With the increasing weather extremes Texas is experiencing – ranging from heat wave to deep freeze and drought to flood – how should gardeners adapt? Drawing from the visionary landscapes in her new book, Gardens of Texas, Pam Penick shares how resilient gardeners are embracing change, shifting their plant palette toward Texas natives, nurturing wildlife, and finding deeper joy in the process. Discover practical strategies for creating gardens that weather the storms and grow stronger-and how cultivating resilience in your landscape can also cultivate it in yourself.

Schedule

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Presentation and Q&A with author Pam Penick

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Book signing in Auditorium lobby (or outside, weather permitting)

About the Author

Pam Penick is a Texas garden writer and advocate for climate-resilient design, known for inspiring waterwise, wildlife-friendly landscapes for nearly two decades. She’s the author of Gardens of Texas, Lawn Gone!, and The Water-Saving Garden, and the voice and photographer behind DIGGING, her influential website about gardening in a hot climate.

Her writing has appeared in Better Homes & Gardens, Fine Gardening, American Gardener, and other publications. For 10 years—including during a historic drought—she ran a landscape design business helping Texas homeowners replace thirsty lawns with waterwise gardens. She’s also the founder of Garden Spark, an Austin-based speaker series on design and ecology.

A graduate of Rice University, with a master’s in English from NC State, Pam lives in Austin and tends a rather spiky garden under a canopy of live oaks, where she keeps an eye out for the owls, foxes, and other creatures who share it with her.