November 05, 2025
Continuing with my sneak peek of the November 8th Garden Conservancy tour in Travis County — today I’ll show you the garden called Artist’s Eclectic Eden.
Quick side notes: I’ll be manning a book-signing table at the Belmont Parkway garden from 10 am to 1 pm. Stop by to say hi and see my brand-new book, Gardens of Texas — and maybe check a few people off your Christmas list! For full tour information and tickets — each garden is sold individually — click here. Two of the gardens have timed entry due to limited parking, so get your tickets ASAP if you want to see those.
Artist’s Eclectic Eden garden
The artist behind the Artist’s Eclectic Eden is Steve Twigger. Steve’s a musician (recently retired from Gaelic Storm of Titanic fame) and a photographer, in addition to being a keen gardener. He gives credit to his wife Alie, though, for this appealing display of succulent pots in the middle of the front walk.
The small front garden is densely — even jungly — planted with evergreens like silver Mediterranean fan palm and giant liriope, along with numerous shrubs and trees.
It makes a living privacy screen in the urban Bouldin Creek neighborhood.
On the front porch, a potted philodendron adds more tropical energy.
Now let’s explore the back garden. A zigzagging path of Texas Black gravel, outlined with chopped limestone, leads you in.
The zigzags are a fun change from the curvy lines so often used in garden journeys. It also creates planting pockets in a narrow space that keep your eye from jumping straight to the end.
Looking back
The path leads to an L-shaped sofa set on the diagonal, cleverly echoing the zigzag pattern.
A long, blue-plank dining table…
…and fire pit patio and tiki bar show that this is a garden for outdoor living and entertaining.
A built-in bench made from old pallets offers more seating. Steve told me he created all this himself — he built the bench, the walls, the arbor, even the screened porch.
Turning around and looking back — there’s a second screened porch behind the dining table.
It’s charming with tiled stair risers and butterfly chairs and globe lights inside.
Faux succulents fill curvy pots on the stair wall.
The tiki bar also charmed me with a lift-up window at a serving counter. Steve was filling terracotta pots here during my visit two weeks ago.
Fig ivy clings to the wood-plank walls, and a metal grate is upcycled garden art.
Tiki cup planter with faux succulents
A long arbor leads from the tiki bar to a swimming pool, where a Tropicana neon sign glows amid palms, palmettos, shrubs, and vines — a plant palette that feels “distinctly Austin and predominantly features evergreen plants,” according to the Conservancy description.
Steve and Alie told me they found the Tropicana sign while they were planning a tiki party and had to have it.
Looking back, you see another sign — a golden Golden.
This one came from a nail salon, they told me. Hanging it vertically on a narrow wall is a fun twist.
Cloaking fig ivy and an intricately latched gate add more personality.
It’s clear a gardener lives here.
Dusty-blue leaf stems on a palm add dreamy color.
A narrow patio along the pool offers a view across to the house. Steps lead to an upper patio and the screened porch that Steve built. Plants cascade over the walls and lean in on all sides, immersing you in the garden.
‘Little Volcano’ bush clover was blooming, its arching branches enveloping an arbor.
On the upper patio, a tiled table is another of Steve’s creations. It doesn’t move, he told me. It’s a permanent part of the patio. A pewter-trunked Texas persimmon grows in a central planter bed.
Plants enclose each garden room, keeping you from seeing the whole garden at once. It’s a small yard, but it lives much larger thanks to the visual separation.
The screened porch has a screened cupola top, admitting more light and air into the porch.
The view from the porch
A narrow plank path leads around the screened porch into a side garden. A square pond with rice paper plant…
…and a spilling fountain can be enjoyed from the porch.
I loved seeing Steve and Alie’s garden and talking with Steve about its creation. You won’t want to miss this one. To get tickets for it, click here.
Up next: The Canyon Vista garden on the Open Day Tour. For a look back at the Belmont Parkway garden, click here.
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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, other online book sellers, and in stores everywhere. It’ll make a great holiday gift for anyone who loves gardens or the natural beauty of Texas. More info here.
Come see me on tour! I’m speaking in cities across Texas to celebrate the release of Gardens of Texas. Appearances in November include: Garden Spark in Austin on 11/6; Travis County Open Day Tour at Belmont Pkwy Garden in Austin on 11/8; Community Gardens in Bastrop on 11/9; Redenta’s Garden Shop in Dallas on 11/15; North Haven Gardens in Dallas on 11/16; Wichita River Native Plant Society of Texas in Wichita Falls on 11/17; Grapevine Garden Club in Grapevine on 11/18, and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin on 11/22. Join me to learn, be inspired, and get a signed copy of the book!
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. 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.
