May 19, 2025
My eyes have been trained on the trees lately, as I scan for our screech owl family at all hours. But the garden catches my eye too as it transitions to early summer flowering. Here are a few recent photos from garden amblings. That’s purple skullcap in the driveway bed, looking mighty fine.
And soap aloe with its towering, candelabra flowers by the pool.
Peanut cactus (Echinopsis chamaecereus) is pumping out nuclear-orange flowers.
Ka-pow! I’ve shared pieces of this with several friends lately, and theirs are all blooming too.
More orange on a leaning mammillaria cactus
Oxalis with pale-lilac flowers and dark purple leaves
A new pink Jerusalem sage (exciting!), gifted to me by Willy at Green Sleeves Nursery, put out a single pink flower this spring.
Gopher plant in a steel bowl has beautifully gone to seed…
…somewhat resembling hydrangea blossoms.
In a hanging planter, ‘Coppertone’ sedum is sunset-hued alongside turquoise ‘Bloodspot’ mangave.
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Digging Deeper
My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, is available for pre-order at Amazon and other online book sellers. It’ll be released on October 14th, and while that’s several months away, pre-orders are tremendously helpful in getting my book noticed by readers and reviewers. Please consider pre-ordering if you’d like to read it this fall; more info here. Thank you for your support!
Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Read all about the Season 8 lineup here!
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