Nursery Crawl plus some Junque!

We hit Buck Moore, my regular haunt early Friday morning. They had some good looking veggie starts on the front porch but were pretty low on seed. If you are into chickens, then you should know that Buck Moore sells the ONLY organic chicken feed in all of Texas, fortunately for me they're right up the street near the corner of 51st and Lamar.

They also carry a variety of other pet products and collectibles.

Then we headed over to Sledd's Nursery...someplace I'd apparently driven by and never seen! It's in Clarksville and has been around for over 30 years.

The plants were super healthy! But we didn't get a chance to talk to anyone to find out about the care, although after careful scrutiny of my photos I saw that they had a large container of Compost Tea...good sign!

We noticed that the prices were a little high...but then so was the quality of the product.

One of their outdoor covered area's.

These topiary frames were adorable and I think they are made on site. Pretty much any animal you can imagine, even a monkey was hanging from the ceiling....oooh, but expensive! The horse was almost $600!

The little half trunk benches had a price tag of $149...again, pretty expensive.

There were some really attractive arrangements! I love the color on these Lobelia!

We still had some time to blow before lunch and Randy wanted me to see this little dive just near my place and it ended up being the only purchase I made! I've got a "For the Birds" area in my backyard and I found a few folksy items there. They really have a ton of furniture and collectibles though...he was right, it was worth the stop and the place next door has used cowboy boots...I need to get back there with my girls!

This little place is tucked away on Burnet Road, an upscale antique warehouse collection and reupholstering shop. In my opinion, everything was outrageouly expensive...but a fine place to peruse for inspiration!

In with the pricey shops is Randy's friend Kirk's studio..."Body by Kirk" is a full workout facility with small and private classes.

Isn't Randy so00 modern?

I loved this simple Buddha and very fine vase...I'll spare you the heart-stopping price!

Since the shopping was going quick due to our being light-in-the-wallet, we had time for one last stop, though the agave juice was starting to call my name...

This is a beautiful turn of the century greenhouse hidden in the middle of the UT campus. A private residence since 1910, now being given to the university.

Here is the front of the house...it was being boarded up as we arrived. I'm all for the preservation of this beauty. The grounds have been left fallow but someone out there should step up with the funds. The view from the master bedroom is of the capital through Red Buds...just blooming now. Randy was fortunate to have attended the estate sale run by an old friend Carl McQuerry, art collector and writer...note to self, get the low-down from Carl! UT isn't known for it's preservation...so we'll be watching this site.

Jorge's is on North Loop just off Burnet Road, next to the fire station as you can see.

We opened the place up and the Marg-machine was ready!

Bam! 6.39$ a drink! Good grief...is this what an economy in crisis looks like? I had the lunch special, a cheese rellano, which was okay at best. The Margarita was small, but tasty...after the second (that's when we found out the price...ouch) we both started to feel it...at least they were strong...made picking up the bill a little easier.

Here's the scoop. Randy loved his meal, and will drink anything...didn't care about the price but you'll have to check out his blog "Horse Lips-Horse Sense" for his side of the story. Our waitress was classic and the place isn't bad...kitsch Mexican folk art and lovely tile...along with an old rock n' roll station...we were singing when we left.

Here's a place I'd been dieing to hit and it just seemed out in the middle of nowhere so I hadn't made it...plus, I have a 5 star rating in Orchid-death. They are my favorite flower, bar none and over the years my SS (sweet spouse) has brought them to me now again only to watch them die under my over-care. I can't seem to grow the simplest of wildflowers or the duchess of exotics...I'm in some kind of hard-knock-perennial-catch-22.

The first thing you hit is their outdoor rose nursery! Their collection is second only to the Rose Emporium...so said Dicke Patterson, the rose expert and nurseryman who showed us around and was genuinely charming.

I can't remember all the names that were just pouring outta Dicke's mouth!

I've never really seen the appeal of nailing a flower to the wall, though after I went to the annual orchid show at Zilker, I realized this was all the rage. I'm not convinced that a wall is reminiscent of a tree.

This room was amazing...plenty of air circulation and the flowers were all blooming!

Resident parrot in one of the many greenhouses. I'm a big fan of pets at work, but I always feel so sad to see anything in a cage.

This is the wonderful Dicke W. Patterson, who teaches classes regularly at It's a Jungle.

I ended up with so many shots of the orchids it was hard to pick which ones to show. One final word, this place is wonderful...they had more than just exotics and roses...they also had a nice variety of natives, fruit trees and garden furniture...give them a call about events, classes and demonstrations. They've been in business a long time and you can feel the love...we need to hold onto this Austin gem.

Countryside Nursery is located at 13292 Pond Springs Rd. and has been in business for just 3 years. They had a huge selection but are located on a big flat parking lot. If you just want good prices and live up north, it's a fine spot. They have John Dromgoole's products and he's coming in April for their Spring Fling talk.

They have a respectable assortment of natives and landscaping trees of every size.

They also carry lots of pottery, birdbaths, fountains and patio furniture...they really do have everything and at a good price.

After today, I was ready to have a comfy seat and take a break! Thanks for joining us on our monthly nursery crawl, restaurant review...sort of, and all things Austin.

Happy Gardening!