February 17, 2026
Last fall, landscape architect Curt Arnette and I visited one of his Sitio Design gardens in central Austin. Right away, I was drawn to a long steel runnel pouring water into a round pool made of steel pipe.
Filled to the brim, the little pond offers a shiny dime of a focal point as you enter the backyard.
The next thing I noticed was the dropoff. This garden is built on a steep lot.
What might have been an unusable sloping yard has been transformed through an impressively scaled retaining wall. Above the wall, a lawn connects with a covered porch. The porch cantilevers over the drop, with stairs giving access to the swimming pool and garden below.
Here’s the view from the top of the stairs. At the end of the wall, a rock garden cascades down-slope, connecting the two levels with plants.
At the spa end of the pool, large flat boulders make rugged steps up the side yard. A deep border of bamboo muhly, yuccas, Berkeley sedge, and silver ponyfoot adds privacy while relying largely on foliage. Blue and white mistflower were blooming in fall.
The spa garden
Scrim of Lindheimer muhly
Blue mistflower and white mistflower serving up pollinator bait
A border of miscanthus, Lindheimer muhly, and beaked yucca runs the length of the pool — a tapestry of texture.
Those yuccas will grow tall on shaggy trunks, rising above the grasses in time.
At the shady end, dwarf palmetto, ‘Feather Falls’ sedge, and Berkeley sedge make a shaggy combo.
Tree reflection
Looking across the backyard from a sunken deck
And looking up-slope
But back to that pool view. Couldn’t you sit here all day, enjoying the garden?
I like how Curt juxtaposes natural boulders and dense plantings with the contemporary lines of the swimming pool.
Looking across the pool at those grasses and yuccas. There’s a handsome metal-mesh fence back there too.
One more amble around the grassy spa garden…
…and silvery rock garden with beaked yucca, agave, and silver ponyfoot.
The big rock garden…
…offers access to the upper garden via limestone steps. Sedges — ‘Feather Falls’ and Berkeley — soften the stone, accented by spiny agaves.
Whale’s tongue agave in a bower of Berkeley sedge
One last look at the lower garden from the guest-house balcony
A steel planter next to the covered porch features silvery whale’s tongue agave, ponyfoot, gopher plant, and more. At one end, a fountain spills into a small trough. The steel runnel originates here too…
…and trickles into that round pool.
In the upper garden along the house, shady conditions call for dwarf palmetto, ‘Feather Falls’ sedge, and giant ligularia.
Rain chains suspended from the eave direct runoff from the roof into catchment basins.
Meadowy Front Garden
In front of the house, a billowy meadow garden was blooming along a path parallel to the house. Grasses including miscanthus, blue grama, Mexican feathergrass, and Gulf muhly add movement and light-catching texture.
Sturdy beaked yucca goes so well with blue grama’s fizzy flowers.
At one end of the house, an arbor and gate frame a view into a walled courtyard.
Blue grama grass
Let’s go inside.
Yellow bells against a strappy sphere of beaked yucca
Another beaked yucca with Queen Victoria agave and silver ponyfoot
A wide view of this courtyard xeriscape
It’s a silver-green symphony with pops of yellow.
Along one wall, stacked limestone makes a small grotto…
…with water dripping over the rocks onto maidenhair fern, evoking a Hill Country canyon scene.
Back to the main path
‘Blue Glow’ agaves with gaura and silver ponyfoot
‘Blue Glow’ agave and silver ponyfoot
An iron fence encloses the entry garden and path. Outside the fence, the garden continues with exuberance. Here are gaura, whale’s tongue agave, ‘White Cloud’ Gulf muhly, giant hesperaloe, and a few boulders for good measure.
Also ‘Blonde Ambition’ grama grass
Whale’s tongue agave, gaura, and grasses
A last look, with sedges and four-nerve daisy
My thanks to Curt and the owners for letting me share this lovely garden! For a look back at another of Curt’s designs, a waterwise garden in southwest Austin, click here.
Heading to Houston
A quick note to say I’m heading to Houston this week for two events, both open to the public. If you’re in the area, I’ll hope you’ll join me. And if you have garden-loving friends in the Houston area, please share the word!
February 18, 6-8 pm – Meet the Author: Rice University
Free and open to the public. This is a hybrid event: when registering, you can choose to participate in person or through Zoom. You’re invited to attend a conversation-style discussion at Rice University, my alma mater, moderated by one of the gardeners featured in Gardens of Texas, who’s also a Rice alumna. I’ll talk about my background at Rice, how I became a writer, and how my new book came about. After the discussion, in-person attendees are invited to a reception with heavy appetizers and drinks. Presented by the Office of Alumni Relations and Friends of Fondren Library. Register here.
February 19, 6:00-9:30 pm – Houston Botanic Garden
“Gardens of Texas: In Conversation with Houston Gardeners”: In a panel conversation moderated by me, Houston gardeners featured in Gardens of Texas will join me on-stage to share what they’ve learned about making inviting outdoor spaces, choosing plants, supporting wildlife, and tending gardens that are both resilient and deeply personal. Expect practical insights, local perspectives, and a close look at the beauty of gardens grown in harmony with place.
I’ll have books for sale and signing before and after the discussion. Light snacks will be provided by the Garden. Register here; tickets are $30 for members of the Garden, $40 for non-members.
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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’s for anyone who loves gardens or the natural beauty of Texas. More info here.
Come see me on tour! I’ll be speaking and hosting book events across Texas this spring to celebrate the release of Gardens of Texas. Join me to learn, get inspired, and say hello!
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.
All material © 2026 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
