May 20, 2026
Hello from Colorado, y’all!
We road-tripped slowly from Austin to Denver in order to miss an early May snowstorm along the Front Range. (Whaaaat?) But after we arrived, Denver was surprisingly warm and green. We leapt straight into house-hunting, and while out and about one day, I popped over to SummerHome Garden to say hello to owner Lisa Negri and see how her garden is coming along. As you can see, it was lush and green just days after the big snow.
I admired apple-blossom flowers on a chokeberry.
And swirled tepees of branches and vines — bug snugs, as Lisa calls them. They shelter overwintering insects while adding structure to the garden.
An agave bloom spike, severed from its decaying mother plant, stands like a totem pole in the center of the garden.
Zooming in on the flower structure
Here’s agave-mom over in the corner. She gave it her all to flower, as agaves do, and now she’s just a pretty ghost.
Blue flax was dancing through the garden, its flowers an echo of the sky.
Allium foliage was burned by the freeze, but this one is still flowering against silver rabbitbrush.
Two-toned tree foliage
Ceramic sculpture by Rita Vali
Raspberry in flower
Since my previous visits, Lisa has added a monumental sculpture of a prairie grass. Tall steel blades arch overhead, giving you the perspective of a rabbit in a meadow.
Josh Bales of Dying Breeds made it custom for Lisa. He dubbed it Against the Odds because she initially requested an odd number of leaf blades. But after he mocked up different versions, she preferred one with an even number.
OK, here’s the space I really dropped by to see: the cactus crevice garden, which I hoped might be in full bloom.
Some cacti were showing off jewel-colored flowers. But Lisa said many of the flower buds were burned by the freeze and would not open.
Well, I wasn’t disappointed. Here’s a spiny claret cup cactus valiantly flowering orange-red.
And more flax making a scrim of blue against rocks and cactus
A collection of hypertufa pots by Domenique Turnbull — a must-have accent for every Denver garden, I’m convinced — display more cacti.
Ka-pow! Look at the eggplant-purple pads on this prickly pear.
And another one less whiskered with spines
A wide view shows the mountain-like rock placement of the crevice garden.
Glowing pads and (frozen?) flower buds on another prickly pear
Yuccas add their own spiky forms here too, basking in the heat against the garage.
A pretty yucca-shaped wind bell by Cosanti Originals — I covet!
A cute little pine sapling
Bug snugs leading me along the path
A low trough holds a tapestry of tiny creeping succulents.
And another
A bee condo invites native bees to nest in holes drilled into wood or in pithy stems.
Along with pollinators, Lisa welcomes the public into her garden. You can find visiting hours on her website. Be sure to check it out.
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Digging Deeper
My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, is here! Find it on Amazon, other online book sellers, and in stores everywhere. It’s for anyone who loves gardens or the natural beauty of Texas. More info here.
All material © 2026 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
