March 23, 2024
I was happy to visit a new gardener friend’s new garden a few days ago. Located in Austin’s Windsor Hills neighborhood, the garden represents a new beginning for its creator, Nancy Fortner (@gardeningwhileold).
In 2021, to be near their daughter, Nancy and her late husband Bob, owners of Sweetlife Farm, moved to Austin from Bainbridge Island, a beautiful, wet, gardener’s paradise west of Seattle. What a life change! Over the past year, Nancy has been laying the groundwork for her new garden, ripping up half-dead front and back lawns, laying paths and patios, building custom gabion walls and metal gates, and preparing large planting beds. The stage is set! Now he is busily setting it up.
The interior of Nancy’s home is beautiful and filled with nature-focused vignettes, art and a happy collection of houseplants, like this tin box planted with succulents.
Nancy collects metal silhouettes of birds, and this little sparrow “nests” in a pot on her porch.
Outside, a metal owl sits atop her new gabion wall, a fantastic feature that already sets her baby garden apart from the norm, giving it character and a sense of permanence.
Nancy worked with a local craftsman to create a one-of-a-kind metal gate—actually two, one on each side of the house—using pieces of wire mesh and hardboard she brought with her from her home in Seattle.
She added a circular metallic tree silhouette as a finishing touch. A net on the bottom allows her Jack Russell terrier Spanky to see who’s coming too.
Nancy filled a sunny yard with Vego beds, and right now she’s growing vegetables in the cold season.
Along the back of her home, a long sun porch brings in lots of light. Nancy installed corrugated galvanized metal to replace the nondescript siding, giving her home a bit of rustic Texas flair. Colorful birdhouses adorn every part.
Nancy removed every patch of lawn from the back yard and installed a generous terrace of decomposed granite under a tall red oak. A low, curved gabion wall defines the patio and adds additional seating. Wide gravel paths lead to the side gardens and back door.
Early spring annuals like corn poppies and dragonflies add color while the perennials slowly fill in. A long gabion wall on one side of the garden forms a textural backdrop.
Nancy (right) with Cat, our mutual friend
The pink ball is already in full bloom, even before the heat arrives. ‘Tangerine Beauty’ crucifer climbs the back fence. Nancy hopes the vines will hide her soon.
Nancy had to cut down a large, diseased pecan tree when she and Bob moved in, but she kept the stump with the interesting mushrooms on the shelves and turned it into a planter stand. A metal raven — or grackle, now that it’s in Texas — adds a focal point.
Spanky, Nancy’s 13-year-old puppy, checks on the squirrel situation.
He is cute and cuddly! We are fast friends now.
Corn poppies and attractive seating
Metal ravens grackles cling to the gabion wall, as if examining some shiny mirrors.
Bearded iris adds a hint of mauve-purple.
More poppies
And here’s another garden gate that Nancy and her welder designed. Planters built into the top of the wall await Nancy’s decision about what to plant there.
Spanky keeps a close eye on things
What a beautiful base for Nancy’s new garden in Austin!
Somehow I forgot to take a picture of the front garden, where Nancy has also removed the lawn and installed wide gravel paths and generous flower beds, although it is already mostly planted and blooming! I was busy with the story and forgot to take a picture, dammit. But I hope that one day I will be invited to see the garden grow and develop.
Thanks for visiting the garden, Nancy!
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Digging Deeper
30-31. March: Come see Austin Cactus & Succulent Society Show in the Zilker Botanical Garden on March 30 and 31 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Includes a plant display with specimen cacti and succulents, handmade pottery, a daily silent auction and hourly plant raffle, and expert advice. Admission is included with paid Zilker Garden admission, $5 to $8 for adults, $3 to $4 for children (under 2 free).
April 6: Come out to Austin’s Mayfield Park on 4/6 for Mayfield Park Gardening Symposium & Fundraiser, from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. This annual park benefit includes a raffle, plant sale and garden speakers.
May 4: Explore “splendid backyards, perfect pools and pergolas, and outdoor rooms and gardens” at ATX outdoor trip 4. 5. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Landscape architects, designers and builders will be on hand to answer questions. Tickets are $33.85 for adults, $17.85 for children 10-17.
May 11: Save the date for Austin Home’s Great Outdoors Tour on 5/11.
June 1-2: Take a two-day bar and garden tour in and around Austin at the annual Austin Pond and Garden Tour, held on February 1 and 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $25.
Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I host in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners several times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and request to be added. Season 8 begins in the fall of 2024. Stay tuned for more information!
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