by Kirk Walden
On May 16, 2020, the Travis County Master Gardeners will host our 10th “Inside Austin Gardens Tour.” We will be opening five personal gardens plus Extension’s Demonstration Garden for the public to tour. Our recurring theme is “For Gardeners – By Gardeners” in order to show the public what each gardener achieved by using native and adapted plants in their landscape, allowing for less water use, less fertilization, and less chemicals, even in areas with deer populations and poor soils. Each month we will feature one or more of the gardens and some of our wonderful tour sponsors.
For details on our upcoming tour, and to purchase tickets, go to https://www.insideaustingardens.org
Katie Bird Farm is home to eight chickens, two miniature donkeys, three old dogs, and 15 different gardens on 2.7 acres. It wasn’t that way when Kay Angermann and Julie Nelson bought the raw, undeveloped property in 2012. It took them a year to clear the property enough to see what they had to work with, removing more than 450 cedar trees in the process.
Home and garden construction began in earnest in 2013. Piles of rock dug up for their swimming pool were transformed into berms that separate major garden spaces. More berms were created when a massive flood wiped out their septic field and driveway, necessitating more digging.
Today, Julie and Kay’s vision is just about fully realized. A massive bluebonnet field anchors a “wild,” natural area of the property. It stands in sharp contrast to the contemporary lawn and hardscape immediately surrounding the house. A butterfly garden gives way to a shaded fern garden. Veggies in raised beds frame the side of a barn. Woody areas are offset by hundreds of succulent pots and plantings.
Two popular features are the chicken coop and donkey pen—always entertaining. A “mother” oak, the largest on the property, towers 30 feet into the sky, joined by nearly 30 more oaks throughout the acreage. Yard art and antique signs abound.
Kay and Julie love gardening. For them, gardening is an experience and a lifestyle, and it shows. They will be featured on an upcoming episode of Central Texas Gardener.
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