So about that Austin Fling raffle prize...

When last I photographed that bright chartreuse ModDish planter, from Steel Life, I had just returned home from winning it at the Austin Garden Bloggers Fling. I was actually writing about another planter in that post, one I'd finally planted up (ten months after purchasing it) with a succulent—Obregonia denegrii—I bought in Austin.

In that post—dated May 25th 2018—I mused about how long it would take me to plant up the ModDish. Well I can now say for sure; 1 year, 1 month and 2 weeks.

I never have planted the small orange ModDish I got at DIG, before they closed. Instead it gets filled with whatever strikes my fancy, currently some large grey pebbles and a Tillandsia xerographica,

So, anyone what to make a bet on what I finally put in the chartreuse planter?
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Anyone?
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Would you be surprised if I said bromeliads? No, of course you wouldn't be. Here's the lucky line-up...

That big guy on the right (below) is to blame. I stopped by Garden Fever a day or two before leaving for the Denver Fling and they'd just gotten in a shipment of plants. He was sitting just to the side of the cash-stand as I paid for my purchases. I lusted, but I left. And he haunted me all night and the next day. I went back and thankfully he was still there, he might be a Neoregelia 'Pimiento', dunno for sure. Bromeliads in nurseries are not usually well labeled, at least in these parts.

After purchasing the big guy I decided he belonged in the chartreuse planter, and I needed another bromeliad to keep him company, at 16" wide the planter called out for more than one. I set off for Portland Nursery intending to pick up just one more bromeliad. I came home with three. It happens.

Not wanting to go the gravel mulch route, I started taking small plastic bags with me on walks. I collected lichen and moss, as well as small sticks.

Here it is all planted up and mulched.

Part of the mental block I'd had when it came to using the chartreuse planter was where to put it. The shape seemed to want to be on a table, but our patio dining table is just too small. However, having already staked out territory for the fern bowl, I realized I could tuck the ModDish right in on its left.

The collected moss and lichen make a great mulch.

The previously empty apotspot vase/planter also got an upgrade with mossy sticks and bromeliads...

Just a few more photos of the new bromeliad plantings...

It may take me awhile, but I eventually figure it out.

Weather Diary, July 11: Hi 81, Low 64/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

The Ruthie Burrus Garden, a stop on the 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling

My last Austin post! I'm not sure why this particular garden is the one that wraps up my 2018 Fling coverage, it didn't plan it that way...but it is a beautiful one to end on.

Part of the owner's description: "My garden is all about pollinators, native plants, and taking advantage of views and natural surroundings. We live on top of a hill overlooking downtown Austin, the Texas Capitol, and the UT Tower. We have a couple of micro-climates on the 2-acre property: hillside and top of the hill. The steep hillside, cool in the morning and blazing hot in the afternoon, is a wildflower meadow." Yes it is, and beautiful one...

The steep driveway led us up to the house and main garden.

There were many beautiful plantings to stop and admire along the way.

More from Ruthie... "We wanted a space for entertaining, and we wanted it filled with bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and moths. We have definitely accomplished that! Now I am busy teaching my grandchildren that bees are our friends and will not harm them."

Up at the the "compound" (it really is much more than just a house)...

Ruthie and her husband (I've sadly forgotten his name) were so welcoming to our group. They invited us to walk through their home and experience the view as it unfolded in front of us...

So lovely...

Some of our group were invited up to view the surroundings from a lookout on the roof, sadly I missed that invite.

Think of the parties you could have out here...

The fuzzy Opuntia which became another "Austin signature plant" for me.

And of course up-staging the humble Opuntia is Agave ovatifolia.

Ruthie listed this section of the garden as her favorite, her Provence garden: "a gravel area anchored by my garden haus, which is made of stone with antique doors, old windows, and recycled roofing material."

It's picture perfect.

10,000-gallon rainwater storage tank.

Of all the difficulties Texas gardeners face (extreme heat, drought, rock) this garden is where I came face to face with what I would consider the biggest obstacle of all. Focus on that tall shrub in the center of this photo. Let your eyes wander up, coming to rest on that dark spec at the top of the stone window edge.

Yep. That's a furry tarantula. I grew up in black-widow and rattle snake country, but there's something about how BIG and FURRY this guy is that just sends me. No thank you.

More Farfugium japonicum...

And a couple of flower shots...

The garden dates to 2012, but one of the challenges that Ruthie noted about her garden involves the wildflower meadow on the hill near the entrance/exit: "The wildflower seeds tend to float to the bottom of the hill from one year to the next, so they constantly need to be replenished. I keep thinking: "Now I've got it finished!" and each year reminds me that it will always be a work in progress." "Always a work in progress," isn't that gardening?

I thought I snapped a better photo of the entrance gate and their flanking Cylindropuntia, but I did not.

At least I got a close-up of a flower.

Weather Diary, Jan 7: Hi 48, Low 37/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Kirk Walden's Garden, a stop on the 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling

My Austin Fling posts are about to end, only one more garden to visit after this! It seems fitting though, as we reach the 8-month mark since this event took place this coming weekend, and it's just a little over 5 months until the Denver Fling this June!

This limestone wall/planting bed is what greeted us as we piled off the bus at Kirk Walden's garden...

You can see the bus there on the right, and the throngs of zombie bloggers approaching.

About the garden: "The garden is all about nature, if nature were a little more organized. Native and well-adapted plants predominate. It mixes multiple varietes of the same plant to create interest. For example, there are five different lantanas and three different esperanzas. The terrain appears naturally terraced, defined by berms, outcroppings, dry river beds, and stone paths. It was all man made, shaped and limited by the severe slop of the property." The garden dates 2013, when both the home and garden were completed.

I love this planting and would really like to return in a few years and see how it looks when the Agaves have grown.

Front of the house...

I was surprised to see wee Agaves planted so close together in Texas, where the Agaves get huge.

Beyond the driveway...

Desert-willow, Chilopsis

Looking backwards...

And walking around the side of the house now. I wish I could remember if this feature ran all the way across the lawn.

The Fling materials mention a French drain which runs the length of the front of the house and empties into "what appears to be a dry creek bed" I wonder if this is it?

The huge patio runs along the back of the house, this is just a corner. Nice eh?

Again one of the signature plants of the Austin Fling, "tractor seat Ligularia" aka Farfugium japonicum var. giganteum ...

Rounding the side of the house The View starts to come into play.

Wowsa!

I love when I see irrigation right next to Agaves.

What a gorgeous pool.

And palm.

And view!

I don't know exactly how this welcoming pool avoided becoming surrounded by bloggers cooling their feet, it is a Fling tradition after all.

Maybe because everyone was just so captivated by the view?

Weather Diary, Jan 2: Hi 45, Low 30/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.