Trowel and Error: Mayfield Park’s biggest fundraiser

By Alana Moehring Mallard

About a hundred gardeners, wanderers, and lovers of plants gathered at Mayfield Park earlier this month for Mayfield Park-Community Project’s only fundraiser, Trowel and Error Gardening Symposium, for the quaint and beautiful Mayfield Park at the Lake Austin end of 35th Street.

The annual event began with a pass along plant sale of cactus, ground orchids, irises, and lilies to the music of the Peacock Recorder Consort, a group of recorder musicians who typically practice at Mayfield Park. And the girls and leaders of Girl Scout Troop 42112 had coffee and breakfast snacks available.

Gardening speakers were Renee Studebaker, who gave tips on rewilding in the home garden; Darrel Mayers, editor of austingarden.org, who brought along his friend Thom the World Poet for a couple of spoken word poems about gardens and those who garden; and Austin Davenport, who helped us learn how to grow tomatoes in Austin’s heat.

Current projects at

Mayfield Park that are funded by Mayfield Park-Community Project include replanting of the water gardens as specimen lily gardens, which was their historical use, and installing a heritage rose garden in the northeast corner of the park.

This year’s sponsors of Towel and Error were Austin Parks and Recreation Department, West Austin Neighborhood Group, Friends of the Parks of Austin, The Natural Gardener, Frost Bank Tarrytown Branch, Shoal Creek nursery, Anderson Coffee, and HEB on Lake Austin.

Blake Tollett is chair of the Mayfield Council, and members are Karen Cannatti, Rick Chance, Janice Brown, Tricia Ziegler, Sharon Lamb, Barbara Watt, and Shawnee Merriman. Mary Mayfield Gutsch gave Austin her 23-acre estate in 1971. Friends of the Parks of Austin sponsors the restoration of the MayfieldGutsch house and gardens in the style of the 1920s to 1950s.