Hopping over to Ruthie’s hilltop garden

Last week, I hopped implicit to Ruthie Burrus’s plot successful the Rollingwood vicinity for a outpouring visit. Ruthie kindly opened her plot to maine and my out-of-town impermanent Lisa Negri of SummerHome Garden. As always, the gardens surrounding Ruthie’s hilltop location enchant with a textural premix of spiky plants, similar beaked yucca…

…and softly colored autochthonal perennials, similar Gulf penstemon.

A rabbit sculpture seems peculiarly due for a near-Easter visit. Its ears echo a forked histrion trunk down it.

Peace

Along the street, a large whale’s lingua agave is sending up a girthy bloom spike. It’ll apt treble successful tallness earlier the candelabra flowers open, signaling the plant’s imminent demise. (Agaves dice aft flowering.)

Sweet peas ascent a mesh obstruction surrounding a tennis court. Of people I stopped to odor their delicious, saccharine fragrance.

A seldom utilized broadside way has been taken implicit by pinkish evening primrose and lasting winecup, 2 assertive autochthonal wildflowers. What a bully spot for them to duke it out.

Walking the primrose path…

Ruthie’s backyard enjoys a spectacular presumption of downtown Austin. Native Anacacho orchid histrion flowers successful the foreground.

Queen Victoria agave looking spiffy successful pinstripes connected the porch

Japanese aralia successful a handsome tabletop urn successful the shade

A enactment of low-growing distylium caught my eye. Ruthie has fixed up connected similar-looking but cold-sensitive ‘Little Ollie’ dwarf olives. But she says distylium makes an fantabulous alternative. (Southern Living agrees.)

Along the driveway, a magnificently ample whale’s lingua agave extends its flukes. We peeked astatine the halfway leaves to marque definite a bloom spike isn’t popping up, spelling the plant’s doom, but saw nary sign. Phew. It’s got to beryllium adjacent though.

All on the sunny driveway, Ruthie grows wildflowers similar pinkish evening primrose and bluebonnets.

These ramble on a chromatic retaining wall, offering eye-level quality and nose-level fragrance.

Corn poppies held aloft connected hairy stems

Lisa posed present for her first-ever bluebonnet photograph — a rite of transition for each Texan, arsenic we know. The adjacent time we’d spell connected a wildflower safari to hunt for more.

But the cultivated bluebonnet is beauteous saccharine too. Thanks to Ruthie for the beauteous plot visit!

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Digging Deeper

Shop the Spring Native Plant Sale astatine the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center each play done April 27, 9 americium to 1 p.m. (last introduction astatine 12:30 pm). Plant merchantability admittance is free. Bring your ain wagon oregon cart to transport your treasures.

Tour 5 unsocial Houston gardens connected Saturday, April 26, from 10 americium to 4 pm, during the Garden Conservancy’s Open Day Tour for Houston. Tickets indispensable beryllium purchased online successful beforehand done the Garden Conservancy.

Come larn astir gardening and plan astatine Garden Spark! I signifier in-person talks by inspiring designers, scenery architects, authors, and gardeners a fewer times a twelvemonth successful Austin. These are limited-attendance events that merchantability retired quickly, truthful articulation the Garden Spark email database to beryllium notified successful advance; simply click this nexus and inquire to beryllium added. Read each astir the Season 8 lineup here!

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