I moved my fountain to the edge of the covered patio this winter, to free myself from the near-daily task of cleaning out crape myrtle litter during the summer. Another upside is that now I can watch birds at the fountain from my office window.

A few days ago I spotted several cedar waxwings lined up along the rim and dipping down to drink. All that berry hunting is hard work!

I took pictures through my window (glass and screen), so they aren’t crisp. But I was happy to capture the birds’ antics without scaring them off. Cedar waxwings are sleekly beautiful birds with smooth gray feathers, black mask, yellow rump, and flicker of red on their wings.

The water cooler gang turned out to be part of a cedar waxwing convention in the backyard. I looked out the kitchen window and saw fluttering confetti swirling through the air — waxwings by the dozens, a hundred maybe! With my binoculars I could see birds landing on a tree beyond our fence and dipping into a cavity. Aha! That hollow is holding water from a recent drizzle — a natural bird bath.

It’s likely a mosquito incubator in the summer, dang it. But I’m glad to know wildlife like these visiting birds have water sources I hadn’t even known about — and high in a tree, to boot!

Come back any time, my feathered friends.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

Make plans to attend the Budding Out Plant Sale & Festival on March 18 at the John Fairey Garden in Hempstead, TX. Rare and distinctive plants will be offered, as well as art, ceramics, jewelry, food, drink, music, and other entertainment for the whole family. Members have early access and get in free. Non-member admission is $5. Children 12 and under are free.

Experience the Surreal Garden at Zilker Botanical Garden, an enchanting neon-art display throughout the gardens, with food and drink, music and dancing, surreal performers, and interactive art sculptures. Surreal costumes encouraged! 25% of event proceeds benefit the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy. Runs April 6 (VIP Night), April 7-8, and April 13-15, from 6:30 pm to 11 pm.

All material © 2023 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Thirsty cedar waxwings come in for a drink appeared first on Digging.

Garden Spark, my in-person speaker series about garden design, concludes its successful 6th season on February 23th with a presentation by acclaimed Austin designer Mark Word, principal at Word + Carr Design Group. Mark will show us how to think through and choose successful plant combos for our gardens. For a fun twist, he’s using a fantasy-baseball metaphor to talk about plant selection. Batter up!

For anyone like me, who knows little about sports, much less fantasy baseball, let me assure you the topic is simply about picking the best roster of players for your imaginary team — or in this case, the best roster of plants for your imaginary (or not so imaginary) garden.

So put on your manager cap, get your ticket, and come join us on February 23rd to learn more about plant selection from one of the top designers in Austin. Seating is very limited, and tickets can be purchased here.

You can learn more about Mark in an article I wrote about him for Garden Design.

Fantasies, Baseball, and Plant Selection

Choosing the “right” plants for your garden means looking beyond the basics of function, maintenance, and site adaptability. Sentimentality, appropriateness, culture, and neighborhood posture also come into play. Austin designer Mark Word explores the ways in which we can create successful gardens without a stats-driven approach.

Speaker Bio

Mark Word’s interest in art, graphic design, and botany has led to a 35-year career designing commercial and residential landscapes. The work of his Austin-based company, Word + Carr Design Group, is centered on place-making and is noted for its sensitivity to regional character. 

Get Tickets

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

Make plans to attend the Budding Out Plant Sale & Festival on March 18 at the John Fairey Garden in Hempstead, TX. Rare and distinctive plants will be offered, as well as art, ceramics, jewelry, food, drink, music, and other entertainment for the whole family. Members have early access and get in free. Non-member admission is $5. Children 12 and under are free.

Experience the Surreal Garden at Zilker Botanical Garden, an enchanting neon-art display throughout the gardens, with food and drink, music and dancing, surreal performers, and interactive art sculptures. Surreal costumes encouraged! 25% of event proceeds benefit the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy. Runs April 6 (VIP Night), April 7-8, and April 13-15, from 6:30 pm to 11 pm.

All material © 2023 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Learn how to choose the right plants from Austin designer Mark Word appeared first on Digging.

Austin garden lovers and designers turned out for Garden Spark on a chilly Thursday evening to hear Columbus-based designer Nick McCullough. Nick has a huge fan following across the U.S. and shared inspiring images and the stories of the gardens from his new book American Roots. I reviewed American Roots last year, so check that out if you want to know more. Plenty of Austinites do, as it turns out! And Barton Springs Nursery‘s outdoor classroom was once again the beautiful location for this Garden Spark event.

Allison, Nick’s wife, business partner, and co-author, was at Garden Spark too and joined in for the Q&A after the talk. It was so great to meet them both and hear more about the book and their design work.

Austin landscape architect Tait Moring‘s personal garden is featured in Nick and Allison’s book, so yes, you’ll see Texas in the book, as well as many other regions across the country.

Follow Nick on his popular Instagram for regular design inspiration. Big thanks to Nick and Allison for traveling to Austin for Garden Spark, and to everyone who came out for the talk!

The last Spark talk of Season 6 is coming up on February 23rd, with acclaimed Austin designer Mark Word speaking. Subscribe to Garden Spark for early access when tickets go on sale, as these events often sell out quickly. Simply click this link and ask to be added to my email list.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

Make plans to attend the Budding Out Plant Sale & Festival on March 18 at the John Fairey Garden in Hempstead, TX. Rare and distinctive plants will be offered, as well as art, ceramics, jewelry, food, drink, music, and other entertainment for the whole family. Members have early access and get in free. Non-member admission is $5. Children 12 and under are free.

Experience the Surreal Garden at Zilker Botanical Garden, an enchanting neon-art display throughout the gardens, with food and drink, music and dancing, surreal performers, and interactive art sculptures. Surreal costumes encouraged! 25% of event proceeds benefit the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy. Runs April 6 (VIP Night), April 7-8, and April 13-15, from 6:30 pm to 11 pm.

All material © 2023 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Designer Nick McCullough shares American Roots at Garden Spark appeared first on Digging.

I’m so glad Austin’s excellent Tribeza Interiors Tour is back after a 2-year pandemic hiatus. On Sunday’s tour day, I managed to see all 7 of the featured houses, plus squeeze in a picnic lunch courtesy of my touring partner, in the 5 hours allotted to the tour. Whew! Seriously, can’t they start this thing at 9 or 10 am? We need time for bathroom breaks, planners.

Anyway, let’s kick off Part 2 of my coverage (here’s Part 1) with one of my favorite homes on the tour, for don’t-care-what-anyone-else-thinks personality and beautiful finishes: a jewel-box goth home (somehow it works!) in the South Manchaca neighborhood.

Amity Worrel & Co: Richmond Avenue house

What can I say about this home, designed by Amity Worrel & Co.? It blew me away with personality (which leans toward the supernatural and eerie), color, and an extravagant use of chainstitch-design wallpaper from Austin’s own Fort Lonesome, like the foyer’s Moon Snake Rhinestone pattern. (Click to see Fort Lonesome’s stunning and Austin-tatious wallpaper line, which you can view locally at Supply Showroom.) A white orb sconce surrounded by fluttering moths hangs high on the wall, moon-like. An Egyptian bust and pair of glossy tusks greet you on a niche shelf.

Next, you enter an informal dining room just off the kitchen, with a watercolor-like table (Kooij‘s Meltingpot), rounded velvety chairs, and a long, upholstered banquette. The same Moon Snake Rhinestone wallpaper and matching fabric wraps the space in its moody hue and busy pattern. Low on the wall, bats and insects are framed like a taxidermy display.

A moon-like pendant hangs over the table, and teardrop sconces add more lunar energy.

The kitchen surprised me with spring-green cabinets (I’d expected black), white tile, and white barstools patterned with cerise flowers or leaves. Designer Amity Worrel (in black) greets tour-goers in the kitchen.

The barstool fabric repeats in the wallpaper on the living room’s lofted ceiling, pulling your eye upward. Mauve drapes and a purple rug echo the paper’s dark-pink pattern. A chandelier made (I think) of thin, flexible wood strips hangs overhead, almost like a pendant flower.

A gothic curio cabinet anchors one end of the room, flanked by green armchairs that look as if they might scuttle away on folded legs.

I love the sofa fabric and unusual color combo here — burnt orange and mauve.

Rather than end the blue wallpaper at the edge of the kitchen cabinets, the designers cut around its design and let it float under the botanical ceiling paper. Here, a wide hall with arched doorways invites you down a surprisingly long corridor through the rest of the house. I overheard the designer say this was a spec house when the owner bought it in 2021, and she immediately hired the design team to transform the blank canvas and white walls with wallpaper and personality galore.

The hallway wallpaper — Fort Lonesome‘s Dreamland in mauve — perfectly accents the arch.

Dreamland wallpaper detail

See how it looks like stitched threads? Fort Lonesome specializes in custom chainstitched designs on fabrics, clothing, pillows, etc. They also make prints of some of their designs and turn them into art posters and wallpaper.

A spiked round mirror in the hall reflects a portrait of Sylvia Plath.

Kurt Cobain hangs alongside her — tragic artist companions.

A powder bath takes a break from all the bold wallpaper. Instead, black paint and a black sink allow art and lighting to shine. A painting of Jesus hangs alongside a glowing, anatomical heart sconce — the Sacred Heart, cleverly evoked.

A goth gallery wall features Morticia Addams, Dracula, Edgar Allan Poe, a haunted house, and a hairless cat. I’d soon see a resident hairless cat giving me the stink-eye, one of several cats placidly wandering among strangers in their house.

Across the hall, a small study with black bookshelves pops when you look up to see acid-green snake wallpaper.

A sitting room that opens to the hall shows off colorful, abstract wallpaper.

The sitting room leads to an enclosed porch with pink-stained concrete floor with painted insects, spiders, and vines.

There’s the hairless cat, preparing to leap onto a purple glider with green botanical cushions.

Let’s take a quick look back the way we came. This broad hallway with custom leopard-print rug and bold wallpaper reminds me of a boutique hotel with a modern Victorian vibe.

A small black vanity in a moody sitting room leads to the primary bedroom (at left) and bath (at right).

A vintage head planter holds tulips on a diamond-paned windowsill.

The bathroom features Illuminati eye wallpaper and black trim.

Robe hook and watchful eyes

In the bedroom, black wallpaper with nude women holding hands in a circle (occult energy, methinks) combines with an inky black ceiling. A daybed by the window offers more lounging space.

Continuing down the long hall you come to a black bench and more intriguing art.

And then the media room appears, with a glossy, iridescent, hot-pink-and-purple ceiling above hunter-green walls. Ka-pow!

Furnishings include a green-and-black patterned sectional with coordinating window shades and a ouija-board marble coffee table.

At the end of the hall, two kids’ bedrooms bookend a play space with a bookshelf, rabbit art, and a play kitchen.

One of the kids’ rooms is hot pink with a tropical botanical wallpaper on the ceiling and black-and-white striped curtains.

The other features leopards frolicking on a black background.

Wolf pup portrait

The kids’ bathroom is richly colored with whimsical botanical-and-dinosaur wallpaper, purple cabinetry, and hot-pink tile in the shower.

The sink faucets are purple to match. Bright red hand towels add even more color.

Broken heart art and wallpaper detail

By the back door, at a drop zone for bags and shoes, the hairless cat was waiting for me, still as a statue, staring intently at me. Was it even real? For a moment I wasn’t sure.

Aaaah, kind of creepy! And funny!

One last peek into a wildly wallpapered laundry room, and it’s time to move on to the next house. What a wonderfully outré house this was, with no hint on its white-and-black exterior (aside from a stenciled goth design on the front walk) at what’s inside.

Kopfer Taylor Interiors: Norris Drive house

At the next house, located in the Zilker neighborhood and designed by Kopfer Taylor Interiors, I admired a pretty dining room with a glass-bird chandelier and colorful abstract painting.

A mudroom features gold wallpaper with tropical flora and fauna, framed by black cabinetry.

A peek into the backyard reveals a big cistern in a neighbor’s yard (we saw another in Part 1). Austin residents, wisely, are very into water collection. California gardening friends have told me there’s much less of this going on in their drought-stricken state, and I wonder why it hasn’t taken off there.

More fun wallpaper in a music niche with records and player, a few books…

…and prayer votives for rock-and-roll stars.

An origami bison head hangs in a stairwell.

And in a kid’s room, a rocket blasts into space on an accent wall.

Avery Cox Design: Clarksville house

The last house, in the Clarksville neighborhood, measures only 768 square feet. Decorated by Avery Cox Design for a “modern-day bachelor,” the tiny 1920s bungalow has tons of charm thanks to restored shiplap, windows, and hardwood floors and jewel-toned, clean-lined furnishings.

A velvety green banquet amazingly seats about 8 next to a moody, peacock-blue kitchen. (See the designer’s website for pics.)

Green subway tile and a marble shower make an elegant scene in the compact bathroom.

In the closet, built-in storage and a stacked washer/dryer left room for a cushioned window seat and window that allows natural light into the tight space.

The small house was absolutely jammed with tour-goers, and I quickly retreated to the charming, fenced front yard, where a display of succulents in Italian pottery made a pretty ending for the tour.

For a look back at Part 1 of my favorite scenes from the 2023 Tribeza Interiors Tour, click here.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

Make plans to attend the Budding Out Plant Sale & Festival on March 18 at the John Fairey Garden in Hempstead, TX. Rare and distinctive plants will be offered, as well as art, ceramics, jewelry, food, drink, music, and other entertainment for the whole family. Members have early access and get in free. Non-member admission is $5. Children 12 and under are free.

Experience the Surreal Garden at Zilker Botanical Garden, an enchanting neon-art display throughout the gardens, with food and drink, music and dancing, surreal performers, and interactive art sculptures. Surreal costumes encouraged! 25% of event proceeds benefit the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy. Runs April 6 (VIP Night), April 7-8, and April 13-15, from 6:30 pm to 11 pm.

All material © 2023 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post One-of-a-kind design on the 2023 Tribeza Interiors Tour, Part 2 appeared first on Digging.

The quiet season for gardening makes the perfect season to focus on interiors — and to attend Austin’s annual Tribeza Interiors Tour. After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the tour resumed last Sunday, and I was there for it. I’ll feature highlights today and tomorrow for my fellow design aficionados and those who are simply curious about what other people do with their homes.

CG&S Design-Build: A rainbow-bright Rollingwood house

One of my favorites on the tour was Genie Norris‘s exuberantly color-confident home in the Rollingwood neighborhood. Genie is a color consultant, and drew on her textile collection to spin out a sherbet-hued rainbow throughout her home.

According to Tribeza:

“CG&S Design-Build’s client Genie Norris, being a color consultant, painted the façade in bright cheery colors: Indigo, Avocado, Scarlet and Pink. Genie’s love for color started with her interest in old textiles introduced to her by her mother. And it was a specific 1970s quilt that inspired the renovation journey that she and her husband have been on for the past several years. Genie and Randy approached CG&S Design-Build to do a whole house renovation: new outdoor living and pool as well as a third story ‘crows’ nest’ to enjoy the downtown view.”

In the kitchen, a graphic artwork of watermelons echoes green cabinetry painted Sherwin Williams “Composed”.

I love a banquette and have one in my own home, so I especially enjoyed this curved version with a plush, burgundy back and fabric cushion that matches colorful, abstract Seafield wallpaper from Bluebell Gray.

In the mudroom, an old-fashioned screen door — sans screen — opens into a butler’s pantry.

A spacious sitting room off the main bedroom is inviting with seafoam-green armchairs and a large watercolor mural or wallpaper. This room overlooks…

…a deep covered porch that runs the length of the back of the house. Light wells in the porch ceiling bring sunlight into the interior of the house while the deep roof keeps the porch shaded and dry. Ceiling fans and built-in heaters, plus an outdoor fireplace, offer comfort no matter the season.

Inviting porch furnishings (Riviera Lounge Chairs by Jonathan Adler and Annie Selke‘s Bowline Navy indoor/outdoor rug) and oversized clay sconces on the fireplace wall add style. A generous sliding door erases the separation between indoors and out.

A large dining table with red Lucite chairs and a bench swing round out the seating options.

Colorful waterline tile reminded me of B. Jane’s pool tile — the inspiration, perhaps? ZigZag planters from Pieces seem to shimmy at one end of the pool.

In a side yard, two large galvanized cisterns collect and store rainwater from the roof.

At the sitting room door, I noticed this lovely tole sconce with cattails and lotus flowers.

In a nook under a staircase, a piano gets star treatment with blue paint (Sherwin Williams “Really Teal”) that arcs out on the hardwood floor, like a stage spotlight. A metal floral sconce by Sazerac Stitches illuminates this charming music niche.

A colorful staircase with risers papered in Faye Jennifer Designs peel-and-stick vinyl and spindles painted Sherwin Williams “Gypsy” brought a smile to my face.

Doors throughout the home are fearlessly painted different colors along hallways and even within one room.

Jungalow’s Aja wallpaper brings tropical pattern and color to a guest room. A quilt layers more cozy color, and bird-shaped bedside lamps add whimsy.

In a hall bath, cassette tape wallpaper (Mixed Tape by Rebel Walls) runs up the slanted ceiling, and teal-and-black penny tile spells out Journey’s lyric “Don’t stop believin’,” which I managed not to photograph. But it’s there!

In the husband’s office, a zigzagging, Missoni-inspired carpet and blue-cushioned window seat with red frame inject more fun color. A bar cart with copper mugs stands ready for making Moscow mules.

On a Murphy bed with a rising-sun painted headboard, a Chuck Norris pillow adds a humorously manly touch.

To learn more about Genie’s deliciously colorful and whimsical home, read “Rollingwood Color Masterclass on Tribeza Tour” on CG&S Design-Build’s website.

Britt Design Group: Torchy’s Tacos founder’s house

The tour featured a total of 7 private homes, including a 13,000-square-foot mansion (!) on Lake Austin owned by the founder of Torchy’s Tacos, Mike Rypka, and designed by Britt Design Group.

Rypka’s extensive art collection fills the home, including a moss installation by Articulture and a Banksy-inspired piece with neon message, “Follow your dreams.”

Artwork featuring Prince’s face…

…morphs to letters that spell “PURPLE” when viewed from one side…

…and “Purple Rain” from the other. This was one of many rock-and-roll decorating moments on the tour as a whole.

There’s a little Betty Crocker here too, in the form of retro mixers and vintage box turned into a table lamp. There was so much more I didn’t take pics of because it was a crowded first stop, and I was just taking it all in. To see more of this art-collector’s estate, read The Vibrant Home of Torchy’s Tacos Founder Mike Rypka at Austin Monthly.

Housemill Design: Tarrytown house

More serene, down-to-earth interiors were chosen for the Tarrytown home designed by Housemill Design.

Tom Petty in the office

In a teen’s bedroom, world map wallpaper makes an eye-catching accent wall.

Glynis Wood Interiors: Old Enfield house

In a 1938 home in the Old Enfield neighborhood, Glynis Wood Interiors created a cocktail room with rock-and-roll vibes via black walls and black-and-white photos of musicians and movie stars. A taxidermy zebra head adds Out of Africa style.

A wheeled, bamboo bar cart showcases the owners’ collection of tequila. In the window, a neon sign — one of many neon pieces spotted throughout the tour — spells out tequila in turquoise.

Pretty tequila bottle

I spotted my friend Lucinda Hutson‘s beautiful book Viva Tequila! (out of print but available secondhand) on the mantle.

Cute donkey painting in a hall

A rustic-elegant hall bath

Note the handmade sink.

Banana leaf wallpaper, a sunburst mirror, and more zebra print add exotic style.

The primary bedroom is serenely colored, with beachy texture and a shell mirror.

In the primary bathroom, more shells and coral are beautifully displayed in a privacy-providing wall case.

A wider view

Looking outside, you see a rectangular pool with rustic green waterline tile and a braided-river-rock ribbon in the stone coping — gorgeous details. A neon pool sign with a diving woman adds a fun accent amid palms and bamboo that got hit hard by the December deep freeze. The Bismarck palm is probably a goner, alas, but the rest should return. With woven round lights hanging from a live oak, this looks like a lovely outdoor space to enjoy at night too.

An exuberant floral wallpaper contrasts with a ceramic moose head holding trucker caps — feminine meets masculine energy? — in a guest room.

I love the green tile and deep window on one bathroom wall.

In a teen girl’s bedroom, a neon sign over the bed announces, “i woke up like this.” Cafe-style string lights run around the ceiling, creating a soft glow.

A niche by a window offers a modern-bohemian lounge space with a Moroccan pendant, black walls, graphic curtains, and textured white bedding with a few colorful accent pillows.

Lucky girl to enjoy this luxurious en suite bathroom with glossy black shower tile and scalloped gray-and-white floor tile.

A closer look at that stunning floor tile — and my bootied feet!

In Part 2 I’ll show some of the other spaces that caught my eye on the tour. Stay tuned!

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

Make plans to attend the Budding Out Plant Sale & Festival on March 18 at the John Fairey Garden in Hempstead, TX. Rare and distinctive plants will be offered, as well as art, ceramics, jewelry, food, drink, music, and other entertainment for the whole family. Members have early access and get in free. Non-member admission is $5. Children 12 and under are free.

Experience the Surreal Garden at Zilker Botanical Garden, an enchanting neon-art display throughout the gardens, with food and drink, music and dancing, surreal performers, and interactive art sculptures. Surreal costumes encouraged! 25% of event proceeds benefit the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy. Runs April 6 (VIP Night), April 7-8, and April 13-15, from 6:30 pm to 11 pm.

All material © 2023 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Color-saturated homes on 2023 Tribeza Interiors Tour, Part 1 appeared first on Digging.

I’m in love with the enchanting art of California artist Julia Lucey, who’s currently exhibiting her mixed media collages at Austin’s Wally Workman Gallery. I went to see them on Tuesday and stood enraptured before each one, watching as hidden details revealed themselves amid ravishing colors and floral exuberance.

Many of the pieces reverse the motif of a hidden predator. Lucey’s predators — coyote, otter, bobcat — look straight at you, unafraid, while their prey — rabbits, fish — circle around, partially disguised and silhouetted among leaves and flowers.

Lucey constructs her fable-like worlds by making aquatint etchings, printing them, cutting out elements by hand, and collaging them, layer upon layer.

Wildflowers, leafy trees, and wild creatures that make their homes among the flora come to curious life under her gaze.

On Lucey’s website she writes, “Some collages reference scientific articles I have read about animal behavior and ecology. In other collages, I set the animal gaze out toward the viewer in judgment. And in others, the pieces are simply about the magical feeling of being in a wild space.”

You can learn more about her work in an interview at Cultivating Place with podcaster Jennifer Jewell, recorded in 2018. There I learned that Lucey exhibits her work each January at Wally Workman Gallery.

If you’re in Austin and want to see Lucey’s works, or maybe even buy one (I would be so envious!), go soon. The exhibit ends on January 29.

What goes with art? Tacos! After the gallery visit, my companions and I drove over to Littlefield’s charming patio in Tarrytown, where we devoured delicious grilled fish tacos and migas tacos from Veracruz All Natural under a beautiful blue sky and an arbor hung with moon-like pendants. A perfect morning in the ATX.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

Make plans to attend the Budding Out Plant Sale & Festival on March 18 at the John Fairey Garden in Hempstead, TX. Rare and distinctive plants will be offered, as well as art, ceramics, jewelry, food, drink, music, and other entertainment for the whole family. Members have early access and get in free. Non-member admission is $5. Children 12 and under are free.

Experience the Surreal Garden at Zilker Botanical Garden, an enchanting neon-art display throughout the gardens, with food and drink, music and dancing, surreal performers, and interactive art sculptures. Surreal costumes encouraged! 25% of event proceeds benefit the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy. Runs April 6 (VIP Night), April 7-8, and April 13-15, from 6:30 pm to 11 pm.

The post Layers of natural beauty, predators and prey, in Julia Lucey art appeared first on Digging.

Happy 2023! I’m back from a holiday blogging break, but during the past three weeks I wasn’t just baking, wrapping presents, hanging out with family, and putting away holiday decor. I’ve been outside. A lot. Ripping things up.

In fact the cool months are my favorite season for making structural changes to the garden. This winter I decided to redo — again! — the Circle Garden. I know many readers will find this funny, but I opted to bring back the stock tank, as a planter this time.

Three years ago — three! can you believe it? — I wanted a change and dismantled my iconic stock-tank pond. The announcement nearly broke the gardening internet, at least among Digging readers. But I didn’t look back. I wanted to try something different in that space, with one eye toward creating a lower-maintenance garden. Ha! Is there such a thing?

The next iteration was more classically Southern. I echoed the existing ‘Winter Gem’ boxwood balls with an inner circle of ‘Micron’ yaupon hollies, with a focal-point whale’s tongue agave elevated in a peacock-blue pot. But it just never came together for more than a few good weeks in spring (when annuals like tall verbena bloomed) and fall (when compact perennials like purple skullcap mingled nicely with foxtail fern). For long stretches of the summer and winter, it just looked straggly and unbalanced, thanks to differing levels of sun and shade during the course of the day.

Aggravatingly too, a border of ‘Southern Star Blue’ dwarf ruellia seeded like crazy between the stone strips of the sunburst path. Despite its prolific nature, it still wilted pitifully during the hottest part of the summer. It had to go. And so did the inner circle.

What I fantasized about was a circular Corten planter bed and background arbor à la this christian_douglas_design garden in Northern California. Dreamy, right? But it wasn’t in my budget for a do-over with pricey materials and labor to make it happen. Instead my husband offered to help me with a DIY version. Which is more satisfying anyway.

Out came the shovels, and we dug up the plants, gave away some of them, and used a PotLifter (a simple hauling harness; you can find it online) to relocate the big agave pot. Then we excavated the mound of soil and moved it onto tarps around the circle. We dug until we reached the packed layer of decomposed granite that supported the old stock-tank pond.

In lieu of an expensive circle of Corten steel, I decided a galvanized stock tank would do the trick — plus it would coordinate, as the old pond tank did, with my other galvanized pots and the shed roof. My old tank was gone, so I needed another. (Three years ago, I tried to sell my old tank, but when I didn’t get any takers, I ended up giving it away. D’oh!)

I couldn’t stand to pay full price for a new 8-foot (actually measuring 7.5 feet) tank, so I scoured Facebook Marketplace for a used one. I saw lots of listings for secondhand cowboy pools, but I didn’t need or want to pay for the pump accessories, and I didn’t want a hole in the side. Eventually I found a tank about an hour away — someone had had a dream of a cowboy pool but changed their mind — and I got it for a song. We brought it home in our truck and rolled it right into place. Back in baby’s arms!

Immediately the tank gave the Circle Garden new life — and it wasn’t even planted yet. Just like the old pond tank, it makes the space live larger, it creates a substantial focal point, and it adds significant height, even at just 2 feet tall. We took turns standing in the tank, swinging our old pickaxe, and banged dozens of gaping holes in the bottom of the tank for drainage. We also removed the stopper that plugs up the tank for holding water. Good drainage is key for plants.

Once we’d made sure the tank was level on its compacted D.G. base, we shoveled the soil off the tarps and into the tank. One cubic yard filled it up about a third.

While waiting for another weekend to roll around, I dragged my rebar bottle shrub up the hill from the bottom of the garden and tipped it into the tank. It looked promising for a fun focal point.

The next Saturday, and the next, my husband picked up a load of Lightning Mix from Whittlesey Landscape Supplies. We hauled it by the wheelbarrow load downhill into the backyard and up an old sturdy metal pet ramp to dump it in the tank. I couldn’t have done it all by myself and really appreciated my husband taking on this project with me.

It took about 3.25 cubic yards, but finally the tank was full. It’ll settle over the coming months, and I plan to top it with an inch or two of decomposed granite. I cleaned the bottles and refoliated the bottle shrub, and I used leftover stone to better edge the uphill planting bed. Out came those troublesome ruellia too. I dug in yellow spider lily bulbs and purple skullcap among the golden yuccas. I hope for a good show next fall!

The variegated whale’s tongue agave put up a fight coming out of its big pot, and I had to saw off some lower leaves that got damaged. It should recover quickly this summer. My original idea for serene simplicity — the agave and a field of silver ponyfoot — may have gone out the window when I added the bottle shrub. One evening, nearly in the dark, I was out there scooping out soil by hand and burying dozens of newly divided rain lily and oxblood lily bulbs, not unlike an eager squirrel hoarding acorns for winter. Visions of spring, summer, and fall color are dancing in my head. What a joy to be back in the garden again, dreaming of the seasonal changes to come — and not sweating!

Next, the rotting side fence is getting replaced (that’s where my gardening budget had to go, alas), the metal arch will be moved somewhere else (too much going on there), and I’ll repaint the shed (maybe changing the colors). In the tank, I’m debating using sedge or shaggy zoysia as a grassy groundcover to camouflage bulb foliage and add meadowy movement. If the bulbs don’t pan out, I can always go back to the ponyfoot and agave idea. One thing is for sure: the garden is always a work in progress. And I’ve never been afraid of the shovel.

So how about you? Are you digging into any gardening projects this winter?

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

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Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2023 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Stock tank returns to the Circle Garden – as a planter! appeared first on Digging.

The week leading up to Christmas Day was a whirlwind of holiday gatherings, eating, drinking, and merry-making with friends and family, for which I’m deeply grateful. On a quieter Christmas Eve we visited the Zilker Holiday Tree, which has been lighting up Zilker Park just south of downtown Austin since 1967. The park’s Trail of Lights had ended on the 23rd, which meant the crowds were gone and so was the traffic. We easily found parking by the tree and stepped into a time warp of Old Austin — just us and a few dozen blissed-out Austinites, hatted and gloved against the cold, strolling or spinning and laughing under the colorful strings of lights.

A dizzying spin is a must-do, whether in a tight solo or in a group circle, hand-in-hand with loved ones. Ready, look up, and spin! (Turn on your volume for an appropriate Xmas tune with the video.)

My gardening friends, I wish you joy and peace this holiday season. Here’s to a 2023 with gentler temperatures, plenty of rain, and lovely green gardens to enjoy!

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

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Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Zilker Tree spin on Christmas Eve appeared first on Digging.

Each fall through winter, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center entices kids and kids at heart to explore a handful of creative “forts” built by Austin landscape architects, architects, designers, and artists. It’s called Fortlandia, and I always go see it. This year, because the Center’s arboretum has been taken over by thousands of fiber-optic lights for Bruce Munro’s Field of Light, the Fortlandia exhibition can be found in the family garden.

Chrysaline

Chrysaline by artist Jamie Spinello is my personal fave this year. Colorfully translucent windows glow within an aluminum chrysalis, with openings at front and back. I watched two little girls dart inside with squeals of glee. Fun!

Mars Base

Mars Base by Austin Design Lab was a hive of activity and seemingly the hands-down favorite among older kids. I mean, first of all, the name. Secondly, it looks like a gerbil-tube set-up for humans. What kid could resist?

Inside, small rooms are decorated with wild abandon. This one has beautiful wood cutouts of astronauts, fantastical animals, flowers, and…prickly pear?

In another room, an exuberant science-lab mural adds color.

Tree Free Fort

Landscape architecture firm Studio Balcones designed the farm-like Tree Free Fort out of bales of hay topped by a bamboo hut. Good old-fashioned fun.

There were a couple more forts that I didn’t get pics of, plus the ever-popular fort-build area, where kids can construct their own hideouts out of wooden blocks, bamboo poles, and branches. Fortlandia runs through January 29, 2023.

Wildflower Center gardens

Naturally I took a spin through the gardens while I was there. A meadow planting of gone-to-seed liatris provided a wintry but beautiful scene.

And an arching, red-berried possumhaw holly glowed red against the corrugated-steel administration buildings. Gorgeous!

Inside the gift shop — ta-da! — my books were on display, front and center! How cool is that? And yes, wouldn’t they make a terrific holiday present for some lucky gardener in your life?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Solstice to all my garden-loving friends and readers! I hope you’re staying warm and cozy, and I wish you peace and joy this holiday season.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Exploring Fortlandia’s creative hideouts appeared first on Digging.

Yesterday I introduced you to Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center, which sits along a bayou in Orange, Texas, right at the Louisiana border, and I shared a tour of the inner gardens. Today I’ll complete the tour starting at the back of the 250-acre property, where a circle of water known as Pond of the Blue Moon reflects the surrounding garden. The garden’s website explains:

“In James Hilton’s 1933 novel Lost Horizon, the mystical Shangri-La was located in the Valley of the Blue Moon. Within the modern Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, the Pond of the Blue Moon is a reflection of the original Shangri-La gardens of H.J. Lutcher Stark, inspired by Hilton’s novel. During the 1940s Mr. Stark used the reflection of blooming azaleas in Ruby Lake to provide overwhelming beauty for his visitors in springtime. In the present day Shangri La, the same effect is recreated at the Pond of the Blue Moon with many of the same varieties used by Mr. Stark.”

You’d have to come in early March to see the azaleas in bloom. I visited in early November and enjoyed subtler colors, including tinges of rusty orange in bald cypresses.

Pond of the Blue Moon and Cypress Gate

A vaguely Asian-style gate made of towering cypress trunks stands in the middle of the pond, accessible via a zigzagging boardwalk that floats across the water. This is Cypress Gate, built of cypress logs salvaged from a massive blow-down caused by Hurricane Rita in 2005.

I love this design — and that not everything has to be closed off with railings. Here, as in Japanese gardens, you must watch your step so as not to end up in the water. It’s shallow, but still.

Pretty autumnal containers greet you at turning points along the boardwalk.

Bald cypress trees grow on little islands in the pond, with water-loving grasses and other plants springing up around them to make green skirts. I read that Orange receives an average of 60 inches of rain per year — far more than Austin’s 33 inches (and sadly we’re only at 25 inches this year). I was amazed by all the water at Shangri La, not just the Blue Moon pond or Wetland Demonstration Garden (see Part 1) but also Ruby Lake, Adams Bayou, and marshy areas just off the trails. It’s a different world here along the Gulf Coast!

A curved fountain wall helps muffle traffic noise from a nearby road.

Garden rooms

Along the pathways through the garden I enjoyed coastal Texas views like ferns, live oaks, and masses of Texas dwarf palmetto.

A post with old copper bells adds a musical accent.

A shady garden path

Lots of firespike (Odontonema cuspidatum) in bloom

You know hummingbirds love these.

In a sunny border, I admired taller palms, masses of tentacle-armed foxtail ferns, and annual color in old sugar kettles.

Marigolds, croton, millet, and other showy fall annuals in a sugar kettle planter. If you’re not from the South, sugar kettles were used in the 1800s to boil down sugar cane juice, and you’ll see these rusty old vessels used as planters in many Southern gardens.

Those foxtail ferns

One more sugar kettle planter

Sunlight shining through the trees

An early camellia in bloom

Water management is a big thing at Shangri La. Our guide Jennifer Buckner, the garden’s director of horticulture, told me that rills like this one, thick with water-loving plants, move water from one part of the garden to another. I can’t recall if this is part of the water-cleansing system or for irrigation, but it was interesting.

Water canna (Thalia geniculata) with its paddle-like leaves and delicate flowers dangling from fishing-pole stems

Native Gulf muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) in cotton-candy flower

Scarecrow Festival

The garden’s annual Scarecrow Festival had just ended, and volunteers were taking down the displays. The townsfolk really get into creating “scarecrows” and we saw some fun ones, like this Thanksgiving turkey made out of air conditioner and fan parts.

A skeleton scarecrow with Dia de los Muertos energy

An Edward Scissorhands scarecrow and pumpkin lady sitting for a haircut

And here’s a giant bird scarecrow — a crow to scare crows? — made out of palmetto fronds by students at Nederland High School. Bravo!

Ruby Lake bird blind

A bird blind on 15-acre Ruby Lake provides an opportunity to watch anhingas drying their wings after diving for fish. Shangri La, like other parts of southern Texas, is a great place for bird watching, especially between March and May, when birds like herons, great egrets, roseate spoonbills, and wood ducks may be seen nesting or passing through.

And alligators! I spotted this big boy or girl lounging on a sun deck in the middle of the lake.

People in gator country are pretty blasé about them, and Jennifer was too when I asked her, at the start of our tour, if alligators are found in the garden’s waterways. I was excited to see one.

Jennifer told us that during the saltwater inundation from Hurricane Ike in 2008, a lot of bald cypresses in the lake died, reducing habitat. The garden has brought in tons of soil to create a berm extending out into the lake and plans to replant trees on it, giving them a little boost above the water level.

One more look at the anhingas

Nature Discovery Center

Our last stop was the Nature Discovery Center, a screened-in pavilion in Shangri La’s cypress-tupelo swamp adjacent to Adams Bayou.

Inside you find a table displaying bones, alligator skulls, turtle shells, and other natural objects to handle and explore. Screened windows all around offer views of the swamp.

Although it’s currently not operating, the garden also offers an hour-long boat excursion through the swampy bayou called the Outpost Tour. I’d love to do this one day.

If you missed Part 1 of my Shangri La tour, click here. From there you can follow links, starting at the bottom of that post, back to all the gardens and nature hikes during our road trip from Austin to Asheville and back. I hope you’ve enjoyed traveling with me!

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Pond of the Blue Moon and bird- and gator-watching at Shangri La Botanical Gardens appeared first on Digging.

Sleeping Beauty has nothing on Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. Located in the small town of Orange, Texas, just across the Sabine River from Louisiana, Shangri La’s very existence is in some ways as fantastical as the fairy tale about a princess hexed into a 100-year sleep and reawakened by a kiss.

A romantic vision first brought the garden to life. In 1937, Orange native H.J. Lutcher Stark, heir to a Texas timber fortune, began making “his own haven of indescribable beauty where time would stand still” along Adams Bayou. For 9 years Stark worked on his gardens, eventually opening his personal eden to the public. By the early 1950s, thousands of people visited the gardens each spring to see his colorful azaleas in bloom.

A freak snowstorm blanketed subtropical Zone 9 Orange in the late ’50s. Stark’s garden froze badly, and apparently so did his gardening spirit. He closed Shangri-La to the public, and it lay nearly dormant for 50 years.

After Stark’s death in 1965, his wife, Nelda, bequeathed the property to the Nelda C. and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, which still holds it and finances the garden — handsomely, I assume, since the 250-acre gardens and natural areas are well maintained and admission is free. Five decades after that devastating winter storm, the Stark Foundation began planning the garden’s reawakening. It declared that Shangri La should be the “greenest project in Texas” and hired Lake Flato Architects, MESA Design Group, and Carbo Landscape Architecture to reinvent the gardens, adding a nature center focusing on the wetlands and bayou.

Just as construction began in 2005, Hurricane Rita slammed into Orange, “level[ing] much of Shangri La’s upland forests and historic garden areas…resulting in the loss of more than 50,000 trees.” The design teams forged on and took advantage of fallen trees by incorporating them into the garden’s new structures. The new Shangri La triumphantly opened in March 2008. Six months later, Hurricane Ike inundated the gardens with saltwater, destroying many plants. Shangri La managed to reopen the following spring, when it also received Platinum LEED certification, the highest ranking for green construction.

The hurricanes keep coming, however. In 2017 Harvey flooded the gardens with 2 to 3 feet of rainwater and damaged buildings so badly that Shangri La closed for a year for repairs. But the gardens and staff are amazingly resilient. Shangri La today is a place of beauty with ornamental gardens, native plants, wetland gardens, a nature center for school groups, and a large bird blind for viewing anhingas, cormorants, spoonbills, egrets, herons, and other waterbirds. It’s a remarkable resource for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

I’d heard about Shangri La for years, but Orange is 4-1/2 hours east of Austin — about halfway to New Orleans. Although we’ve driven to NOLA several times, we’d never stopped in Orange. But in early November we did, adding a day to our road trip home from Asheville so we could visit the garden.

Jennifer Buckner, Shangri La’s director of horticulture, generously took time out of her busy day to give us a guided tour. The fall Scarecrow Festival had just ended, and volunteers were dismantling scarecrow displays. I took pics of a few of them throughout the gardens (coming up in Part 2).

Visitor Center Courtyard

Enough of Shangri La’s history, undaunted though it is. Let’s tour! The Visitor Center buildings wrap around a sunny courtyard with deep perennial beds. The low buildings have that distinctive Lake Flato look — rustic contemporary, with generous shaded breezeways and rain chains to direct rainwater off the roof.

This giant Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus penduliflorus), a sprawling species with dangling, chunky red flowers, caught my eye. Can it grow in Austin, I wonder?

A gravel courtyard with cafe seating takes advantage of a young live oak’s shade and overlooks the unique Wetland Demonstration Garden, which I’ll come back to.

Children’s Garden

Let’s explore the Children’s Garden. A cedar arbor marks the entrance, but a grove of whimsical bottle trees is what you notice first.

Dancing Sisters by artist Stephanie Dwyer is made of 4 steel trees with 400 light-catching cobalt bottles for leaves. It replaced the garden’s original bottle trees made of reclaimed red cedar, which deteriorated in the heat and humidity after only a few years.

Purple martin houses march through the children’s vegetable garden. Colorful sails add shade, essential in any Texas garden.

The vegetable garden

Long cedar arbors draped with vines provide more shade…

…and frame views.

Greenhouses

A handsome 1917 Lord and Burnham greenhouse holds the garden’s epiphyte collection.

Inside, a serpentine path leads you through orchids and bromeliads, mosses and ferns.

Purple and white orchids frame a border of eggplant-hued bromeliads.

I love these curly tillandsias spiraling out of a holey rock.

Outside, between greenhouses, autumnal containers accent the boardwalk.

One more

There are also two exhibition greenhouses, one that serves as a classroom and this one for displaying tropicals. The pools help moderate temperatures inside the greenhouse.

Rangoon creeper (Combretum indicum)

Bleeding heart vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae)

Wetland Demonstration Garden

The most unique feature at Shangri La may be the Wetland Demonstration Garden. A series of rectangular ponds filled with native wetland plants makes up a biofiltration system that cleans nearby Ruby Pond.

Thousands of nesting birds in Ruby Pond create a lot of bird poop, and the pond became polluted. So ditches were dug from the lake to the wetland garden to circulate dirty lake water through the plants.

“Plants naturally growing in freshwater wetlands,” according to the garden’s website, “have the remarkable ability to remove pollutants in animal and human waste as well as trap and absorb chemical pollutants and toxic metals. Once water has been filtered by native plants, it is once again clean enough to support wildlife…As the water flows through the first three ponds, plants filter out pollutants from bird excrement and allow suspended materials to settle. In the last pond in this garden, extra oxygen is pumped into the water. Then the water is returned to Ruby Lake.”

Pretty cool! So is the dangling, rick-rack flower of water canna, aka alligator flag (Thalia geniculata), one of the wetland plants.

A steel runnel transports recirculating water from the wetland garden to the pond.

A slatted, vine-covered arch marks the transition from the wetland garden to the main gardens.

Tree Ring Plaza

You emerge through the arch into Tree Ring Plaza, where lighter-colored paving strips evoke the growth rings of a tree. A pair of oval waterlily ponds, framed by towering bald cypresses hung with streamers of Spanish moss, draws you forward.

The two ponds were built in 1955 for Stark’s original garden. The cobblestones edging them are from Dunkirk, France, and were used as ballast for ships bound for the U.S.

Waterlilies still blooming in early November

Ruby Lake

Behind the lily ponds, a curved boardwalk arcs over Ruby Lake, where thousands of resident and migratory birds take up residence throughout the year.

Bald cypress anchors itself in the marshy soil with flared buttresses.

We spotted anhingas and cormorants drying their wings on a snag in the lake.

Trailing Spanish moss in the live oaks adds a certain romance to the watery scene. Stark would be pleased, I think.

Up next: Part 2 of my visit to Shangri La, including perennial gardens, the bird blind, an alligator, and Pond of the Blue Moon. For a look back at our visit to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, click here.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Shangri La Botanical Gardens, a garden fairy tale appeared first on Digging.

During our November road trip from Asheville to Austin, we stopped in Montgomery, Alabama, to visit the remarkable National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The open-air pavilion dedicated to 4,000+ Black victims of lynching wraps a hilltop overlooking downtown Montgomery, near where Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, is still honored with a statue in front of the state capitol building. I’d read about the memorial, which opened in 2018, in the New York Times, which declared, “There is nothing like it in the country. Which is the point.”

The memorial is somber and incredibly powerful, and it reminded me in its monolithic, inscribed simplicity of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It demands of visitors a clear-eyed reckoning with an era of vigilante racial terror in our country during the period from 1877 to 1950.

Those seven decades when lynchings terrorized Black Americans are only a portion of the terrible legacy of slavery in the U.S., which we its citizens continue to grapple with today. It’s fitting that the memorial is located in Montgomery, where the Confederacy inaugurated its president and where, 100 years later, Martin Luther King, Jr. led the march for voting rights from Selma.

Why build — or visit — a memorial that reminds us of evils that humans visit upon other humans? The Equal Justice Initiative — the Montgomery-based nonprofit organization that created the memorial — explains:

“EJI believes that publicly confronting the truth about our history is the first step towards recovery and reconciliation.

A history of racial injustice must be acknowledged, and mass atrocities and abuse must be recognized and remembered, before a society can recover from mass violence. Public commemoration plays a significant role in prompting community-wide reconciliation.

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice provides a sacred space for truth-telling and reflection about racial terrorism and its legacy.”

The memorial structure consists of a square, open-air pavilion displaying 800 Corten steel slabs — one for each U.S. county where a documented lynching took place. Inscribed on each slab, under the county and state, are the names of murdered individuals and the dates of their deaths.

Just that. Names of men, women, and children. When they were killed. And where. The upright monuments resemble cemetery headstones as you enter the memorial. I’d bet that most visitors search out the counties where they’ve lived, as I did. I grew up in Greenwood, South Carolina, and was aghast to find its county’s slab engraved top to bottom with 15 names. Two women are memorialized, as are nine people lynched during a week-long vigilante massacre in November 1898 known as the Phoenix Election Riot.

As you walk among the monuments, the floor begins to slope downward. The steel slabs remain at the original level, suspended from metal poles. The effect is that the 6-foot-tall blocks look as if they are being hoisted. Lights set in boxes on the floor illuminate the slabs after dark.

As you descend into the memorial, the monuments hang overhead. To read the names, you’re forced to look up, in an echo of the postures of the bloodthirsty perpetrators, gawking witnesses, and traumatized bereaved.

The monuments line up like an orderly forest. Their inscribed names provide a sense of the magnitude of this harrowing history. On the walls, plaques tonelessly detail some of the alleged offenses for which Black victims were killed, including “suing the white man who killed his cow” and “using inappropriate language with a white woman.” One person was lynched by association, “by a mob searching for her brother.”

Facing up to our nation’s history of lynching is emotionally difficult. But the victims — silenced without due process, justice, or sometimes even the dignity of being named in public records — deserve remembrance.

A dedication on one wall reads:

For the hanged and beaten.

For the shot, drowned, and burned.

For the tortured, tormented, and terrorized.

For those abandoned by the rule of law.

We will remember.

With hope because hopelessness is the enemy of justice.

With courage because peace requires bravery.

With persistence because justice is a constant struggle.

With faith because we shall overcome.

In the center, in what’s called Memorial Square — an evocation of the public squares and courthouse lawns where justice was subverted and victims terrorized — you’re surrounded by the names on their monuments.

Outside the memorial building, lined up like coffins, lie duplicates of the engraved monuments, one for each county. The Equal Justice Initiative hopes that representatives from each county will claim their marker, bringing it home to memorialize local lynching victims and “foster meaningful dialogue about race and justice.”

Visitors can judge for themselves, based on which monuments have been claimed and which have not, whether progress in acknowledging racial terror is being made.

The 6-acre memorial site also displays several works of sculpture, including Raise Up by Hank Willis Thomas. Ten bronze figures immobilized in concrete, with arms raised, are lined up as if facing gun barrels and shouts of “Hands where I can see them!”

A couple of blocks away, The Legacy Museum — an accompanying project to the memorial — offers another challenging but eye-opening experience for visitors. Visitors are not allowed to take photos inside the museum, but it’s a richly visual and sensory journey through the exhibits.

A Maya Angelou quote on the museum’s exterior offers a gleam of hope for us all: “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” If you have an opportunity to visit Montgomery, be courageous and go see it.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

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By the time I hang red Christmas balls from the agave’s spines, the Japanese maple finally blushes red too. Fall comes late to Central Texas, but I’ll take it, even at Christmastime.

Last week was peak color for the Acer palmatum. Today, shriveled tan leaves cling to the branches. But it was lovely while it lasted.

In the side garden, fall color is absent, but I’m pleased with how the Mexican feathergrass has filled out around the agave pillar and ‘Baby Gem’ boxwoods. Society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) is doing OK too — there are a few lavender flowers — although during this hellish summer it didn’t fill out as much as I’d hoped. Maybe next year!

At twilight, the string lights along the fence come on automatically, illuminating the side path.

That’s an ‘Opal’ American agave in the dish planter.

Out front, Wheeler’s sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri) is a spiny, blue-green starburst. I’m grateful that deer don’t antler these during the fall rut, like they do with small trees, agaves, prickly pear, giant hesperaloes, and certain yuccas (ugh, deer). I didn’t cage my giant hesperaloes this fall — I just got tired of the caging — and they now lie smashed flat courtesy of Bambi. I’ll be removing them soon. My deer-resistant plant palette shrinks every year, but I still have more variety than most in my neighborhood. Gotta keep trying things!

Our mellow weather this week is patio weather. Today the high is 81F. Still no freeze yet in my garden.

Mexican mint marigold (Tagetes lucida) and ‘Amistad’ salvia make a pretty combo alongside a potted ‘Moonglow’ mangave. Purple oxalis (Oxalis triangularis) in a turquoise pot continues the color scheme by the sofa.

A native pepper, chile pequin (Capsicum annuum), is Christmas-colored alongside a silvery whale’s tongue agave — a Moby pup! — and silver ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea).

In the lower garden, the little Mexican plum (Prunus mexicana) catches my eye with leaves turning butternut-yellow.

More yellows glow around the Circle Garden, including Eve’s necklace (Styphnolobium affine) in back, forsythia sage (Salvia madrensis), and ‘Color Guard’ yucca.

The bouncing balls are ‘Winter Gem’ boxwood, with ‘Micron’ dwarf yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria ‘Micron’) around the center ring.

But the golden star right now is the ‘Wonderful’ pomegranate. It’s still not quite at peak color. I love it against the steel-blues of the Yucca rostrata and ‘Blue Ice’ Arizona cypress.

A wider view — and look how freaking tall that yucca has gotten!

A view across the Circle Garden, with the pomegranate and forsythia sage stepping up for fall.

My forsythia sage pouted after this blistering summer. I sympathize! It normally starts flowering around Halloween or early November. But this year it didn’t flower in earnest until early December.

I’m grateful for no freeze yet to nip it in the bud.

The moonlight-yellow variegation on the whale’s tongue agave echoes the pomegranate’s fall splendor.

Along the deck, Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha) adds velvety purple.

The bees were going after it.

A rogue fall flower on the ice plant (Delosperma cooperi)

And a cute little anole hanging out on a ‘Frazzle Dazzle’ dyckia — spiky!

Inside I’ve still been enjoying fall vibes, but Christmas decorations are going up this week. It’s time to let the pumpkins and mums go.

Anyone else vacillating between fall and winter?

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

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Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Enjoying fall color and a mellow garden appeared first on Digging.

I’ve always loved the thrillingly high and scenic views from the cracked tower of stone known as Chimney Rock, 25 miles southeast of Asheville, North Carolina. I came here many times as a kid and young adult when I lived in the Carolinas. Privately owned and managed as a tourist attraction until 2007, today this beautiful place is part of Chimney Rock State Park. We made time to see it again and explore its trails during our stay in Asheville at the end of October and early November.

The fall color was just past peak but still good on the day we visited. My husband climbed the steep stairs from the parking area to the top of the chimney. Behind the rock, a thigh-burning trail climbs even higher, allowing you to look down on Chimney Rock. I’ve climbed all those stairs before — most recently in 2011 — but was happy this time to take the elevator that delivers you to a scenic overlook, where you can then climb the final stairs to the top of the rock.

Views for miles! That’s Lake Lure in the distance.

Fall color, blue skies, and the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Let’s climb the stairs to the top of the rock.

Those who climb from the parking area come up the stairs on the left.

A couple of trees somehow have a toehold up here on the rock.

Looking over the rail at an exposed section of the stairs below, and Chimney Rock Village far below that.

Looking up, you see where Exclamation Point Trail continues up the cliff via a tower of winding stairs.

Sandwiched between massive layers of rock is the Opera Box — look for the white railing — which offers stunning views. Above Exclamation Point is the Skyline Trail, which runs along the clifftop. My husband did that one too while I hung out on Chimney Rock.

Afterward we descended some 400 steps on the Outcroppings Trail to reach a spacious picnic deck that hugs the side of the cliff. (Here’s the trail map for orientation.) Looking up from here you see the lip of Chimney Rock above.

After lunch we walked down another long flight of steps to the Hickory Nut Falls Trail, which leads through a hardwood forest to Hickory Nut Falls. The trees glowed gold and rusty red along this trail.

Stairs, stairs, and more stairs. Near the base of the falls, we climbed another short flight to a small overlook. The approximately 350-foot horsetail waterfall is dramatic from a distance but not really from this angle…

…nor from the base of the falls, since the biggest drop is out of view above. Still, it’s a nice hike and refreshing to feel water misting around the pool at the base of the cliff. My husband took this photo and shared it with me, since I neglected to take a photo here.

We spotted this beautiful blushing tree on our way out of the park.

Afterward we drove to Lake House Restaurant (formerly Larkin’s) on Lake Lure for a tasty dinner and lake views.

That wraps up my posts about our Asheville stay, but I’ll be sharing two destinations from our road trip home. Next up: A somber visit to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. For a look back at North Carolina Arboretum’s gardens and bonsai collection, click here.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Chimney Rock thrills with a-Lure-ing views appeared first on Digging.

A couple of years ago British gardening TV personality Monty Don made a 3-part series about U.S. gardens to answer the question, “What is an American garden?” Turns out, it’s an impossible question to answer satisfactorily in a country that spans a continent, 13 hardiness zones, and climates ranging from temperate forests to subtropical plains to desert to mountain to foggy coast to…well, you get the idea. Plus he focused largely on estate gardens maintained by dozens or more staff gardeners.

A much better take on the American garden can be found in new book American Roots: Lessons and Inspiration from the Designers Reimagining Our Home Gardens by Nick McCullough, Allison McCullough, and Teresa Woodard. Nick and Allison are a husband-and-wife team who operate a landscape design company and nursery in Columbus, Ohio. Nick curated the featured gardens and took most of the photographs in the book, Allison designed it, and Teresa wrote the text. Their partnership resulted in an excellent book with eye-candy pics and engaging stories about the gardens and gardeners who created them.

There are 4 things I love about this book. One, it includes 20 gardens from across the continental U.S., not just gardens along the coasts — my perennial complaint about many gardening books. Two, it features the personal gardens of designers or other garden creatives. Seeing what designers create for their own homes, where they feel freer to experiment and test plants and also make a personal space that reflects their own taste, offers up lessons in good design and livability. Three: top-notch photos (and lots of them) and writing. Four, the featured gardens are, every one, interesting, beautiful, and worthy of inclusion. There’s diversity in regional style and plant choices, and a strong sense of place is evident.

The book is organized into broad regions: Midwest, East Coast, South, and West. I love that “flyover country” (I hate that pejorative, but garden publications so often overlook the vast midsection of the U.S.) comes first! It’s also Nick and Allison’s home region, and their own stunning garden starts things off. If you appreciate elegant floral harmonies plus bold containers featuring foliage plants, all organized within contemporary straight lines and English-style hedges — a style they dub Midwest Modern — you’ll love their garden. Follow Nick on Instagram for frequent glimpses of it.

I was delighted to see that Austin’s own Tait Moring, whose Texas-native, ruggedly contemporary garden I’ve had the pleasure of photographing many times, is featured in the book’s South chapter. The above photo is from his garden.

Each featured garden is given a lengthy spread — 12 to 14 pages — of photos and text, which really gives you a feel for it. Since a garden is a reflection of the gardener, each person is given space to share their background and influences, how their garden originated and how they use it.

The final two pages in each garden’s spread is called “Learn from [Gardener’s Name]” and includes their favorite plants and design tips specific to their interests, for example “Inviting Spaces for Entertaining,” “Thrifty Garden Secrets,” and “Rock Hounding Tricks.” It’s a nice touch, giving the reader a lesson to take away from each garden.

If you love garden design and seeing what contemporary designers are doing in their own gardens across the U.S., I highly recommend this book.

ALSO: I’m excited to announce that authors Nick and Allison McCullough will be in Austin on January 26th for a Garden Spark talk about the book! Join my email list today (the link is below in Digging Deeper) to be notified first when tickets go on sale in early January. Nick is an engaging and entertaining speaker, and you won’t want to miss his presentation and the chance to meet him and Allison.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

Disclosure: Timber Press sent me a copy of American Roots, and I reviewed it at my own discretion and without any compensation. This post, as with everything at Digging, is my personal opinion.

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Read This: American Roots appeared first on Digging.

Located in Asheville on the doorstep of the Blue Ridge Parkway, with views of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, the North Carolina Arboretum draws hikers, mountain bikers, and trail walkers thanks to 10 miles of wooded, hilly, dog-friendly trails. But garden lovers like myself find plenty to enjoy too in the Arboretum’s 65 acres of cultivated gardens — even if that visit occurs in early November after several hard freezes.

We visited on our last day in Asheville and found bright berries, textural grasses, copper hedges, golden trees, and camellias in bloom, plus one of the best bonsai exhibits I’ve seen.

Located within Pisgah National Forest, on land that was once part of Biltmore Estate, the Arboretum honors landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Biltmore’s gardens, with a bronze statue.

A pleached hedge in coppery fall color frames the small plaza where he stands.

At the edge of a pond, pitcher plants stood tall in throaty, speckled beauty. I really love these. Has anyone grown pitcher plants in a container in Central Texas? What’s required to keep them happy, I wonder? I mean, besides wet feet.

Stillness Meets Trajectory, a heron sculpture by Annie Mariano, perches on a stacked-stone gabion plinth.

A Hedge Against Extinction by Martin Webster will always remind me of Asheville Fling back in 2012, thanks to its appearance on the Fling button.

Camellias in fluffy, white flower against a backdrop of orangey red foliage

And disco balls hanging from tree branches!

Bronze statue Oh Great Spirit by Nell Banister Scruggs stands amid tawny grasses on a walled terrace overlooking the mountains.

Late-flowering perennials were still in bloom, even in early November.

Others had gone to seed but still looked pretty backlit by the sun.

Bonsai

My favorite part of the Arboretum is the Bonsai Exhibition Garden. I’ve been intrigued by bonsai for years, though I’ve never acquired one or tried to make my own. The Arboretum’s striking display was stunning enough that I had a mad few moments of wondering what I’d been doing with my life, not to be working with bonsai. And then I considered where I live, and our extremely hot and droughty summers, and realized I’d be chained to a watering can. Nope. I’ll content myself with marveling over the bonsai creations of others.

A fascinating article about an American apprentice to a Japanese bonsai master, “The Beautiful, Brutal World of Bonsai,” by Robert Moor, recently appeared in the New Yorker. “When you look at a traditional bonsai tree,” it says, “you can climb into it with your eyes and feel the peace of a late-summer afternoon, or the bright chill of a morning sea breeze.”

Climbing into it with your eyes — yes, that’s right. You experience these miniaturized trees as if you are miniaturized yourself, as if you could sit under one and reach up to caress its gnarled branches. That these trees naturally grow tall in a garden setting or in the wild makes the experience of viewing one all the more magical. How do they do it?

The secret to making a dwarfed tree that looks like a full-sized tree sculpted by wind and weather lies in starting with a seedling tree or woody plant, confining its roots in a shallow container, and carefully pruning its roots and foliage over the years as it grows. Oh and also wrapping its branches with copper wire to shape the tree to your vision.

Bonsai is grown outdoors and often displayed so as to be viewed from one side, with a wall or screen behind it.

A pocked gray concrete wall at the Arboretum shows off the bonsai nicely, especially this golden tamarack.

A bald cypress bonsai magically evokes the towering majesty of an old bald cypress in nature, complete with buttressed root flares.

I enjoyed seeing the bonsai collection in autumn, when leaves of deciduous trees were turning red or yellow and dropping onto carpets of moss.

Evergreen pines, gracefully twisted, are equally lovely though.

Some of the bonsai have titles, like works of art.

Others don’t. But they are works of art too.

A Japanese maple bonsai at peak autumn color

The real Mount Mitchell, located in North Carolina, is the highest peak in the Appalachians. This bonsai “Mount Mitchell” consists of dwarf white spruce, rhododendron, red creeping thyme, wooly yarrow, and loosestrife — all miniaturized. It evokes the spirit of a place.

American hornbeam bonsai

“40-Acre Rock” displays a ‘Shimpaku’ juniper and boxwood in a depression atop a rounded, oblong boulder. This one isn’t easily moved!

I wasn’t familiar with bonsai accent plants, but several appear in the Arboretum’s display, like this clay saucer cupping a single sedge with moss.

Another consists of a narrow clump of inland sea oats underplanted with moss.

Seeing bonsai so beautifully displayed at the Arboretum was a highlight for me. A backdrop of golden leaves and mountain views made it even more special.

Up next: Hiking at vertiginous Chimney Rock. For a look back at fall foliage and black bears along the Blue Ridge Parkway and in Great Smoky Mountains, click here.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Bewitching bonsai, art, and autumn gardens at North Carolina Arboretum appeared first on Digging.

On Halloween, we sought the warm colors of autumn — pumpkin orange, harvest gold, bonfire red — along the Blue Ridge Parkway and in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the North Carolina-Tennessee border. And we found them too, despite the lateness of the leaf-peeping season, in a year when the trees turned early. In this mountainous region, the fall foliage season starts high on the mountaintops and then colorizes the slopes and eventually the valleys. We found plenty of color to make us glad we’d come.

Chimney Tops

Chimney Tops in Tennessee was especially beautiful with black-trunked trees, gold and orange leaves, and a craggy, notched mountain of weathered stone.

One graceful, sinuous tree reminded me of a Japanese calligrapher’s brushstroke.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Cruising along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we stopped at numerous overlooks for views like this: a glowing, golden valley against rumpled mountain flanks.

Clouds catching on distant mountaintops at Thomas Divide Overlook

Appropriate Halloween colors

Red and orange

And more

And more! I drank it up, knowing that fall color (such as it is) wouldn’t arrive in Austin until around Thanksgiving — now, in fact.

Red foliage with cloud wisps

Wild turkeys on the Blue Ridge

One particularly beautiful stretch of golden trees demanded we pull over for pictures.

A golden wood

A flock of turkeys decided to cross the road, and drivers politely stopped for them.

Safely across

Gorgeous!

Cades Cove

That afternoon we made our way to Cades Cove, a picturesque valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Native Americans lived in Cades Cove for thousands of years, before being pushed out. In the early 1800s, families of Anglo settlers arrived to farm and built the log cabins, primitive churches, a mill, and other structures that remain standing today. Their numbers grew, and 700 people resided in Cades Cove by 1900. Just 30 years later, however, most of them had accepted buyouts for their land when the national park was established.

Today the valley is managed as a historic district, and earlier management practices of grazing and haying, to maintain the open fields, are being phased out, according to the Cades Cove Tour brochure. Prescribed fire keeps the meadows free of shrubs and trees and aids in the re-establishment of native plants.

An 11-mile, one-way road loops through the valley, which visitors can drive, walk, or bike. Cades Cove is reportedly one of the most visited areas of the park, but visitors were few on this chilly, drizzly afternoon.

We drove past quiet, tawny meadows in happy solitude. Whenever we did see a line of cars stopped on the side of the road, we quickly learned that meant that a bear had been spotted.

Like this furry fellow, lounging high in a tree. See him?

Here’s a wider view.

Methodists in the cove were outnumbered by Baptists, as the brochure tells it, but they managed to establish a church. This one, built in 1902, replaced an earlier log church.

Out back, a cemetery quietly memorializes the cove Methodists.

The departed are not forgotten. Some of the gravestones were adorned with flowers.

Others with coins and flags.

Peaceful, but also a little haunted, perhaps, on this Halloween afternoon?

A quick look inside

One of the log cabins along the loop road. This one belonged to George Washington “Carter” Shields, who fought for the Union in the Civil War.

The human history of Cades Cove is interesting, but seeing a bear in the wild is far more so, at least for me. We saw 4 black bears this day, surpassing my expectations. Later, when we mentioned our bear sightings to Asheville residents, we usually got a smile and something like this: “Oh yeah, we get bears in our yard all the time.” OK, so bears for Ashevillians are equivalent to deer for me — no-big-deal garden visitors who can be rather pesky.

But they sure do like to decorate with bears here!

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

The post Golden trees and black bears in Great Smoky Mountains and Cades Cove appeared first on Digging.

I’d hoped to hear the bugle of bull elk during our road trip through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but those eerie, whistling autumnal calls elude me yet. Still, I can’t complain about the elk viewing in the scenic Cataloochee Valley of North Carolina, about an hour west of Asheville. We arrived at twilight on October 29th, bumping down a rugged, twisting road to reach the valley, knowing it would be dark on the way out and wondering if it would be worth the careful navigation of a narrow mountain road at night.

Oh, it sure was.

As soon as we reached the valley we saw an enormous bull elk vigilantly watching a herd of cows. We pulled over to the side of the road to watch him.

There were only a half-dozen or so other cars at that hour, with people watching quietly from their windows or standing behind their cars. The bull picked his way across a meadow, keeping pace with the cows.

One cow emerged from a creek in the woods on the other side of the road and thought about coming across.

The bull decided he needed to round her up, and she turned back.

Why did the elk cross the road? During the rut, he’s got one thing on his mind: the ladies.

He surveys the scene.

And then he lifted his muzzle and charged at her. No bugle, but he made other noises.

She responded by taking off running.

At first everything seemed pretty laid-back.

Another female looked on from across a swale.

Then suddenly the bull was flat-out giving chase.

Only for a moment. As she galloped across the swale he pulled up.

Leap!

He watched her go.

Thinking about things

Then he followed her across the swale…

…and lurked, watching the two cows. We waited a while longer, hoping for a bugle, but eventually we lost the light, and a chill settled over the valley. We headed home, our heads filled with visions of these majestic animals.

Elk are native to the Smokies, but they were hunted out of existence here more than a hundred years ago. In 2001, 25 elk were reintroduced to the park. Another 27 were released the following year. Today the elk population has rebounded to around 200 animals.

Up next: An autumn drive through Great Smoky Mountains and Cades Cove, where we saw bears and turkeys. For a look back at the gardens of Biltmore House, click here.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Elk watching in Cataloochee Valley appeared first on Digging.

A chilly drizzle on Friday couldn’t keep me from seeing Waterloo Greenway’s Creek Show, an “annual display of illuminated art” along the banks of downtown Austin’s Waller Creek.

I go every year with family or friends to explore the creative light sculptures. Last year’s Creek Show abandoned the creek in favor of the conveniences of Waterloo Park. But this year it was back along the low-lying creek (where monsters lie in wait?), with vendors and live music set up in the park for pre- or post-show fun.

Portal Potty

Portal Potty by Salmo Gunn is the installation I most wanted to see. A row of porta-potties that whisks you off to another dimension? As long as there are no leaks, I’ll go. Here’s the official description:

“Like an urban wardrobe to Narnia, inside this magical corridor of porta potties is a seamless tunnel of disco lights and whimsy. Interior walls and all fixtures of the Portal Potties have been removed, creating a hallway illuminated by twinkling LED strips and panels, with an exit in the back that is not visible to outside viewers. Silhouettes of those who enter seem to disappear at the end of the tunnel, creating the illusion that entrants have been magically transported into Creek Show 2022. This installation is a smile and a wink to look past the surface of things and to find beauty in unexpected places.”

Entering at the “hidden” entrance in back.

Slip on a pair of 3-D glasses, and the magical portal is revealed. Away we go, into Creek Show!

Dream Pants

Next up is Dream Pants by Bade-Schaffer:

“In that twilight time between awake and asleep, I became aware of a flickering dream. Down along the banks of a forgotten creek, strange apparitions were calling to me. Pants, just pants, frolicked about. They laughed and whispered, ‘Hey, check it out!’ They glowed with the light of a promise to tell, that soon this place will be happy and well. Thanks dream pants for sharing your secret! I’m so delighted! (I don’t think I can keep it.)”

Black light-illuminated pants sit on benches, playing guitar and listening. Note the pants in the background with actual people in them. Were they part of the installation? We weren’t sure.

Other pants are climbing down to the creek and wading or sitting on the bank.

A family of pants lounges on a blanket with plates of food (HoHos?) spread out before them.

And a pink pair of mom jeans pushes a baby stroller with a tiny pair of pants lying inside. Dream Pants was zany enough to become a surprise hit with our group.

NeonCity

Under a bridge we found NeonCity by AIA Austin, a pleasing, neon-colored representation of Austin’s skyline:

“NeonCity is an abstract representation of Austin’s downtown skyline on Waller Creek. The exhibition portrays the city’s colorful and vibrant energy that can be appreciated across Lady Bird Lake, watching the lights of downtown and its reflection in the water. As the city expands, these building blocks represent the growth and potential opportunities as Austin becomes an ever-evolving city that creates opportunities for more people to come together as a community.”

Enter the Dragonfly

Enter the Dragonfly by Odonata wowed me with giant, colorful dragonflies that seem to swoop and dive above the creek.

Here’s the official description:

“Enter the Dragonfly envisions the ecological restoration and transformation of Waller Creek as a healthy habitat for a diversity of native life. Dragonflies are one of the oldest and most reliable indicator species of a thriving and stable aquatic ecosystem.

Enter the Dragonfly consists of larger-than-life metal dragonflies hovering above the creek waters, their reflections glowing beneath them. Using scale and light, the sculptures visually bring attention to the critical relationship between urban and natural environments while inspiring curiosity, excitement, and thoughtful engagement from the viewer with Waterloo Greenway’s mission.”

Changing colors…

Sirius

Next up is Sirius by National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) of Central Texas:

To be marginalized in America
is to be a star on the face of midnight.
We constantly have to rise above everything
and shine our brightest
When it’s dark outside. – Rudy Francisco

“Sirius is a visual translation of the poem Margin by African-American spoken word poet Rudy Francisco. Francisco’s oeuvre confronts issues of race and politics, and in Margin, he expresses the diminishing feelings of marginalization through the beauty of celestial imagery. While emphasizing a star’s solidarity and comparing it to social exclusion, he challenges us to ‘shine our brightest’ as an exemplar for social change.

Through a natural meander drawn from Waller Creek, NOMA’s Sirius breaks down the rigidity of the bridge’s infrastructure and guides users through a collection of star-laden vessels – a visual representation of the beauty and strength of marginalized communities. When we come together we shine brighter through the darkness.”

Luna

Luna by Austin Foundation for Architecture seems designed to look like drainage pipes in a stone wall under a bridge. A mirror and lights hanging on the wall create the illusion.

“The dance between the moon and Earth’s bodies of water is one as old as time itself. From influencing tides along our seacoasts, to regulating precipitation feeding our inland rivers, invisible forces are at work right before our eyes. LUNA seeks to illuminate the invisible bonds between our environment and each other. With its mirrored materiality, the installation serves as a symbol for diversity and equity, while encouraging reflection on the idea that we all contribute to the future of our urban fabric. The infinity effect of the lights and the mirror creates a place for everyone and alludes to the endless possibilities we all represent to our city of Austin.”

Inventories

Environmental commentary is a popular theme at Creek Show each year, and Inventories by Lawrence Group fills that space this year:

“Joseph Jones, late UT Professor and champion of Waller Creek, would spend his lunch hour walking the creek where it passed through campus, keeping an ‘inventory’ of things seen and found – flora and fauna, along with beer cups and plastic bags – acknowledging the signs of human presence amidst the abundant natural beauty. For our installation, we are channeling our inner Joseph Jones and collecting hundreds of used plastic bottles directly from the creek and from other local sources, coating the inside with luminescent paint, and arranging them geometrically just above the surface of the water. We will then shine UV light across the tops to transform them into a field of glowing objects – a bright ‘inventory’ of trash – highlighting the human contribution to the story of this wonderful ‘cretaceous limestone gutter.'”

Good-Vibrations

Good-Vibrations by Studio 5-1-2 ended up being my favorite installation, for sheer disco ball and stalactite sparkle alone.

“GOOD-VIBRATIONS is a celebration of the hidden landscapes that run beneath our feet and continue to shape our urban environment by bringing them to the surface. Inspired by stalagmite and stalactite formations within caves, this installation drips and oozes over Waller Creek to recreate a cavernous experience. Forms are covered with mirror pieces and spotlighted to scatter light in the spirit of a disco, set to the echoing sounds of dripping water and chirping bats (with some remixes in-between). We encourage attendees to celebrate subterranean landscapes with GOOD-VIBRATIONS by immersing themselves in an experience that employs lighting and sound to highlight rich interactions and the dance of life’s organisms.”

Illuminated bats swoop under the bridge, as their chirps echo through the mirror-ball cave.

Waterloo Park

If you want to attend Creek Show, there’s one night remaining in the 10-day run. Free advance reservations are recommended to be sure of getting in, so go sign up now, as spots are limited. The organizers have had to cancel a few evenings because of rain, so that could happen. But if the Creek Monster allows, it’s a fun show to experience.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

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Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Exploring Portal Potty and more at Creek Show 2022 appeared first on Digging.

During our visit to Asheville, North Carolina, earlier this month, we spent one day at Biltmore House — but not to see the castle-like chateau erected by the New York-based Vanderbilts as their summer place. We’ve toured the house before, and it’s interesting, but I didn’t feel the need to see it again. However, the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed gardens and park-like estate? Those I could visit weekly.

The house sits high above the gardens, and elegant stone stairs and terraces shaded by old wisteria vines lead you down.

The “backyard” in late-autumn hues

The house and its terraces overlook the aptly named Blue Ridge Mountains.

We passed through the Italian Garden, where lily and papyrus ponds shine in warmer seasons but were largely dormant after several hard freezes. When we reached the long wisteria terrace overlooking the Shrub Garden, we paused to enjoy the view.

Many deciduous trees and shrubs at Biltmore were still holding onto rich color in early November. Japanese maples were clothed in smoldering red.

Amsonia (my most-coveted plant from the gardens) in pumpkin spice.

Another Japanese maple, nearly bare, allowed us to appreciate its gnarled and waterfall-like form.

A maroon Japanese maple frames a view of the big house.

Along with the maples, Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica) was beautifully colored and still held its leaves. It stood out throughout the gardens.

Garlic chives’ seedheads make ghostly parasols.

Pretty foliage

Tea viburnum (Viburnum setigerum) with rich red leaves and berries

This weeping blue Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca pendula’) is one of my favorite trees at Biltmore. Look how it arches over the path — a shaggy creature with stretching tentacles.

A white camellia in bloom

Back to the blazing colors of fall!

More!

And more!

Walled Garden

Stepping into the formal Walled Garden, we found gardeners forking up fall bedding annuals and making good progress. Gah! I’m glad I didn’t miss the autumn display in all its Crayola intensity.

I like how the orange chrysanthemums play off the orange trim of the conservatory. The purple and orange mums may have been going mushy from multiple freezes but still looked garden worthy to my eye. However, Christmas decorations were going up, and I imagine mini Christmas trees, ornamental cabbages, and pansies in place of mums and salvias by now.

Actually here are some pansies already. And will these conical shrubs serve as the mini Christmas trees? I need someone from Asheville to report.

But on this early November day, it was still autumn for a few hours longer.

Along the edges of the Walled Garden, bedding annuals give way to borders of small trees, shrubs, perennials, and grasses. Look at these gorgeous, orange-berried trees.

Actually this whole bed wowed me with its fall color and diaphanous grasses.

Love!

Another look at those berries from a different angle

Upright grasses and annual castor bean

Another striking combo, which we can easily replicate here in Texas: beautyberry, Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha), and softleaf yucca. Beautyberry prefers afternoon shade in our climate, of course. A vine-covered arch frames the yuccas nicely.

Artichoke with a matrix of euphorbia and dwarf pink grass

Golden shrubs complement the orange-tiled wall and roof of the gardener’s cottage.

Behind the cottage we found another Persian ironwood, with a sign declaring this one the N.C. State Champion Tree.

After touring the conservatory and doing a little shopping below it at A Gardener’s Place gift shop, we headed back up through the Shrub Garden, where this beautyberry and hydrangea combo stopped me in my tracks. Shazam!

It’s so good.

Even better with the red, orange, and gold foliage of surrounding trees.

Biking at Biltmore

Until this trip, the house, garden, and park-like entrance road were all I’d ever seen of Biltmore. This time we decided to bike around the estate. So we popped over to the Bike Barn in Antler Hill Village and rented electric bikes for two hours. I hadn’t been on a bike in years, but as they say, you never forget. Still, shifting gears and the power assist on an electric bike was new to me, and it took a little practice to get the hang of it. You can really cruise along flat trails, and when you change gears properly and adjust your power, climbing even steep hills is like magic. Which is good because there are some real hills at Biltmore.

A romantic view of Biltmore House across a misty pond called the Lagoon.

Off the paved trail and onto gravel

When I spotted a wall of towering bamboo with a doorway, I swung around and pedaled inside. It’s a circular glade of bamboo!

We pedaled around it a few times and then back out on the trail.

The trees were beautiful in their late-fall finery, both gold…

…and red.

A resting place at the top of a park-like hill

Overlook of the Bass Pond and its arching bridge

Heading back I enjoyed this view of the French Broad River and the Blue Ridge beyond.

What a beautiful place, and a great way to experience the larger estate at Biltmore.

The Approach Road

As we got back in our car and exited along Biltmore’s winding approach road, I remembered a long-ago school field trip here when I was about 13. (I grew up two hours south of Asheville, in Upstate South Carolina.) A Biltmore guide had boarded our bus as we arrived to tell us about the grounds.

Olmsted shaped and planted the picturesque open woodland along the 3-mile entrance road, she told us. I was dumbfounded. I’d been gazing through the windows at what I’d thought was pure nature, only somehow more beautiful, and was awed to realize that it was designed to look that way. The scale of that, and the vision!

It was my introduction to the power of landscape architecture, that sometimes invisible hand.

It’s interesting what sticks in your mind from a field trip of four decades ago.

I have a long history with Biltmore and its gardens. Seeing it again was like visiting an old friend.

Gardens are like that.

Up next: A scenic drive through the Smoky Mountains and Cade’s Cove, where we saw bears and elk. For a look back at fall foliage, falls, and food in and around Asheville, click here.

I welcome your comments. Please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading in an email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. And hey, did someone forward this email to you, and you want to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered directly to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about garden design from the experts at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, and authors 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. You can find this year’s speaker lineup here.

All material © 2022 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The post Autumn gardens and biking at Biltmore House appeared first on Digging.