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08/17/2026

Personal update. I have breast cancer.

I’ve been a little quiet over here, and unfortunately there’s a reason.

A couple of weeks ago, I went in for a routine screening. Things moved quickly, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

There are still a lot of unknowns. Soon I will be traveling to MD Anderson in Houston and figuring out what comes next.

I need to step away from work and give myself the space to focus on treatment and my family. Which means things are going to be pretty quiet around here for a while.

Many of you have already sent kind messages and asked how I’m doing. I’ll share more of this unexpected detour on a personal account for anyone who wants to follow along.

I fully expect to be back to work, gardening, and educating once this chapter closes.

I’m just hanging up my gardening hat for a little while. Thank you for being here, and for all the kindness you’ve already shown me.

You can find me on TT and YT at JennieInGeneral

07/09/2026

I’ve been experimenting with several lawn alternatives in my own Central Texas yard, and it’s been fun seeing how each one fills a different role.

Horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis) can be mowed surprisingly low if you’re after a more traditional lawn look. Texas frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora), on the other hand, I think looks its best when you let it grow and flower, so I use it as a living mulch in my wildflower bed. Right next to it, my neighbor keeps their horseherb mowed along the gate path. That contrast does a lot to make the whole area feel intentional. Sometimes all a wild garden needs is a clean edge or a tidy path.

I’m also trialing native Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata) as a lawn alternative near my front door. It stays green through the winter with its evergreen rosettes, then puts on a great show of blue flowers in spring before slowly spreading on its own.

Another favorite is Webberville sedge (Carex perdentata). It’s a native sedge with a soft, relaxed texture that takes very little water once established, and I’m continuing to fill it into a few areas of the yard.

What lawn alternatives have you had success with in Central Texas? I’m always interested to hear what others are growing.

07/03/2026

This Central Austin home is about as storybook as it gets. Original limestone, original windows and doors, vines climbing the chimney, and huge heritage pecan trees. Instead of fighting that character, we’re leaning into it.

We’re enlarging the front beds to reduce the St. Augustine lawn and layering in a mostly native, low-maintenance, water-wise planting palette. Think soft whites, purples, and lots of green texture with Texas mountain laurel, Mexican plum, yaupon, American beautyberry, oakleaf hydrangea, white autumn sage, fall aster, dwarf ruellia, and Big Blue liriope.

I can’t wait to watch this garden grow together over the next few seasons. The goal is a lush, shade-friendly landscape that feels like it’s always been part of this charming old cottage.

06/18/2026

$10 discount code: TEXASGARDENING10OFF

10% off watering product code: BOLTLANDSCAPEDESIGNWS10 - Expires Sept 1st 2026

IRRIGATION KIT LINK IN BIO

One of the best things you can do for your garden is automate the boring stuff.

I tested the Vego Garden Raised Bed Irrigation Kit by literally watering cardboard so you could see exactly how the spray patterns perform. The system includes both targeted sprayers and wider-coverage sprinklers, making it easy to adapt for different crops and planting styles.

As someone who gardens in Austin, Texas, I’m always thinking about water conservation, drought, summer vacations, and keeping plants alive through extreme heat. Pairing a system like this with a timer helps take the stress out of watering while using water more efficiently.

The setup was beginner-friendly, surprisingly customizable, and integrated easily with my Vego raised bed.

What questions do you have about irrigation, timers, raised beds, or water-wise gardening?

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06/12/2026

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is a Texas native vine that can transform a shady corner into something magical. Its foliage shifts from fresh green in spring to lush summer coverage to brilliant red in fall. Keep it off your house since it clings tightly, and be aware that it can spread aggressively and some people get skin reactions. But in the right place it drapes beautifully, and when paired with mirrors or twinkle lights it becomes a true showstopper.

Recorded September 2025

06/09/2026

Lucinda Hutson’s Mermaid Garden

“LA MORADA”

I recently spent a magical morning exploring the Hyde Park garden of artist, writer, and cookbook author Lucinda Hutson.

From mermaids and mosaics to tequila bottles and one-of-a-kind garden art, every corner of this Austin, Texas garden reflects Lucinda’s creativity and personality.

A special thank you to my longtime friend and mentor, professional gardener Lori Daul, for introducing me to yet another remarkable woman in Austin’s gardening community.

If you love cottage gardens, artistic landscapes, creative garden design, and spaces filled with personal expression, this one’s for you.

06/07/2026

Ponyfoots are some of my favorite groundcovers, but in Austin they are usually not robust enough to be a lawn alternative. The biggest challenges are our heat and drought cycles (plus foot traffic). The green ponyfoot especially needs a lot of moisture. I love seeing it tucked in here and there, but it works better as an accent groundcover than a lawn replacement.

Consider Horseherb, frog fruit, sedges, or short native grasses or perennials.

06/03/2026

One of my favorite things about living in Central Texas is our thunderstorms.

10 or 15 minutes before the rain arrives, you feel that first cool gust of wind. The trees start swaying, the temperature drops, and you know the storm front is on its way. It’s one of those little seasonal moments that never gets old.

We may not get frequent rain, but when it comes, it almost always arrives with drama. Dark skies, rolling thunder, and rain falling in sheets.

One of my favorite views is from my kitchen window, watching the water pour down the rain chain and into my stock tank garden. For such a simple feature, it brings an unreasonable amount of joy compared to the effort it takes to maintain.

Sometimes the best part of a garden isn’t the plants. It’s having a front row seat to the weather.

06/01/2026

This South Austin landscape is a great example of working with mature oak trees instead of fighting them.

Many Austin homeowners deal with the same issues: patchy grass under oak trees, exposed roots, too much shade for turf, high water bills, and uncertainty about what will actually grow. Thoughtful landscape design can solve all of those challenges while creating a more beautiful and functional yard.

One of the biggest transformations was reducing a large area of struggling grass beneath the oaks and replacing it with plants better suited to Central Texas conditions. Less lawn means less water, less maintenance, healthier trees, and a landscape that actually gets better over time.

If you’re looking for Austin landscape design, lawn replacement ideas, native plants for shade, drought-tolerant landscaping, oak tree landscaping, or low-maintenance garden solutions, this is exactly the kind of project I help clients with every day.

05/31/2026

If you’ve gardened elsewhere in Texas and think you know deer, Northwest Austin will humble you.

The deer there are on a completely different level. In NW Hills, Cat Mountain, Great Hills, and parts of West Austin, deer populations are exceptionally dense.

When deer numbers get high enough, “deer resistant” starts to lose its meaning. A hungry deer will absolutely eat plants that are supposedly deer resistant, especially during drought, freezes, or periods when natural forage is limited.

That’s why successful gardening often requires a different strategy. Sometimes that means fencing, larger plant sizes, dense planting, physical barriers, or simply accepting that deer are one of the primary design constraints.

If you garden in Northwest Austin, what “deer-resistant” plant have you seen them eat and what has worked for you?

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