Copper Canyon Daisies and Giant Swallowtail

The Copper Canyon daisies in the front courtyard are blooming profusely now. I planted them last spring and was surprised when they started blooming about a month after I planted them. I thought they only bloomed in the fall, but perhaps I was mistaken. There are only three plants, but they have gotten quite large [...]

Rain is Coming

The most reliable predictor of rain here in Central Texas is the Texas sage, Leucophyllum frutescens. When this plant blooms, rain is on the way. There has been many a time when the local weather forecasters are not predicting rain, but my Texas sages are all blooming like crazy, and within a couple of days we will get rain. It is almost uncanny how reliable these plants are. Anyway, they are all blooming now in anticipation of the rain we are expecting from the tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico.

Texas Native Volunteer Plants

There has been a morning glory, that I did not plant, growing under the bird feeder in the courtyard. I haven’t been able to identify it up until now because there were no blooms on it, but yesterday I noticed that a couple of very small white blooms were appearing. I did a Goggle search on white morning glory and identified this plant as a White Star morning glory (Ipomoea lacunosa). I was delighted to validate that it is a native species. It is working well as a ground cover in the spot that it is growing, is tolerating full sun and 100+ degree temperatures with very little water being applied. Although the blooms are not large and showy, they are quite beautiful.

New Spring Blooms

This is the first time I have tried direct seeding poppies. I planted them in the fall, and they are finally rewarding me for keeping them alive through the winter.

California Poppy

The ice plant over-wintered well and I expect it will produce many blooms this year. I am planning to take some cuttings off this plant [...]

Front Yard Project: Part 5 - Planting Has Begun!

Planting has started!! I wanted to get some of the main architectural plants installed first so I could begin to visualize other aspects of the planting bed designs. I have a high level plan that we are working from, along with a plant list, but there are many detailed elements that are yet to be [...]

The Front Yard Project: Part 1

As I mentioned in my last post. We have started to work on a landscaping project in our front yard. We built a cedar fence to define the space last year, but we just recently began the rock work that will form the raised beds. We are filling the raised beds with Geo Growers [...]

More Condo Project Photos

These pictures show a bit more detail of the features that were installed at the condo project. All of the plant material is native or well adapted to this area. Much of it is deer resistant.

Lantana with Monarch

Bamboo Muhly and Crepe Myrtle on Side Yard Path

Front Steps

Variegated Ginger

Variegated Miscanthus

Desert Willow

More to come soon.
Happy Full Moon!

Gloriosa Daisies

Gloriosa Daisies

I love these gloriosa daisies (rudbeckia hirta). They have been blooming since late spring, and should continue blooming through the fall. They are short lived perennials here in Central Texas, and annuals in colder climates. Unlike some of the other more common rudbeckias, these are shorter and more upright so they don’t require any [...]

More Native Bloomers

This native wisteria is so much nicer than it’s Asian counterparts, especially in the Hill Country, I can’t understand why folks wouldn’t choose to plant these instead. The Wisteria frutescens produces fairly large lavender colored blooms simultaneously with it’s clean, deep green foliage. It is a repeat bloomer, and is easily managed and contained.

Native Wisteria

There [...]