March 11, 2025
Last week a sold-out crowd gathered for the latest Garden Spark talk, which featured Danny Bravens, owner/designer at Native Son Gardens. Danny gave a fascinating presentation about his process for creating self-sustaining meadow gardens and xeriscape (waterwise) landscapes in Central Texas.
Danny specializes in ecological landscape design featuring native plants, and his goal is earth-friendly gardens that do not require regular watering once established. Maybe not any watering. His native meadows go through periods of flowering and dormancy, like natural landscapes, and rely on supportive communities of plants that grow together in nature.
Leaf Landscape Supply provided a warm welcome and a beautiful venue for Garden Spark at their north location on Pond Springs Road. Go check them out if you haven’t shopped at Leaf before. They’re open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. They also have a south location on Hwy. 290 West.
Thank you to Danny, Leaf, and everyone who came out for Danny’s talk! What a great community of thinking gardeners we have here!
Next Garden Spark talk
My next Garden Spark talk is on sale now and features Lisa Negri of the incredible SummerHome Garden in Denver, which is getting rave write-ups all over the place. I’m thrilled that Lisa is coming to Austin to speak to us about her visionary garden on Thursday, April 10th, at 7:30 pm.
I met Lisa last fall and was bowled over by SummerHome’s waterwise beauty (check out my photos here and here). And I was impressed by Lisa’s dogged determination to make what could have been a private oasis into a public pocket park for her neighborhood and city. SummerHome shows visitors the value of native plants and gardening for pollinators, and it provides a place of serenity and escape amid our tumultuous world.
If you’re in the Austin area, I hope you’ll come out to learn, be inspired, and enjoy an evening of community with Garden Spark. Tickets may be purchased online now. Advance purchase is required, and seating is limited. The talk will be held at Leaf Landscape Supply’s North location.
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Digging Deeper
Attend the annual Budding Out Plant Sale & Festival on March 15th at the John Fairey Garden in Hempstead. Shop for rare plants from the garden’s nursery and select plant vendors. Local artists and artisans as well as food, drink, and demonstrations will also be featured. Admission: $5 for members, $10 for non-members, children under 12 free. Hours: 10 am to 4 pm; members get early admission at 9 am (memberships available on day of event).
Tour 5 unique Houston gardens on Saturday, April 26, from 10 am to 4 pm, during the Garden Conservancy’s Open Day Tour for Houston. Tickets must be purchased online in advance through the Garden Conservancy.
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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