October 25, 2025
When Jill and Bob of Bedrock Gardens came to Austin for a Garden Spark talk in early October, I took them to see my friend Lori Daul‘s garden in South Austin.
Our visit started off with a smile thanks to grinning skeletons riding herd on agaves…
…and plastic flamingos.
In the lush fantasia of Lori’s backyard garden, I admired her big whale’s tongue agave, which is practically breaching out of its stock-tank planter. Ahoy!
This angle makes it look even bigger, seeming to dwarf Bob and Lori in the background.
Like a dime-bright full moon, a mirror gleams above a face pot bursting with ‘Quadricolor’ agave, foxtail fern, and ‘Evergold’ sedge.
Against the mural-painted metal wall on Lori’s property line, a willowy silver tree caught my eye. It’s ‘Blue Ghost’ eucalyptus. She’s experimenting to see how it performs here in Austin. Australian plants can be challenging in our climate, so I’ll be watching curiously myself.
Her stock-tank pond is fabulously moody with dark crinum and colocasia foliage.
A closer look
Another face pot shows off purple heart and heartleaf skullcap returning from summer dormancy.
A silver-tank assemblage of yuccas accompanies the big whale’s tongue agave.
In the side garden, a fountain in a skinny stock-tank pond splashes pleasantly, half hidden by mottled colocasia.
Lori’s mini Cadillac Ranch always makes me smile.
Thanks, Lori, for sharing your garden with me again, and introducing Jill and Bob to all the creative gardening you’re doing!
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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: 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.
