October 15, 2025
YouTuber and gardener Natalie McAnerney came to film my garden this past weekend for her excellent video series about Texas gardening, “The Plant Ninja.” Natalie is great at sharing high-impact DIY information through videos about projects she’s working on in her Central Texas garden.
In my garden, under a canopy of live oaks, Natalie was interested to hear about shade gardening. It differs from her own full sun gardening experience. You can watch her video soon on The Plant Ninja. You can also read her blog post about her beautiful new garden that I visited this summer here on Digging.
It was a fun morning spent with a gardener I respect. She is passionate about sharing useful gardening information on social media. I also got to see her flying her drone in my garden. That was cool.
Natalie shared a bird’s eye view of my home and garden. A sunburst stone path around the stock tank planter blends well with the graphic design. The agave from the blue whale’s tongue and the yucca from its beak will also pop out. But mainly, apart from the roof and pool, you can see the tree canopy. No surprises there! Our curving black-trunk live oak tree is what most visitors comment on and truly characterizes my garden in every way.
While Natalie was photographing, I took a few photos along the side road towards the Circle Garden.
Here, Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’ stretches skyward, taking advantage of breaks in the tree canopy.
Just beyond, the “Winter Jewel” boxwood serves as a gatepost for the entrance to the Circle Garden.
A bottle shrub imitating ocotillo accents the stock tank planter, and a variegated whale’s tongue agave sits like a queen on the throne.
Philippine violets are starting to bloom. It’s still hot, but it’s a sign of autumn again.
Phalaenopsis orchids are also blooming. This is one of my favorite grapes, thanks to its prolific summer and fall blooms and attractive butterfly-shaped fruit pods.
The lemon yellow petals look as if they were cut with pink shears.
When a flower becomes a seed, it turns into a butterfly. First up is apple green…
…and let it dry until it tans. They please everyone who notices it.
‘Bright Edge’ yucca sports lemon-lime stripes alongside a thornless prickly pear cactus in partial shade. Just like us gardeners, plants are adaptable.
We look forward to your comments. If you want to keep one, scroll to the end of this post. If you’re reading by email, click here to go to Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post. By the way, someone forwarded this email to you and would you like to subscribe? Click here to get Digging delivered straight to your inbox.
__________________________
dig deeper
My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, has been published. Find it on Amazon and other online book sellers. Makes a great holiday gift for anyone who loves gardens and the natural beauty of Texas. Learn more 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. October talks include: Planta Nativa in McAllen on Oct. 16; 10/18 Natural Gardener in Austin. SFA State University’s Fall Plant Fair will be held in Nacogdoches on October 23rd. Houston Botanical Garden on 10/25. and Tomball’s Arbor Gate on October 26th. Learn with me, be inspired, and get an autographed copy of this book!
October 25: Hill Country Bloomers Garden Club’s Fall Garden Tour will tour five gardens in Cedar Park, Leander and Georgetown from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Local artists will display and sell their work in each garden, and one garden will have plants for sale. Tickets are $20. Click here for details. Proceeds will go towards gardening grants to local schools.
November 6th: Learn about garden design and ecology at Garden Spark! Several times a year, I organize in-person lectures by designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners in Austin. The next talk on November 6th will be my own. A presentation on resilient Texas gardens. Tickets can be purchased here. Click here to subscribe to Garden Spark by email — Subject: Subscription.
Nov. 8: Tour five Austin gardens on the Travis County Open Day Tour sponsored by the Garden Conservancy. I’ll be at Belmont Parkway Gardens with a Texas Garden autograph table, so please come say hi. Tickets for each garden must be purchased online in advance, and some gardens have limited admission, so book early. Click here for details and ticket link.
All materials © 2025 by Pam Penick for Digging. All rights reserved.
