October 15, 2025
YouTuber and gardener Natalie McAnarney came to film my garden last weekend for The Plant Ninja, her excellent video series on Texas gardening. Natalie is so good at conveying impactful DIY info through videos about projects she’s working on in her own Central Texas garden.
In my garden, under a canopy of live oaks, Natalie was interested to hear about shade gardening — which differs from her own full-sun gardening experience. Look for her video soon at The Plant Ninja — and look for a blog post here at Digging about her beautiful new garden, which I visited this summer!
It was a fun morning spent with a gardener I admire, who works hard at sharing helpful gardening info on her social media outlets. Also, I got to watch her fly her drone around my garden, which was cool.
Natalie shared this bird’s-eye view of my house and garden. The sunburst stone path around the stock-tank planter shows up nicely with its graphic design. Silver-blue whale’s tongue agave and beaked yucca also pop. But mainly, aside from the roof and swimming pool, I see tree canopy. No surprise there! Our twisty, black-trunked live oaks are what most visitors comment on — and they really do define my garden in every way.
While Natalie was filming, I took a few pics along the side path, looking toward the Circle Garden.
Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’ reaches for the sky here, taking advantage of a break in the tree canopy.
Just beyond, ‘Winter Gem’ boxwood serves as gateposts for the entrance into the Circle Garden.
A bottle shrub modeled on an ocotillo accents the stock-tank planter, where a variegated whale’s tongue agave sits like a queen on her throne.
Philippine violet is starting to bloom — another sign of fall, even though it’s still hot.
Butterfly vine is flowering too. This is one of my favorite vines thanks to plentiful flowers summer through fall and charming, butterfly-shaped seedpods.
Its lemon-yellow petals look as if they were cut out with pinking shears.
As the flowers go to seed, they turn into butterflies — first apple green…
…and then drying to tan. They delight everyone who notices them.
‘Bright Edge’ yucca shows off lemon-lime stripes alongside spineless prickly pear, making do with part shade. Plants are adaptable, as are we gardeners.
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Digging Deeper
My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, is here! Find it on Amazon and other online book sellers. It’ll make a great holiday gift for anyone who loves gardens or the natural beauty of Texas. More info about Gardens of Texas here.
Come see me on tour! I’m speaking in cities across Texas to celebrate the release of Gardens of Texas. Talks in October include: Planta Nativa in McAllen on 10/16; The Natural Gardener in Austin on 10/18; SFA State University’s Fall Plant Fair in Nacogdoches on 10/23; Houston Botanic Garden on 10/25; and The Arbor Gate in Tomball on 10/26. Join me to learn, be inspired, and get a signed copy of the book!
Oct. 25: Tour 5 gardens in Cedar Park, Leander, and Georgetown, 10 am to 3 pm, during the Hill Country Bloomers Garden Club’s fall garden tour. Local artists will be at each garden with works for sale, and plants will be for sale at one of the gardens. Tickets are $20 — more info here. Proceeds go to garden grants for local schools.
Nov. 6: Learn about garden design and ecology at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. The next talk on 11/6 is my own — a presentation on resilient Texas gardens! Tickets available here. Subscribe to Garden Spark by clicking here to email — subject line: SUBSCRIBE.
Nov. 8: Tour 5 Austin gardens on the Open Day Tour for Travis County, sponsored by the Garden Conservancy. I’ll be at the Belmont Parkway Garden with a book-signing table for Gardens of Texas, so come say hi! Tickets for each garden must be purchased online in advance, and some gardens limit attendance, so reserve your spot early. Find full details and ticket links here.
All material © 2025 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
