I don't know about yours, but my trailing rosemary has been blooming it's head off! This is one of the benefits of this uber-tough culinary perennial. It's drought hardy once established, is evergreen, takes the full blazing sun even next to hot summer concrete AND you can cook with it. What's not to love? Plus, it will sporadically burst into bloom, especially once cooler night temperatures arrive. My honeybees absolutely adore it. I use this trailing variety to cascade over a less-than attractive concrete retaining wall along my front driveway. It's beautiful camouflage.

Last December, I hit my one-year anniversary in the neighborhood. While I’m a busy gal and haven’t had a chance to meet everyone in the neighborhood, I’ve been really impressed with what a nice group of people my neighbors are.

In addition to moving into a house that has, well…let’s just call it a “reputation” (a little something to do with a mummy…), something else in my yard seems to have captured the attention of many of you in the neighborhood. My bottle tree. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a gardener. While my front landscape will be an ongoing work in progress, I have been able to at least put a few personal touches on my driveway bed so far.

My bottle tree traveled with me from my last home, located in Little Forest Hills, and was one of the first items I placed in the front bed.

What is this bottle tree for you ask? Firstly, I happen to think it’s just pretty. I find it a nice accompaniment to plants in the garden, especially when it catches the sunlight or raindrops. The history of bottle trees goes back all the way to Africa, as early the 1700′s. It was a tradition to hang shiny objects and bright ribbons outside of the home. The thought was that evil spirits were attracted to those objects, and it kept them outside of the home. The bottles became a way to “trap” the evil spirits before they could enter. Over the years it’s become a Southern garden tradition.

My bottle tree also captured the attention of someone outside of the neighborhood; so much that they couldn’t keep their sticky fingers off my pretty blue and green bottles. This past spring, I woke up early one Saturday morning and proceeded to my garden puttering. I couldn’t put my finger on it at first, but something just didn’t seem right. It took me about 30 minutes of puttering before I realized it was my bottle tree that was naked…all my pretty bottles were gone. Really? Needless to say, I was a bit irritated. I had to drink a lot of Riesling to get all those blue bottles! No one needs to drink that much Riesling. One of the reasons I put effort into my garden is to offer beauty and enjoyment to those that live around me…it’s not a purely selfish act on my part. It’s how I interact with my community. My bottle tree or any other sculpture that I put in my yard is for all to enjoy. All I can hope is that the culprit set themselves up a pretty bottle tree in their yard for all their neighbors to enjoy.

When did I know I had really cool neighbors? When random pretty blue bottles started showing up on my doorstep. And then an entire bag of them from Bob & Shirley next door. . My bottle tree was restored. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, there was quite the chatter about my bottle tree scandal on the neighborhood email list. I had no idea this little thing had become something you all enjoyed so much and I’m much happier to now live in “the bottle tree house”. But don’t go getting any ideas…because I epoxied them on this time…

​Check out the new local cookbook from Edible Dallas & Fort Worth. Whether it's piquant chili con carne or watermelon soup, there's nothing quite like Texas cuisine. Now, Edible Communities celebrates the Lone Star State's culinary traditions through a close-up look at Dallas and Fort Worth. Here are recipes and specialties straight from the region's best chefs, growers, and food purveyors--farm-to-table fare like indigenous herbs and chiles; down-home grits, collard greens, and fried green tomatoes; mesquite-grilled meats; and fruit cobblers.

Don't miss my recipe for homegrown grilled watermelon and arugula salad on page 6! Right next to Chad Houser's salad recipe on page 7! Books will be available at North Haven Gardens in Dallas very soon!

Before the exhibit is taken down in November, you should probaby scoot over to The Dallas Arboretum to get a gander at the Chihuly installation. It's even lovelier at night.

Another plant I'm in love with...the majestic Cardoon. This Artichoke relative is massive and stunning. You NEED silver foliage in your garden. I tell you this because it's true, lol. These plants are tough, easy to grow and will provide you with stunning focal points in your garden, or containers.

Now, during fall, is the time to plant Cardoon. Now, they don't look like much in a 4" pot, and even in a gallon sized pot, they'll seem somewhat un-impressive. But you'll be amazed at the growth these plants will put on over the winter. By mid-spring, they will have become a 5-foot specimen that looks stunning with roses, Iris, herbs and more. But you have to plant them now! Cardoon are also an edible, however you harvest the stems, not the blooms. If you want to read more about Cardoon in my garden, check out the current fall issue of Neil Sperry's Gardens magazine! You can also pick up copies (and plants) at North Haven Gardens.

Just a quick photo from Big Bend....This gorgeous grasshopper (still need to ID) just happened to jump right into the palm of my hand on a hike. He/she was AS BIG as the palm of my hand.

What a beauty! Now, I realize that these critters are not always welcome in the garden, but you have to appreciated it's style, no? This one will be going in my sketch book...

Plant Iceland Poppies in Fall for Cool Season Color

I'll admit, I'm totally in love with Iceland Poppies. I've been pushing them on you for years, and I'm afraid that is just not going to stop! The translucent papery blooms in all the colors of sherbet are just to die for. In Texas, you need to plant them NOW! They will bloom through the fall and also put energy into putting down a good root system over the winter. Then, in early spring, they will pop back out in full-blown bloom and continue through spring/early summer. But you have to plant them in fall to get such a display.

Iceland poppies are the perfect companion for Dutch Iris, Tulips, Mexican Feather grass, Daffodils, you name it! Butterflies and bees love them too. Just so happens, I'm planting mine today. I like to plant them in groups of at least three plants, but usually five plants. I plant several groups of them around the garden in order to provide repetition of the colors. Those are also the spots where I have Dutch Iris and will drop in some Tulips. Planting some extras will also allow you to use them as a cut flower. Gorgeous...just gorgeous!

I travel quite a bit from mid-summer through fall. Hence my lack of blogging! Most of these travels are for work. Conferences and buying shows where I check out all the new plant varieties and goods for the nursery trade to prepare for the spring season. But the trip I just returned from was personal. It was a West Texas journey. Out to Marathon, then Marfa, back to Marathon, Fort Stockton, Big Bend, then Terlingua. And back.

I have lots of photos to share both from my work trips, so you can check out some cool new plants and products, but also some wonderful photos from Big Bend National Park and West Texas in general. This photo is from the Chisos Basin in the middle of Big Bend. There had been a rare deluge of rain a few days prior so plants were popping out in bloom and greening up. Stunning. Enjoy!