With an enviable view of Lake Austin and the rolling green hills where the Texas Hill Country begins, it would have been easy just to let the view do all the talking. But Kirk Walden and his wife wanted a garden to complement the amazing view and worked with designer Annie Gillespie of Botanical Concerns to create a beautiful, hilltop retreat. Pollinator-friendly and colorful perennials and evergreens like rosemary and agave create a tapestry of mounding plants that are tough enough to thrive in the harsh, exposed conditions of the site.
A naturally shaped swimming pool and upper pond, connected by a gently dropping stream, evoke spring-fed swimming holes in the Hill Country. The water echoes the view of Lake Austin and keeps the garden -- and gardener -- feeling cool even on the hottest summer days. Kirk himself is an avid gardener and takes pleasure in maintaining his garden of native and well-adapted perennials and other plants, with help from Julie Clark of Stronger Than Dirt.
Limestone boulders and stonework terrace the sloping lot, and a naturalistic dry creek out front keeps Texas gullywashers from tearing up the garden beds. "The terrain appears naturally terraced, defined by berms, outcroppings, dry river beds and stone paths," Kirk says. "It was all man-made, shaped and limited by the severe slope of the property."
We'll be visiting Kirk's garden on our final day of Fling touring, and we know you'll be as wowed by it as we are.
Remember, registration opens THIS THURSDAY, November 9th, at 10 a.m. CST. We look forward to sharing this garden and many others with our fellow garden bloggers and hope you'll sign up early!