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Feet up at Caddo Lake, plus mosaic car art – 2026-03-04 03:52:38
Exploring Saw Mill Pond at Caddo Lake State Park, downtown Jefferson, and mosaic art cars in Uncertain, Texas.… car art”>Read More
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For my final post about Caddo in East Texas, let’s head to Caddo Lake State Park.
Saw Mill Pond
We visited Caddo in mid-November to see the bald cypresses in rusty orange fall regalia. One afternoon we drove to Caddo Lake State Park for an easy hike, picnic lunch, and boardwalk stroll at Saw Mill Pond.
Prior visitors had etched their names onto a metal post, their rusty scrawls echoing the orange cypresses.
Canoeists threaded through bottle-trunked cypresses in the pond.
Where else but Caddo can you paddle through a forest?
Jefferson
Another day we visited the small town of Jefferson, about 20 minutes away, to explore and have lunch.
We poked around downtown and admired its New Orleans-esque architecture.
VW car
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On the air and on the road for Gardens of Texas this spring – 2026-03-04 03:52:37
Longing for spring? Need an entertaining garden talk to bridge the gap? Check out my upcoming talks about gorgeous and WARM Texas gardens!… Read More
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Is everyone enjoying winter so far?? Are you longing for spring and a new gardening season? Need an entertaining garden talk to bridge the gap and inspire your own gardening dreams?
Then check out my upcoming talks about gorgeous, inspiring, and — above all — warm Texas gardens! I’ve lined up a bunch of new events for spring, both online and in person, and I’d love for you to join me. I’ll be sharing stories of resilient, creative Texas gardens and their garden makers, plus practical take-home ideas — all featured in my new book, Gardens of Texas.
Upcoming Events
Feb. 4 – Live webinar for the with-pam-penick/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Northwest Horticultural Society, a gardening organization in the Pacific Northwest, but open to viewers anywhere! 6:30-8:00 pm (PST) / 8:30-10:00 pm (CST). with-pam-penick/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Register here. And if you can’t catch the live Zoom, a recording will be available to registrants for 3 weeks after the event.
Feb. 18 – Meet the Author event at Rice University in Houston and live on Zoom, 6-8 pm. This is a hybrid event: when registering, you can choose to participate in person or through Zoom. In this conversation-style discussion, I’ll talk about my background at Rice, how I became a writer, and how my new book, Gardens of Texas, came about. After the discussion, in-person attendees are invited to a reception with heavy appetizers and drinks. This free event is presented by the Office of Alumni Relations and Friends of Fondren Library. Register here.
Feb. 19 – Houston Botanic Garden, 6:00-9:30 pm. In a panel conversation moderated by me, Houston garden owners featured in Gardens of Texas will join me on-stage to share what they’ve learned about making inviting outdoor spaces, choosing plants, supporting wildlife, and tending gardens that are both resilient and deeply personal. Expect practical insights, local perspectives, and a close look at the beauty of gardens grown in harmony with place. I’ll have books for sale and signing before and after the discussion. Register here.
Feb. 28
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New Orleans-inspired garden courtyard – 2026-03-04 03:52:35
New Orleans style with Texas-friendly plants defines this courtyard garden designed by Curt Arnette of Sitio Design.… Read More
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Last November, I photographed several Austin gardens designed by landscape architect Curt Arnette of Sitio Design, who’s also an old friend and former neighbor. Between my book tour schedule and the holidays, I didn’t find time to edit those photos until January — an excellent winter project. With Curt’s and the owners’ permission, I’ll give you a peek into several beautifully designed private gardens by one of the most talented garden makers in Austin.
Let’s start with this New Orleans-inspired walled garden in central Austin. Recycled brick — faded red with a little gray and traces of old paint in robin’s egg blue — encloses a paved courtyard with a tiered fountain.
The splashing fountain muffles the noise of highway traffic a couple blocks away.
Green foliage — Texas dwarf palmetto needle palm, ‘Feather Falls’ sedge, foxtail fern — provides serene lushness. Nothing fussy here, just what works in a good deal of shade.
Creeping tendrils of fig ivy green up the walls.
An arched doorway with a lacy iron gate echoes three inset arches on the fountain wall.
A tall screen of green-black shutters hides something — maybe a utility box? — and adds more NOLA style.
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Hitting all the notes at Piano Rock garden – 2026-03-04 03:52:34
Let’s tour an Austin garden on a bluff overlooking green hills, with shade and sun gardens and a stone overlook.… Read More
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Last fall I visited a west Austin garden on a bluff overlooking green hills and a winding, rocky creek. Designed by landscape architect Curt Arnette of Sitio Design, the garden subtly echoes the view with a bermed zoysia lawn studded with limestone boulders. “The mounding captures the hills and draws them in,” Curt says.
Curt united clusters of live oaks in the center of the yard into one large shade garden. A wide stepping-stone path meanders through, offering access and a garden stroll. For the understory, tufts of sedge and masses of cast-iron plant add easy-care greenery, punctuated by dwarf palmetto and yaupon holly.
A side view reveals grassy ribbons running through the garden: giant liriope, Berkeley sedge, and variegated ‘Feather Falls’. Lyre-leaf sage and spiderwort are here too for seasonal color.
At the path entrance, a graceful, scroll-like chunk of limestone stands on end as a natural sculptural element. “That curvy stone was already on the property, lying down, and we stood it up,” says Curt.
A rolling section of the lawn flows toward the view of the hills. Large limestone boulders also draw the eye in that direction.
I bet they’d be fun for kids to climb on.
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Waterwise Austin garden alight with grasses – 2026-03-04 03:52:32
This Sitio Design garden in SW Austin features low-maintenance grasses and waterwise plants like agave, prickly pear, and sotol.… Read More
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Last November, landscape architect Curt Arnette and I visited another of his Sitio Design landscapes. Located in southwest Austin, this garden features low-maintenance grasses and waterwise plants like agave, prickly pear, and sotol.
Limestone boulders play a hefty role in the garden. Curt used them to elevate naturalistic planting beds…
…add separation between lawn and garden…
…and create a sense of enclosure. Notice how the curving line of stone seems to ripple out from the curve of the entry walk.
The boulders live harmoniously with prickly pear, woolly stemodia, and Lindheimer muhly — a “gardened up” version of exposed limestone and native plants in the wild.
Near the front door, I appreciated cotton-candy clouds of Gulf muhly in full bloom.
The rosy-pink inflorescence of Gulf muhly stands out against a gray-green backdrop of woolly stemodia, Wheeler’s sotol, and cenizo — all native to Texas.
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Terraced backyard for outdoor living, plus meadowy entry garden – 2026-03-04 03:52:30
A long steel runnel pours water into a round pool made of steel pipe in this terraced garden by Sitio Design in Austin.… Read More
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Last fall, landscape architect Curt Arnette and I visited one of his Sitio Design gardens in central Austin. Right away, I was drawn to a long steel runnel pouring water into a round pool made of steel pipe.
Filled to the brim, the little pond offers a shiny dime of a focal point as you enter the backyard.
The next thing I noticed was the dropoff. This garden is built on a steep lot.
What might have been an unusable sloping yard has been transformed through an impressively scaled retaining wall. Above the wall, a lawn connects with a covered porch. The porch cantilevers over the drop, with stairs giving access to the swimming pool and garden below.
Here’s the view from the top of the stairs. At the end of the wall, a rock garden cascades down-slope, connecting the two levels with plants.
At the spa end of the pool, large flat boulders make rugged steps up the side yard. A deep border of bamboo muhly, yuccas, Berkeley sedge, and silver ponyfoot adds privacy while relying largely on foliage. Blue and white mistflower were blooming in fall.
The spa garden
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Tulips and Rice Owls in Houston – 2026-03-04 03:52:29
Blushing orange tulips greeted me last week in Houston in my friend Amy’s garden. Spring hadn’t yet cracked open buds on trees and perennials. But oh, those tulips — such impractical magic!… Read More
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Blushing orange tulips greeted me last week in Houston in my friend Amy’s garden. Spring hadn’t yet cracked open buds on trees and perennials. But oh, those tulips — such impractical magic!
Amy told me her designer, David Morello, plants a handful of tulip bulbs each fall in large terracotta pots as part of his maintenance of the garden. The orange-on-orange flowers warm up the garden in early spring, and it doesn’t take many to make an impact.
With her hot-pink shirt, Amy was giving spring vibes herself.
Meet the Author event at Rice University
That evening, Amy and I appeared together at Rice University for a Meet the Author event coordinated by Rice Alumni and Friends of Fondren. In front of a full room (plus a Zoom audience) of alums and other attendees, with Amy leading the conversation as moderator, I shared about my years at Rice and how my writing career and new book evolved.
Amy and I go way back — to our freshman year of college — so it felt especially meaningful to sit beside her and reminisce before a crowd of Rice Owls. I pointed out that three of the featured gardens in my book belong to alumnae: Amy’s in Houston, Dacia Napier’s in San Antonio, and my own in Austin. Gardening Owls across Texas!
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Biggest live oaks in Houston? They’re Prime! – 2026-03-04 03:52:27
The 400-year-old live oaks at Becks Prime beckoned me for a return visit while in Houston last week. Time for lunch under the trees!… Read More
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The 400-year-old live oaks at Becks Prime on Augusta Drive beckoned me for a return visit while I was in Houston last week. I stopped by for lunch on the deck under those enormous, snaking limbs.
Every time I see these two live oaks, thriving amid high rises and pavement, I’m in awe of their hardiness.
Becks supports their tentacle-like limbs with a scaffolding of posts and beams. The restaurant’s drive-through lane passes under a web of branches. Hand-laid pavers, rather than solid concrete or asphalt, helped preserve the trees’ health, according to an informational sign.
Just look at that mighty, splayed trunk — each limb itself the girth of a mature tree.
The Becks trees are a hidden treasure in the city, well worth seeking out. I’m glad I got to commune with them again.
For earlier posts I’ve written about them, visit:
heading has-text-align-left”>Heading to San Antonio
A quick note to say on Saturday I’m heading to an event at San Antonio Botanical Garden. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll join me. And if you have garden-loving friends in San Antonio, please share the word!
heading has-text-align-center”>February 28, 1-3 pm – San Antonio Botanical Garden
Join me for a “Gardens of Texas” presentation and discover practical strategies and inspiration for creating gardens with the resilience to weather Texas’s extreme climate. I’ll have books available for sale and signing too. This event is free
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Campus stroll at Rice University – 2026-03-04 03:52:26
A leisurely stroll around the Rice University campus to appreciate its architecture and new landscaping in the quad.… Read More
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Last week in Houston, I visited my alma mater for a rel=”noreferrer noopener”>meet-the-author event. The next morning, I returned to the rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Rice University campus for a leisurely exploration with my sister (also a Rice Owl) to see what’s new.
The landscaping of the rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Academic Quad has been transformed since my years at Rice. Today, beds of (largely) native plants follow arcing paths between the library and the Sallyport. Banished is the rigid geometry of lawn, boxwood hedges, and spindly Italian cypresses that once defined the quad.
The gardens were still in the semi-dormancy of winter, not yet cut back for spring, which let me see how much they’ve filled in since the rel=”noreferrer noopener”>quad reopened in autumn of 2024.
I’ve always loved the long views framed by Rice’s arched architecture — now with more plants.
While many of the new plants are native to southeast Texas, there are reliable nonnatives too, like giant ligularia. This patch grows beneath a large tree preserved during the redesign.
Sadly, that tree is ailing. I wonder if its root zone was damaged during construction. This shady corner may soon be sunny.
