We saw many fabulous gardens during the course of the 2018 Garden Bloggers' Fling in Austin, Texas back in early May. One of my favorites was Ruthie Burrus's Garden in Texas Hill Country. Upon arrival, we walked up a steep driveway, enjoying wildflowers in bloom on both sides.
I loved the natural feel of the front garden and the mix of flowering plants and succulents.
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| There were masses of Salvias of various kinds, like 'Amistad' (shown here in to top and lower left photos) and 'Black & Blue' (lower right) |
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| All the agaves, especially Agave ovatifolia (right), which seemed to be Austin's favorite species, looked perfect |
I also appreciated how well the house nestled into the garden, despite how large it was.
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| View of the house from the driveway |
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| View from the house level |
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| I loved this water trough surrounded by ferns and native rock |
And I was very envious of the the galvanized rainwater collection tank. Such tanks were a relatively common sight in Austin but this one was held up to 10,000 gallons of water. I have 3 small tanks but my storage capacity maxes out at 475 gallons. If only I had a spot to put one like this!
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| The tank sits at the lower level of the back garden. I photographed it from above in the front garden. |
We weren't the only visitors that morning. I caught a fuzzy photo of this fellow hanging on outside a window.
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| This tarantula generated some excitement among the blogging visitors. This was another occasion in which I regretted my decision to leave my better camera at home in California. |
Impressed as I was by the front garden, the back garden was a show stopper. As we walked into the house out onto the patio, we saw this:
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| The view from the patio looks out on the Austin skyline, including the Texas Capitol and the University of Texas Tower |
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| Here's a closer look |
But the back garden had more to offer than its magnificent view. The patio offered a comfortable entertaining space.
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| The painting above the patio fireplace may be my favorite piece of garden art ever |
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| There were lots of succulent-filled containers scattered throughout the patio and elsewhere in the back garden |
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| Like this one |
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| And here on the generously-sized outdoor dining table |
The back garden offered a little something for everybody.
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| Another perfect Agave ovatifolia, accompanied by Achillea 'Moonshine' |
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| A pizza oven |
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| A sunny spot for morning coffee or tea |
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| A beautiful stone garden house with climbing roses |
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| And a large, well-organized compost area |
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| The back garden was a great place to putter, entertain or just chill out as this frog was doing next to a rain chain and drain |
We were invited to go through the house and up the tower on one side to the roof, which as you might expect also offered fabulous views.
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| Another view of the Austin skyline. Some of us from Southern California couldn't get over how green Austin is. It gets more rain on average than Los Angeles by more than double, even though the area has also experienced serious droughts. |
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| The roof also revealed a river view |
Lucky as I am to have a view from my own back garden, I found those in this one more tranquil, although a heavy marine layer this morning is making it feel as if we're floating in a cloud today. Whatever you're doing during this first weekend of summer, I hope it comes with great views too!
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
