Cat doubled the size of a limestone patio with pavers, making room for a dining table under a tree-hung chandelier at the edge of a canyon.… Read More
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Last month I enjoyed a morning visit in my friend Cat‘s garden in west Austin. Near the front porch, she’s cozied up her home’s double-height entry with human-scaled features: head-height trellises for vines and a welcoming paver patio with stone bench.
A bubbling fountain with a shallow surface for bird bathing adds the music of water.
Low mounding plants like ‘Mojo’ pittosporum and ‘Macho Mocha’ mangave frame but don’t overpower the fountain.
On the porch, tough-as-nails purple heart in an upright urn adds summer color with foliage and flowers. A mangave pup on one side and cascading silver ponyfoot on the other provide contrast.
A Celtic St. Francis holds a bowl of blue glass (instead of the expected birdseed) topped with a stone heart. Pink phlox softens the scene.
Long view across the entry garden. A dry creek running parallel to the house diverts runoff from the foundation.
Texas greeneyes (Berlandiera betonicifolia) brightens a sunny spot featuring a potted yucca.
At the corner of the house, a pink crape myrtle offers summer color and some shade for a white Rose of Sharon.
Rose of Sharon with its pretty hibiscus flower
Along the driveway in baking hot sun, Pride of Barbados and pyramid bush add hot summer color. Notice the bee zooming in on the right.
Side garden
Heading around the other side of the house, you enter a side garden of filtered sun. There’s enough light for Pride of Barbados to pump out some flowers. Purple coneflower mingles with the starburst foliage of a giant hesperaloe.
Purple coneflower’s orange cones echo a rusty Japanese maple in the background.
Birdbath and Japanese maple, with ‘Feather Falls’ sedge and river fern below.
Against the house, basking in reflected heat, Pride of Barbados and golden thryallis show off summer-long blooms.
Back patio
In the back garden, Cat doubled the size of a limestone patio with pavers, making room for a dining table under a tree-hung chandelier. A paver path framed by potted ‘Feather Falls’ sedge encourages you to take in the view from a secondary patio.
Pathway between live oaks to a canyon view
Another patio appears below, in a meadow that blooms with wildflowers in spring and fall. The view to distant hills offers sunset-watching opportunities.
A small stock-tank pond at the edge of the upper patio entices birds with a trickling bamboo fountain. The waterlilies were closed up in the morning…
…but by midday their starry apricot flowers had opened.
Ta-da!
Looking back toward the house
The dining table offers a rust-colored vignette…
…a metal drum chandelier with matching burgundy bromeliads.
A trio of terracotta birds adds humor.
Especially with one nesting in the table’s umbrella hole
A hear-no-evil figure adds personality to a pot of sedge and coleus.
A spotted mangave perches atop a green ceramic stool.
Shade garden
In the shade garden along the deck, Cat leans on foliage rather than flowers and a color scheme of green, brown, and terracotta for a serene, earthy palette. White flowers appear seasonally on giant spider lily and oakleaf hydrangea.
Giant spider lily with flowers like fireworks
A terracotta bird perches on a cedar branch among the spent flowers of oakleaf hydrangea — a perfect color match.
Giant spider lily and oakleaf hydrangea with ‘Everillo’ sedge below
Looking back toward the dining patio
And ahead to a big stock-tank pond and another enticing patio
Stock-tank pond garden
The big stock-tank pond — an 8-footer, I believe — makes a focal-point view across the garden.
A spigot fountain at the back circulates water for goldfish.
Pond parasols
Side view with limestone slabs for access. A dry creek carries runoff from the driveway past the pond to the canyon’s edge.
Shade garden view toward the driveway fence
Yuccas in pots — always a good Texas solution since they’re evergreen, drought tolerant, heat proof, and cold hardy.
A sculptural woman in the garden is Cat’s own creation from a pottery class she took part in.
A mini-pond — an iron tub of water — holds a bronze colocasia and floating steel orbs.
A terracotta frog looks right at home amid the lily-pad leaves of giant leopard plant.
Thanks for the beautiful garden visit, Cat!
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Digging Deeper
My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, comes out October 14! It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon and other online book sellers. If you think you’d like to read it or give it as a holiday gift, please consider pre-ordering. (I’m happy to sign pre-ordered copies at my book events!) Early orders make a big difference in helping new books get noticed. More info about Gardens of Texas here — and thank you for your support!
Come see me on tour! I’ll be speaking and hosting book events across Texas this fall and into next spring to celebrate the release of Gardens of Texas. Join me to learn, get inspired, and say hello!
Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Read all about the Season 8 lineup here!
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The post Canyon-side garden for outdoor living appeared first on Digging.
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