New Plants Emerging!

At this time of the year you need to grab your garden tools and get out in the garden. Many Texas native plants are just beginning to sprout from the seeds dropped this year. They are getting ready for spring blooming. I discovered a plethora of Tahoka Daisies (Machaeranthera tanacetifolia), Rock Roses (Pavonia lasiopetala), Wild Onion (Allium canadense) and Flame Acanthus (Anisacanthus wrightii). These are very easy to dig up and give to your nearest school or neighbor. Other plants could be divided.

Cyathus olla - Bird's - Nest Fungus Growing in Our Yard!

We just found this fungus growing in our yard today, October 4th, 2009. Look in the lower right-hand corner to see a miniature bird's nest with egg looking doodads in them. I found a link that supplies information about this unusual fungus. Check it out. As I understand it, it only lasts for a few days. . . maybe a week. It is so cool.

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljune96.htm

Native Plant Landscaping Front of Home

I love the look of the yard. It contains mostly Texas native plants: Blackfoot Daisy, Drummond's Skullcap, Penstemon spp., Mexican Feather Grass, Mealy Blue Sage, Square-bud Primrose, Devil's Shoestring ( not in photo), and some adaptive plants such as: Bulbine, Bi-color Iris, and Society Garlic. I am proud of this. Spring will bring out Bluebonnets, Rain Lillies, Silver Ponyfoot, Frogfruit and many more! Not much maintenance right now except a few weeds here and there.

Garden Certifications

Get Certified!

We have the following certifications: Certified Wildlife Habitat by NWF, Monarch Waystation see www.monarchwatch.org, Texas Wildscapes by TPW, Backyard Wildlife Habitat, and Certified Butterfly Garden see www.naba.org. We are currently working on obtaining the "Best of Texas" certification. There are some fees involved usually less than $50.00.

• Backyard Wildlife Habitat - National Wildlife Federation (To get this you need to provide food, water, shelter for the wildlife in your area, place for the animals to raise their young, and reduce chemical use on the plants. ) Apply for certification today!
  

• Monarch Waystation Program - Monarch Watch (You much have a garden no smaller than 15 square yards that gets at least six hours of sun a day, grow a variety of milkweed in low-clay soil that drains well. Nectar plants should be close by.) Milkweed Plants - Grow a number of milkweed species. Check the certification site to see the whys.
  

• Texas Wildscapes - Texas Parks and Wildlife ( You need at least 50% native plants, provide food for the wildlife year round, shelter, and a reliable water source. Fee is $15.00)
• Certified Butterfly Garden see www.naba.org

• Best of Texas Backyard Habitat - Texas Parks and Wildlife (Fee is $28.00)

Best of Texas Backyard Habitats
National Wildlife Federation
Gulf States Natural Resource Center
44 East Avenue Suite 200
Austin, TX 78701

HOT Summer Blooming Native Plants

It's August and 100+ Degrees! Yes it's HOT and we don't get much rain in Austin, Texas. But in my front and backyard. . . I have a plethora of blooming plants of many colors regardless of the weather. Just to name a few: Passionflower, Flame Acanthus, Bluebells, Yellowbells, Turk's Cap, Blackfoot Daisy, Pink Skullcap, several sages, Ruellia, Coral Honeysuckle, Texas Lantana, Prairie Verbena, Senna, many types of Hibiscus, Tropical Milkweed, Bulbine, Calylophus (Squarebud Primrose), Fall Obedient Plant, Mistflowers, Mealyblue Sage, and my favorite bushes, Purple Cenizo Sage) bloom on and off with the change in humidity.

Wildlife love the plants. I do not know where they come from, but they are here. A Giant Swallowtail butterfly visits daily right after lunch. Many types of bees, hummingbirds, birds, beetles, and moths also fly in for a snack.

Passionflower - Passiflora incarnata

This incredibly beautiful, but quite invasive Passionflower was not planted on the arched trellis, but there it grew anyway. I have seen this vine tear a trellis apart and almost get a choke hold on a nearby tree. Don't plant this on a fence (like we did) that you share with a neighbor who does not like flowers. Hate for people to feud over these delightful blossoms and vines.

Other vines growing on the trellis are: Alamo Vine, Coral Honeysuckle, and Morning Glory. Originally, just the Coral Honeysuckle was planted on our trellis.

Critters in Our Yard

Many animals came to our yard to relax. Some days there was so much traffic from critters zipping here and there that you almost didn't know where to look first. These pictures are of the White-lined Sphinx Moth on a Scarlet Penstemon (Penstemon triflorus) , the American Snout Butterfly on a Texas Lantana (Lantana urticoides), a Hermit Skipper on Prairie Verbena (Verbena bipinnatifida), and some kind of a lizard on a bench. Many other animals visited such as the Red Shouldered Hawk, a regular garden snake, tadpoles, toads, frogs (How did they get into our yard?), cats, Cardinals, Wrens, White - Winged Dove, Blue Jay, a plethora of other butterflies and a myriad of other beetles, bees, and flies.

Bluebells - Eustoma exaltatum

WOW! Would you look at this bouquet! I have never seen bluebells like this. Last year we only had a few blooms. I am in awe. You absolutely have to come see it in person.

Even in late September. . . we have bluebells beginning to bloom again. Is that normal. I have never seen them bloom this time a year ever.

Talk to people in the Austin Butterfly Forum about jaunting over for a visit.

Pipe Vine - Aristolochia elegans (Non - Native but interesting!)

This particular plant is included in our yard because it is a host plant for the Pipe Vine Butterfly which prefers to lay its eggs on this plant. The flower reminds me of a musical note and the seed pod a watermelon. Cool!

Meandering Stream and Pond

A sloping yard calls for and demands a stream. My husband, Jerry, just kept stacking the caliche he found here and there. This is no ordinary stream. The water from the upper pond in the yard syphons out and down the stream to the lower ponds. Then it is cycled back up to the main pond. Cool!

All sorts of critters love it. We have seen a green tree frog, toads, lizards, black chinned and ruby throated hummingbirds, a snake, and a myriad of insects all around the stream.

Texas Lantana - Lantana horrida

This Texas Lantana - a great plant if you want to take pictures of butterflies who love it. Bright orange and yellow combine to brighten up any landscape. You will need to cut back in the fall or early spring otherwise it takes care of itself all year long. Harvest seeds easily. Blooms before Rock Rose and Fall Asters. Great bush. Looks lovely planted in front of Yellow Bells Esperanza ( Tecoma stans).

June 24th - I just saw my first Giant Swallowtail in my yard on a Lantana. It was absolutely beautiful. I normally would not have been out in the yard at this time of day . . . 1:00 PM, but my friend and I wanted to take a quick walk to see the beautiful flowers and there it was just sitting of a Lantana on the north side of the house.

Square - bud Primrose - Calyophus drummondianus

This bright yellow evergreen Square - bud Primrose creates a bright spot in your garden. I chose this one to put in the front yard. Not invasive. Low maintenance. However, this plant is not really as nice as I thought it would be. The lower part of the plant is becoming dry and scraggly. Is scraggly a word? Anyway, the bright yellow blossoms are worth it. Put it in a front manicured formal yard . . . maybe not.

Purple Sage, Leucophyllum frutescens

I love this evergreen bush. The perfume coming from this plant just fills the air with a light fragrance. My only regret is that it does not stay in bloom all the time.

A change in the humidity seems to be the catalyst to cause the profuse blooming.

Pink Gaura, Guara lindheimeri

One of my favorite Texas native plants, Pink Gaura , blooms with this exquisite flower. Many people say that these white and pink blossoms perched on top of thin stems resemble fluttering butterflies. I agree.

The root resembles a white carrot. I just dug it up one day to see what it looked like. Just curious.

A very easy plant to grow so far. This plant seemed to stay evergreen throughout the whole year. Some of the others in the yard did not. I am now growing these in the front yard.

Curious happenings with a 2 year old Gaura. One day it just dried up and died. I have not had any problems with this plant. Anyone have any ideas as to why this happened?

Native Backyard Habitat

Interesting? This 2008 backyard habitat brims with over 100 types of Texas native plants. My husband and I desperately wanted to get rid of the water-hogging grass replacing it with plants which require less water.

When the beds in this picture were first created, they looked more like graves than anything else. Creepy to say the least!

Landscaping with the slope of this yard tested one's nerves. Rocks were hauled in to help form the beds and line the meandering stream that winds it's way through and down towards the lower end of the yard.