Here is snippet of a small back garden overhaul that I have just completed in central Austin this past week.

The property had a few limping shrubs and lots of bare dirt and drainage issues.

A naturalistic corner water feature was introduced as a focal point to a new patio, introducing the sound of running water to entice birds and nature.

Here it is plumbed up, mid-construction.

Quite a few hours were spent shuffling moss boulders around to get the desired two-tier wells to flow naturally and to eliminate any splash-off that would deplete the reservoir over time.

When installing water features I try to create as much visual depth as possible, lots of overhangs,

and deep cavernous caves.

The flagstone echoes the color of the of the moss boulders. The gray gravel (Tejas black) slows down water flow and improves drainage, it blends naturally into Mexican beach pebbles around the fountain.

Back in the Patch:

It is the time of grasses.

Purple fountain grasses come to life this time of year as the sun sets,

providing movement and a dramatic effect when planted together in large stands.

The Patch Hell strip got a bit of a facelift this week with some left over Tejas black gravel.

So much gravel I will now have to go back in and dig out this drowning agave.

The opuntia tree in the background has grown considerably the past few years,

the woody base looks very prehistoric leading up into the crazy antler paddles.

The gravel also contrasts well with chartreuse bamboo muhly.

Here is a frosty trio,

Gaura, rosemary and artemesia ‘silver king’.