the fence INSIDE the other fence that keeps the deer out!

This is along the path in our woods that leads to the fenced back yard. This is where we feed birds and water the deer, squirrels, foxes, bunnies and mice! With this drought, we have 3 birdbaths and countless little bowls scattered around to provide constant drinking water for anything that needs it. With less blooms, hummingbirds really need our feeders this year, too.

The play scape, the cutting garden, the greenhouse and the xeric rock path.

The back corner of the yard got a few new plants this summer along with an old, worn out bistro table and chairs and a stunning Filamentosa yucca for a focal point. Even rusty metal furniture looks good from far enough away!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:20-06:00September 5th, 2011|Blog, cutting garden, drought, drought damage, esperanza, front bed, greenhouse, landscape project, long lens, new bed, pathway, Sharing Nature's Garden, water restrictions, xeric, xeric plants|0 Comments

xeric plants

Contemporary, xeric garden showcased at Garden Bloggers Fling

Tuscan transformation…

Beautiful xeric fall bloomer freshens a tired late summer garden…

Landscape drought damage requires long lens on camera…

Escape in the garden