February 02, 2026
Last fall I visited a west Austin garden on a bluff overlooking green hills and a winding, rocky creek. Designed by landscape architect Curt Arnette of Sitio Design, the garden subtly echoes the view with a bermed zoysia lawn studded with limestone boulders. “The mounding captures the hills and draws them in,” Curt says.
Curt united clusters of live oaks in the center of the yard into one large shade garden. A wide stepping-stone path meanders through, offering access and a garden stroll. For the understory, tufts of sedge and masses of cast-iron plant add easy-care greenery, punctuated by dwarf palmetto and yaupon holly.
A side view reveals grassy ribbons running through the garden: giant liriope, Berkeley sedge, and variegated ‘Feather Falls’. Lyre-leaf sage and spiderwort are here too for seasonal color.
At the path entrance, a graceful, scroll-like chunk of limestone stands on end as a natural sculptural element. “That curvy stone was already on the property, lying down, and we stood it up,” says Curt.
A rolling section of the lawn flows toward the view of the hills. Large limestone boulders also draw the eye in that direction.
I bet they’d be fun for kids to climb on.
My favorite of the boulders — a moon-like rock. At the bluff’s edge, a slim metal fence provides safety without obscuring the view.
Native rock rose (Pavonia lasiopetala) adds hot-pink flower color. Flowers open in the morning and close in the afternoon.
A stone platform and bench give the owners a spot to sit and admire the view…
…which is spectacular.
Behind the stone platform, small natives thrive in its reflected heat: paleleaf yucca, four-nerve daisy, rock rose…
…prickly pear, Agave lophantha, silver ponyfoot, and zexmenia.
Agave lophantha, four-nerve daisy, and purple skullcap make a great combo for hot sun and gravelly soil.
Turning around, here’s the view back to the house. I imagine with all those big windows, the owners feel they’re living in the garden.
On the shade garden path
‘Feather Falls’ sedge brightens the shade with its white variegation.
Yaupon holly, dwarf palmetto, cast-iron plant, and ‘Feather Falls’ sedge — a quartet of hardy, easy-to-maintain plants for dry shade in central Texas.
The trees give way to open sky and sunshine on the far side of the yard. Here, a low wall encloses a dry garden of agave, yucca, prickly pear, and grasses, with a pergola-shaded table in the center.
Curt told me the rustic stone wall was already there, but topped with hog-wire fencing and cedar post framing. “We decided to make it a little more refined,” he says. “We took the cedar and wire off, and we capped the old knee wall with stone.”
The dry garden features structural, spiky plants and offers a view of the shade garden and house.
‘Blonde Ambition’ blue grama and whale’s tongue agave
Two pillars mark the main entrance into the dry garden. Curt explained that the pillars used to be taller, with an arch connecting them, but they competed visually with the new cedar pergola. The owner had the idea to scale them down by cutting off the top half, and she provided small stones to mortar on top for a finishing touch.
View of the dry garden from the home’s back patio
And the view of the shade garden and canyon overlook
Shade-loving foundation plants: ‘Feather Falls’ sedge, asparagus fern, and giant leopard plant.
Out front, a steel arbor planted with Rangoon creeper runs across the garage. Curt extended it into the garden to become a welcoming arbor over the front walk.
It also frames the house and garden as you walk up.
A long planter wall adds more structure, plus privacy and greenery.
‘White Cloud’ Gulf muhly in frothy ivory bloom last November
A canna’s dark leaves and red flowers turn up the heat alongside blue-green yucca.
My thanks to Curt and the owners for allowing me to share the garden. For a look back at another of Curt’s designs, check out: New Orleans-inspired garden courtyard.
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Digging Deeper
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All material © 2026 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
