Growing up in Texas it seemed only natural to love Texas Wildflowers and plants. I grew up taking pictures in fields of Texas Wildflowers and did the same with my kids. By the time I was 10 or 12 in the early ‘70’s I was identifying native trees [...]]]> Austin, Texas’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Growing up in Texas it seemed only natural to love Texas Wildflowers and plants. I grew up taking pictures in fields of Texas Wildflowers and did the same with my kids. By the time I was 10 or 12 in the early ‘70’s I was identifying native trees and plants at our Texas Ranch- the Raetzsch Ranch near Seguin, Texas with the help of reference books. One book I enjoyed was Euell Gibbon’s Stalking the Wild Asparagus There were Hickory trees, Post Oaks, Live Oaks, a few Mesquites, American beautyberry, dewberries and more. Lady Bird Johnson was busy beautifying Texas Highways in the 1960’s, planting wildflowers and removing junkyards and billboards. We seemed to be on the same plane. I do admire her legacy as we are birds of a feather. To this day I am very interested in plants, beauty and preserving natural resources. Here are some photos I took at a recent visit to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at 4801 La Crosse Avenue, Austin, Texas.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Photos

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The Candelilla Plant

The Candelilla plant I took a photo of at Lady Bird I had just visited in West Texas at Big Bend in Brewster County as well as Presidio and Jeff Davis counties and other places. There are many, many uses for this desert plant Euphorbia cerifera or Euphorbia antisyphilitica Zucc. including chewing gum, candles, Redken hair products, Pond’s Skin Cream, Burt’s Bees products and many more. The University of Texas at Austin has a fantastic article on Candelilla, Wax Making and more on their Texas Beyond History website.

Native Plants

It is only fitting that Austin, Texas’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center only features native Texas plants. Native plants grow well here using less resources than other plants while being disease resistant AND providing food for wildlife including birds, butterflies and bees. In times of drought it will be the native plants like Blackfoot Daisy that thrive in spite of any amount of heat or drought. I encourage you to go visit the Wildflower Center to learn more about our native Texas plants. You will see how beautiful our plants are, see how they fit into your home’s yard and why you should use them.

When droughts come we all wish our yards used much less water. Why not plan ahead [...]]]>

Butterflies love these plants: Echinacea or Purple Coneflower blooms and thrives with just a little care and some mulch. Red Yucca or Yucca parviflora is also a popular low water use landscape plant for the Austin Texas area

When droughts come we all wish our yards used much less water. Why not plan ahead and re-create our yard’s spaces to be drought resistant yet beautiful. They say water is the next gold. If that is true than refashioning your yard may be like panning for gold! There are many side benefits as well. One is the fact that native plants provide food and shelter for our native Texas wildlife. Another advantage is that most of these plants do not need extensive and frequent trimming like old favorite non-native Wax Leaf ligustrum (Ligustrum japonicum) or Red Tip Photinias (Photinia fraseri).

Is Xeriscape a Zeroscape?

St Augustine Grass in a Summer drought

No,xeriscaping means simply a drought and heat resistant landscape but does not have to mean just looking at rocks and cactus. There are many plants that bloom and look beautiful all summer even in high heat with little water. Some Central Texas plants that bloom are Retama trees or Leguminosae Parkinsonia aculeata,which have a yellow bloom;lantana,or Lantana urticoides (L. horrida) comes in many colors including gold,white,lavender,red,orange and pinks;crepe myrtles (Lagerstroemia species) include pink,lavender,red and white. Pride of Barbados or Caesalpinia pulcherrima has striking red and orange flowers. Blue plumbago or Plumbago auriculata has soft strikingly blue flowers on a green hedge. I am just so proud when I see my red lantana happily blooming away in high heat with no watering.

Pride of Barbados plants love the Summer Heat

Low Water Use Lawns

If you want a lawn,do not use St. Augustine in the Austin,Texas area because it uses way too much water and is subject to chinch bugs (Blissus insularis),brown patch and iron chlorosis. Zoysia is a low water use grass that uses much less while providing an emerald green soft lawn. Bermuda grass also creates a beautiful,green low water use lawn. Buffalo Grass is a native grass that is highly drought tolerant and well suited to poor soil. Buffalo grass does not have to be mowed unless you have to have the short,manicured lawn look. Another alternative to heavy water use lawns like St. Augustine is to plant a flower meadow or wildflower “lawn”.

Even a water wise landscape is hard to establish in the middle of a hot Summer,especially if there is a drought. It is better to wait until Fall,the best time to plant. Just sit tight and wait. Spend the Summer enjoying cool Barton Springs or another favorite spot. Whether we call it smartscaping,wildscaping,conservation gardening,water-wise landscaping,gardening for wildlife or something else,it’s all good for our pocketbook,our environment,our water supply,our wildlife and our free time!

Low Water Use Landscape Design Home  

This is a home just outside of Austin that has a professionally designed low water use landscape. The design includes a water efficient Zoysia lawn,Culinary Garden,trees and blooming flowers.

221 Dawn Drive,Liberty Hill,Texas

Zoysia lawn grass at 221 Dawn Dr. Liberty Hill, Texas

Zoysia lawn grass at 221 Dawn Dr. Liberty Hill, Texas

Suppliers for my Texas Natives

Hill Country Natives
308 Mesa Oaks
Leander, TX 78641

(512) 914-7519 www.HillCountryNatives.biz

Since 2002, Hill Country Natives has been helping further the fact that natives are best suited for the Hill Country Environment. They use no synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or toxic pesticides.

East Austin Succulents
9502 South Chisolm Trail
Austin, TX 78748

(512) 947-6531 www.EastAustinSucculents.com

East Austin Succulents are proponents of Water Wise Landscaping and do custom installations and design as well as selling succulents and cacti and nice potted succulent arrangements for gifts.

When droughts come we all wish our yards used much less water. Why not [...]]]>

Butterflies love these plants: Echinacea or Purple Coneflower blooms and thrives with just a little care and some mulch. Red Yucca or Yucca parviflora is also a popular low water use landscape plant for the Austin Texas area

When droughts come we all wish our yards used much less water. Why not plan ahead and re-create our yard’s spaces to be drought resistant yet beautiful. They say water is the next gold. If that is true than refashioning your yard may be like panning for gold! There are many side benefits as well. One is the fact that native plants provide food and shelter for our native Texas wildlife. Another advantage is that most of these plants do not need extensive and frequent trimming like old favorite non-native Wax Leaf ligustrum (Ligustrum japonicum) or Red Tip Photinias (Photinia fraseri).

St Augustine Grass in a Summer drought

Is Xeriscape a Zero scape?

No, xeriscaping means simply a drought and heat resistant landscape but does not have to mean just looking at rocks and cactus. There are many plants that bloom and look beautiful all summer even in high heat with little water. Some Central Texas plants that bloom are Retama trees or Leguminosae Parkinsonia aculeata, which have a yellow bloom; lantana, or Lantana urticoides (L. horrida) comes in many colors including gold, white, lavender, red, orange and pinks; crepe myrtles (Lagerstroemia species) include pink, lavender, red and white. Pride of Barbados or Caesalpinia pulcherrima has striking red and orange flowers. Blue plumbago or Plumbago auriculata has soft strikingly blue flowers on a green hedge. I am just so proud when I see my red lantana happily blooming away in high heat with no watering.

Pride of Barbados love the Summer Heat

Low Water Use Lawns

If you want a lawn, do not use St. Augustine in the Austin, Texas area because it uses way too much water and is subject to chinch bugs (Blissus insularis), brown patch and iron chlorosis. Zoysia is a low water use grass that uses much less while providing an emerald green soft lawn. Bermuda grass also creates a beautiful, green low water use lawn. Buffalo Grass is a native grass that is highly drought tolerant and well suited to poor soil. Buffalo grass does not have to be mowed unless you have to have the short, manicured lawn look. Another alternative to heavy water use lawns like St. Augustine is to plant a flower meadow or wildflower “lawn”.

Even a water wise landscape is hard to establish in the middle of a hot Summer, especially if there is a drought. It is better to wait until Fall, the best time to plant. Just sit tight and wait. Spend the Summer enjoying cool Barton Springs or another favorite spot. Whether we call it smartscaping, wildscaping, conservation gardening, water-wise landscaping, gardening for wildlife or something else, it’s all good for our pocketbook, our environment, our water supply, our wildlife and our free time!

Low Water Use Landscape Design Home

This is a home just outside of Austin that has a professionally designed low water use landscape. The design includes a water efficient Zoysia lawn, Culinary Garden, trees and blooming flowers.

221 Dawn Drive, Liberty Hill, Texas

Lot Size is 1 Acre

Neighborhood: Ancient Oaks Sec 01

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