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Diana C. Kirby

About Diana C. Kirby

Diana Kirby is a lifelong gardener and longtime Austinite, who loves the Central Texas climate for the almost year-round opportunities it offers for active gardening and seasonal splendor. Known as an impassioned and successful gardener, Diana began by helping friends design and implement their landscapes. Soon, she was contracted as a professional designer by a popular local landscaping installation firm, where she designed landscapes for residential and commercial clients for several years. In 2007, her new passion blossomed with the launch of her own firm, Diana’s Designs. ... Diana is a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, the Garden Writers Association of America, and she writes a monthly gardening column for the Austin American-Statesman. Diana teaches the Landscape Design classes for several county Texas Agrilife Extension Service Master Gardener certification programs and speaks about gardening and design for garden centers and other groups. Learn more about presentation topics, availability and speaking fees.

Bulbs, bulbs, bulbs…

Call me crazy! I have bulbs coming up, right on schedule, like they’re supposed to here in Austin, Texas. BUT, I also still have bulbs sitting in their bags because I was only able to get 1/2 of them in the ground when I was supposed to be planting them. [Here, that’s about Thanksgiving time]


So, I’m trying an experiment. If I don’t plant them, they won’t come up, so I have little to lose other than my time and effort. I put them in the ground this week. Daffodils, irises and allium. This will turn into a beautiful clump of daffodils next Spring — if I’m lucky! [I focus on the daffodils because the deer have left them alone] The irises and allium are a test. I’m assuming the scent of the allium might protect them — we’ll see.
How hideous is this? Know what it is?

We have a pomegranate tree in the front bed and I simply can’t get the fruit to ripen properly, or I’m not picking them properly. They seem to be very under-ripe and then, WHAM — they explode. This looks like a scary Halloween mask to me!

Mystery Plant Revealed!

I received lots of good guesses about this vine — but no correct answers. So, drumroll, please! Here it is….my fabulous, young WISTERIA, on the back fence, starting to take on some color and getting ready for beautiful spring blooms.

By |2016-04-14T02:47:54-05:00February 10th, 2008|Blog, bulbs, mystery, Sharing Nature's Garden, trees, wisteria|5 Comments
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Night vision…

I was just about to go to bed (without posting–bad girl, I know!) and was closing the blinds in the breakfast room when I saw two yearling deer enjoying a midnight snack from our bird feeders! I started to scare them off, then changed my mind and simply stood and watched them. I startled one, but she shyly came back. I walked away, and was drawn back for another peak at them — I love to watch them and they are so skittish, there just aren’t many opportunities. They are beautiful animals. 

So, I’m letting them eat the bird seed (I wonder which kind is their favorite? Sunflower, safflower or mixed song bird??!! OR, they might have gotten a nibble of leftover fruit that I cut up and put out there yesterday — yumm-o!)

I’m glad I got to see them and that they had a nice snack. Come morning, if I find that they’ve eaten my tray of johnny jump ups or my newly planted bulbs, I might change my tune, but for tonight, I’m at peace with the world and the animal kingdom.

Sweet dreams!

By |2016-04-14T02:47:54-05:00February 6th, 2008|animals, Blog, deer, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments
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Color My World…


This is my first post participating in the Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop, hosted by Nan at Gardening Gone Wild, as she inspired us to share our images and philosophy of color in the garden this month. I’m excited to share some of my favorite garden photos with you, and to get a “free” blog with Nan’s inspiration.

My garden colorscape is an explosion of vivid hues and contrasts, filled with drama and intensity. No subtle tones, here! I love bright colors mixed in the garden, opposites on the color wheel side-by-side sharing the sun and rain. My back yard is very Texas tropical, and the rest of the yard is colorful Texas natives.







By |2017-11-29T23:27:57-06:00February 5th, 2008|Blog, color, GBDW, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments
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Little Gifts…

Ah. It’s the little gifts that make this schizophrenic hobby so rewarding. I posted a few days ago about sightings of Jasmine blooms throughout my neighborhood. Well, I’m thrilled to report that I have my own flowers in the back yard. I found about 5 of them today. (I’ve been searching daily for about a week!) The Jasmines are getting much too big and unwieldy, but I love them — their arching grace, their strength and stamina and their bright, beautiful blooms.

I found these tomatoes today. You’ll never believe where! In the fall, I happened upon a volunteer tomato stalk growing right up amidst my duranta — far, far away from the vegetable garden where his friends were living! I assume a bird or a human eating outside (or, now that I think of it — a DOG!!!!) left a seed somewhere that found its way to this tiny spot of earth. Walking by, I saw the glint of red – well, not really red — maybe coral(!) and found these two little ones. No sign of the tomato plant – I assume it died in the freeze last week, but these two must have survived. Unbelievable! What a lovely little treasure.
Here’s a tough photo of my seedlings. Thus far, I’ve seen Empress of India Nasturtium (Tropaeolum Majus), Pomodoro Tomatoes (Lycopersicom Lycopersicum) from Italy and California Wonder Orange Peppers (Capsicum Annum). They shot up there today, and will have to be transplanted tomorrow because they are hitting their little heads on the ceiling. So, I’ll liberate them from their headaches tomorrow and put them in peat pots. I’m thrilled to be able to put them into the two glass cloches that I ordered for myself last week with the Christmas gift card my dear husband gave me to Gardeners’ Supply Company, http://www.gardeners.com I’ve always wanted some — and now I even have something to put in them! Look for pictures of the cloches next time.

P.S. Pat me on the back! I figured out how to put a link into my blog text for the first time!!!!!! Whoo hoo. I am SUCH a techno-newbie – but not afraid to try. I am so in awe of all the other beautiful and sophisticated blogs out there — thanks for inspiring me to try.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:58-06:00February 4th, 2008|Blog, blooms, seeds, Sharing Nature's Garden, tomatoes|8 Comments
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Shine a little light on me …

Leatherleaf Mahonia
The light was so beautiful this moring, I thought I’d capture some interest in the garden in spite of our seasonal purgatory here in Central Texas. We get a few nice days and then it freezes again…we can’t quite plan or plant just yet. But, Mother Nature teases us every once in a while with a lovely warm day like today. Viburnum flowering in the back yard.

I bought this at a neighbor’s plant sale and now, 7 months later, I can’t remember what it is. It’s on the ip of my tongue. It has soft, fuzzy leaves and grows talk stalks with tiny, buttery-yellow blooms throughout the summer…aarrgghhh! Maybe I’ll think of it, and maybe someone out there can “pop” me on the side of the head like I shoulda had a V-8 and tell me what it is!!! It’s starting to sprout up from the ground.

I have lots of these blooming right now! Hmmmm….

Can you guess what this is? I’ll give you a hint: It’s a vine. That’s all you get. The first person to correctly name this plant will get some seeds from me. Give it a shot!

Wish we could send some of this nice weather today (72f today) to our friends in the north, but I guess you’ll have ot settle for pictures for now.

By |2017-11-29T23:27:58-06:00February 2nd, 2008|Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring|13 Comments
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Dead, or Alive!


Or, Alive and Dead. My flat-leaf parsley just couldn’t be happier with this brisk, winter-like weather we’re having. It’s so big, I’ve taken to bringing cuttings in to put in a glass in the kitchen just because it’s green and alive from the garden.

The other photo is the pile of tomato vines that I pulled up last weekend. The rest of the garden is a big mess, and needs to have grass dug out of it and earth turned before I can put my lettuce and radishes in. And, with my tendinitis, that means it will have to wait until I have someone come in and do it because it’s just too much for my arms to handle.

But, I did pick 4 tomatoes and they are ripening in the family room window. You can even see some half-dead ones in the pile there. I don’t think they’re going to be any good – they look a little speckle-dy (that’s the technical garden term!) and are very hard, so I am not holding my breath. But, hey, it’s weird Austin weather and conditions, so who knows? I’ll keep you posted!

By |2016-04-14T02:47:55-05:00February 1st, 2008|Blog, Garden, Sharing Nature's Garden, tomatoes|0 Comments
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Escape in the garden

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