Zilker Botanical Garden, a stop on the 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling

In early May, on the last day of the Austin Fling, we visited Zilker Botanical Garden...

From their website: "Zilker Botanical Garden is located on 26 fenced acres of varied topography on the south bank of the Colorado River near downtown Austin. Its diverse topography is especially suited to depicting different habitats and displaying an array of native, hybrid and exotic plants. The Garden is the centerpiece of Zilker Park and the Lady Bird Johnson Lake (Colorado River) corridor and is its most extensively used facility. Over 300,000 people annually visit the gardens from across Texas and the U.S., as well as over 100 countries."

Many of the Cycads around Ausin had been knocked back hard by a bad winter, it was impressive to see how quickly they bounced back, putting out fantastic new growth.

I think the fuzzy yellow squiggles are what's left of the female flowers?

I envy Austin their ability to grow Cycads.

I wasted no time in finding the small cactus and succulent garden.

Tall blooming Yucca were almost as much a fixture in Austin as the blooming Agaves.

And blooming Cylindropuntia!

I believe these go by the common name horse-crippler? (for obvious reasons)

That's a pretty little flower.

These two! They darted into and out of cover the whole time I was exploring. I'm glad I finally managed to capture a portrait.

Nice trimming work on that palm trunk...

Were there birds in here? I honestly can't remember.

I think I would love to be able to grow Tradescantia pallida like a weed.

Bromleiads and giant Staghorn ferns (and such harsh shadows you can barely see them)!

And waterlilies...

More Cycads and Agaves...

And a fern forest!

The Prehistoric Garden was said to be quite the draw, and after lunch, and a few speakers, our time in the garden was drawing to a close...time to hurry on through...

Favorite palm ever, Bismarckia nobilis turns out it's more likely a Brahea armata.

Rebounding Cycad (Dioon edule)...

I've considered planting out my Dioon edule a time or two, they're rumored to be one of the hardier Cycads.

What the what?

A new flush of Cycad growth, doing their best impersonation of the praying hands emoji.

Ya, I may have went a little overboard on the Cycad photos...

More excellent palm trimming!

Finally it was time to get back on the bus, which picked us up by the lower gate.

Pretty cool, eh?

Weather Diary, Dec 17: Hi 52, Low 34/ Precip .41"

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

The garden of Tait Moring, a stop on the 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling

Sometimes the buses we take to the Fling private gardens can't park right at the garden entrance, it's a fun game to guess exactly which garden it is that we're touring. For Tait Moring's garden—which we toured on the last day of the Austin Fling—we parked near this cistern/fountain creation, just around the corner from his garden. I never did find out if it was part of his garden, or not.

The garden description, in Tait's words, from our Fling paperwork: "I've been developing my home garden over the last 20 years, so it's an eclectic mix. Based on an overall aim to celebrate the Hill Country's natural beauty, the design of the property has grown organically over the years. The key components of the space are the house/studio, a simple swimming pool, terraced vegetable gardens, multiple water features, a fire pit, and a trails system. There are a lot of salvaged pieces here: stone, wood, and iron. The masonry utilizes limestone found on site, and the fences are made of Ashe junipers cleared from the property."

I really wish my photos of this garden weren't so contrasty, but c'est la vie when you're touring on a sunny day.

This garden was quite outstanding, lots to discover spread around the developed section of the 22-acre property.

Everyone knew the name of this fabulous Opuntia, except me. I vowed to remember it. I do not.

This may have been my favorite part of this garden.

Walking under an arch with a skull and Opuntia on it, yes please.

Clean straight lines...

I don't think this is the yew I covet (Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Prostrata', aka Spreading Japanese Plum Yew), but I liked it, a lot. The presentation was marvelous.

Fantastic gate details.

And naturally the Agaves were top-notch.

Tait identified the swimming pool as his favorite feature, I might have to agree: "It was inspired by local spring-fed swimming holes, where I spent a lot of time as a kid. It was designed to be very simple, with clean lines disappearing into the surrounding landscape. A limestone wall that serves as a backdrop was constructed from stone gathered on-site and helps to screen pool equipment.

It's the wall, and the way it acts as a dramatic back-drop, I really loved.

Well, that and the fact we were allowed to dip our legs in the cool water.

At the far end of the pool...

Finally the deck off the back of the house (if my memory is correct).

And the view.

Loved this garden...

Weather Diary, Dec 10: Hi 44, Low 37/ Precip trace

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.