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.