Butterfly garden in bloom at the Natural Gardener

The Natural Gardener nursery is a great place to take plant-loving visitors because of its beautiful display gardens.… Read More

The post Butterfly garden in bloom at the Natural Gardener appeared first on Digging.

July 20, 2025

When friends came to town a few weeks back, I took them to The Natural Gardener in south Austin. With beautiful display gardens, it’s a great place to take plant-loving visitors.

The butterfly garden was showing off in mid-June with orange cannas and tall sunflowers.

Hot summer color

A butterfly bench makes a fun spot for a photo or to sit and enjoy the garden.

Sunflowers and zinnias were popping with bright color.

Pride of Barbados and Rose of Sharon too

Rose of Sharon — probably the columnar cultivar ‘Purple Pillar’

A black swallowtail butterfly nectaring on Pride of Barbados

Working it

Sunflowers and red salvia — Salvia darcyi, I think

Salvia and morning glory

I’m drawing a blank on this plant but admired its velvety, silver-green leaves.

Labyrinth

Just beyond the butterfly garden is a large labyrinth for meditative walking.

River rocks outline the circling path, which leads to a tree in the center.

Guitar garden

Beyond that is a guitar garden. Could anything be more Austin?

Welcome wagons

A back entrance to the nursery features a fence made of upcycled wagons — a welcome wagon, so to speak!

Chance the Raptor (get it?) rawrs atop a shade structure.

Succulent yard

I usually head straight for the succulent yard to admire the mangaves and see which new ones are available.

‘Lavender Lady’ mangave is a beauty with her mauve freckles.

Hesperaloes, agaves, yuccas, and cacti can be found here too.

Leopold agave — beautiful!

I’ve always liked this shed door with bas-relief owl and prickly pear.

Framed by sunflowers

Microbe Brewery

Compost tea is made at the punnily named Microbe Brewery.

Edible garden

Compost is cooking in the vegetable garden.

A creative screen made of cedar branches, sectioned tree limbs, slats, and scrap metal…

…encloses a small patio, inviting visitors to sit and enjoy the scene.

Another screen of steel-framed cedar poles shelters a pair of blue Adirondacks.

A third screen features a colorful graphic design…

…and a chalkboard wishing visitors a happy Father’s Day (this was back in mid-June).

Plants, gardens, and helpful staff — the Natural Gardener still delights after all these years. We Austin gardeners are lucky to have this resource.

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The post Butterfly garden in bloom at the Natural Gardener appeared first on Digging.