Happy June 2013 Garden Blogger's Bloom Day! And a tip of the trowel to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting! *** I have to say th...
We declared on Facebook that this is the year we break out of our comfort zone and plant tropical plants. Over the weekend, we did something we had not
Love vibrant gardens?
If you love to have a tropical garden like setup and you live in a cold climate then grow these cold hardy tropical plants to create a tropical garden in a cold climate.
Gardening can be a great way to beautify your home’s exterior and soak up the golden Texas sun. We asked our friends at Garden Design for some of the best year-round plants for North Texas gardens. The best year-round plants are drought tolerant, heat tolerant and use less water than their seasonal counterparts.Here are some of our favorites:Shade Trees grow tall and wide, providing shade and shelter from sunlight in the surrounding area with a spreading canopy and crown.Live OakCedar ElmLacebar
Grow cold hardy tropical plants as far north as New York! Incorporate these cold hardy tropical plants in your garden and enjoy the tropics in your backyard
A magical junglescape of skyscraping bamboo and lush foliage greets you in the contemporary, colorful garden of Lorie and Michael Kinler.
If you love to have a tropical garden like setup and you live in a cold climate then grow these cold hardy tropical plants to create a tropical garden in a cold climate.
Explore 5 banana trees that grow well in Texas gardens, offering tropical flair and potential fruit. Ideal for gardeners seeking exotic additions to their landscapes
We found these hardy tropical plants you can grow, just about anywhere! Some of them are pretty hardy in all but the coldest climates (hey, there are places even roses won't grow!) and some of them need some winter protection.
Asclepias curassavica (Tropical Milkweed) is an evergreen perennial subshrub that grows up to 3.3 feet (1 m) tall. Leaves are arranged...
If you garden in zone 6 or warmer and your garden doesn't include Vitex agnus-castus—commonly known as chaste tree, or Texas lilac, or just vitex—I'm here to ma…
A perennial tropical beauty. Like many euphorbias, all parts are toxic.
The lantana plant, bright flowers, sun-loving, enjoys heat, an abundance of colorful confetti blooms. Perfect for landscape or sunny patio. [GUIDE]
We declared on Facebook that this is the year we break out of our comfort zone and plant tropical plants. Over the weekend, we did something we had not
Fences are useful for providing privacy, security, and boundary definition, but they can also be an eyesore in an otherwise beautiful landscape. How can you
Guava is a tropical and subtropical plant native to southern Mexico. In the United States, it is grown primarily in Florida, Hawaii, southern California, and parts of Texas. With protection, it can...
Playful, billowy foliage on a xeric bunchgrass. Despite the name, no relation to bamboo.
The creativity of French landscape designers Arnaud Maurières and Eric Ossart is almost overwhelming. They were already ahead of the game when they gave us
Peering into the lush garden of Tim Wilmot, 56, you would be forgiven for not realising it is in fact a Bristol suburb, nurtured to tropical brilliance over the course of decades.
In my years as a landscape designer I’ve compiled a great list of super drought tolerant plants for the Central Texas landscape.
'Coffee Cups' is an unusual and relatively recent introduction.
Now that the record-breaking summer of 2011 is safely behind us, I got to thinking....if gardening during a Texas summer were a TV reality show, could you bear to watch? Oh, there would be plenty of drama, that's for sure, with lots of whining and crying and pouting. Sadly, though, there wouldn't be much singing or dancing. In fact, most episodes would seem rather dry. Everything would be in need of an Extreme Makeover, and you'd end up feeling like the Biggest Loser. But one thing you could count on is that it would be very hot and steamy. So tune in, you may even find a new Idol and a few Survivors. Seriously, though, the reality of a Texas summer is that it is just plain HOT. And the Summer of 2011 was the hottest of 'em all. Yes, Dallas/Fort Worth is now officially in the record books as the summer with the most 100-degree days. 70 days. I finally feel vindicated for all of that whining, crying, and pouting! 1980 still holds the record for the most consecutive 100-degree days (42), but 2011 missed it by just two days and a few degrees. Hopefully that torch has been extinguished, never to be lit again. Needless to say, this hot and dry summer episode took its toll on our gardens. Yet in spite of it all, there are SURVIVORS. The words “water restrictions” seem to strike fear in the heart of every gardener. Don’t spend the next summer season battling the elements. Turn the challenges of this summer into opportunities to make your garden better by choosing more drought-tolerant plants that have proven their worth. Let's take a look at some of the players, marooned in the seemingly desolate locale otherwise known as...my garden. My “tribes” of plants faced daily endurance challenges and overcame many obstacles, yet some seemed immune to elimination. Since I am the sole member of my garden's “Tribal Council” and “jury,” here’s a list of the plants that were star performers in my garden this summer and are deserving of my vote. Salvias are the workhorses of my garden! 'Henry’ and ‘Augusta’ Duelberg (Salvia farinacea) Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha) Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) Zexmenia (Wedelia hispida) is extremely drought tolerant 'Azure Skies' Heliotrope blooms all summer and attracts bees Purple Heart (Tradescantia or Setcreasea pallida) is tough as nails! Ornamental grasses are must-haves! Mexican Feathergrass (Nasella tenuissima) Hameln Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ Lindheimer’s Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri) Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’ (Dwarf Maiden Grass) Black Fountain Grass (Pennisetum ‘Moudry’) Fountain grass ‘Karley Rose’ (Pennisetum orientale 'Karely Rose') 'Karley Rose' beat the heat with ease! More great plants for SUN: Pink Skullcap (Scutellaria suffrutescens) Dwarf Mexican Petunia (Katie’s Ruellia) ‘Powis Castle’ Artemisia Mexican Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) Lantana camara Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) Gray Creeping Germander Canna Datura Thyme Rosemary Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida) Rudbeckia ‘Triloba’ Flame Acanthus (Anisacaths wrightii) Texas Star Hibiscus ‘Bath’s Pink’ Dianthus Four Nerve Daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa) Variegated Liriope ‘Silvery Sunproof’ (with afternoon shade) Sedum Pink Rain Lily (Zephyranthes grandiflora) Yaupon Holly Burford Holly ‘Gulfstream,’ ‘Nana,’ and ‘Harbor Dwarf’ Nandina Yaupon Holly tree Crape Myrtles Redbuds: ‘Burgundy Heart,’ ‘The Rising Sun,’ and ‘Oklahoma’ Rose of Sharon (Althea) Lots of shady characters were star performers as well Native Turk’s Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) attracts hummingbirds Another native, American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), attracts our feathered friends Hostas absolutely fried, but Leopard Plant (Ligularia/Farfugium) survived with no special care African Hosta (Drimiopsis maculata) is not bothered by slugs, snails, or heat More great plants for SHADE: Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra) Oakleaf Hydrangea Chocolate plant (Pseuderanthemum alatum) Purple Shamrock (Oxalis triangularis) Forsythia Sage (Salvia Madrensis) Holly Fern (Cyrtomium falcatum) Purple Heart (green variety) 'Tropical Giant' Spider Lily (Hymenocallis) Horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis) Ajuga ('Giant,' 'Chocolate Chip') Cherry Laurel Heat Loving Annuals Melampodium Vinca (periwinkles) Angelonia ‘Serena’ series Blue Daze (Evolvulus glomeratus) loved the heat! Variegated Tapioca (Manihot esculenta) was still going strong in mid-August! Caladiums can't be beat for a shady spot. More great annuals for sun and shade: Cosmos Salvia coccinea (red and ‘Coral Nymph’) Malabar Spinach (vine) Esperanza (Tecoma stans) Lantana ‘African Blue’ Basil Holy Basil Lemon Verbena Sweet Potato Vine Perilla magilla Hyacinth Bean Vine Ornamental peppers Pentas (in afternoon shade) Begonias (shade) Some of my plants got sent to Redemption Island. They started out strong, but then quickly burned out when the heat was intense. After a disappointing debut, they have redeemed themselves this fall showing some recovery now that cooler temperatures and some rains have returned. Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’) Summer Phlox (Phlox paniculata) Black & Blue Salvia (Salvia guaranitica ) Lamb’s Ear ‘Helen von Stein’ Wood Fern (Dryopteris) 'Texas Gold' Colubmine (Aquilegia chrysantha hinckleyana) ‘Gold Dust’ Aucuba Autumn Joy Sedum Knock-Out Rose 'Rosa Radrazz' Unfortunately some plants went to Dead Man’s Island: Eupatorium ‘Chocolate’ Hostas Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum) ‘Endless Summer’ Hydrangea is on its last legs Thankfully the list of winners is much longer than the list of losers (hence this ridiculously long post). If any plant survived the Winter and Summer of 2011, it is a keeper in my book. If this challenging summer (and winter) has wreaked havoc in your garden, incorporate some of these well-adapted plants into your garden. Fall is a great time to get new plantings established before we have a re-run of this season’s fiery episodes next summer. Make some changes to your garden now and you will be rewarded next year with a garden that not only survives; it thrives! All indications are that this drought in Texas may persist for another two years. Don't let that news make you wish you could escape to Exile Island. A few wise choices can make a drought-tolerant and heat-loving garden a beautiful reality. If you are still reading up to this point, you deserve some bonus points! Here is a list of some other survivors recommended by a few of my garden friends: Duranta erecta (Brazillian Sky Flower) Aggie Cotton Texas Sage (Cenizo) Zinnias Day Lilies Thai Basil Moss rose and purselane Abelia Okra Gregg’s Blue Mistflower Fall Aster (Aster oblongifolius) Candle Tree Purple Coneflower Alternanthera Passion Vine Woolly Stemodia (Stemodia tomentosa) Pidgeon Berry Inland Sea Oats (Casmanthium latifolium) Congratulations on surviving through the Summer of 2011 and this long post! Toni :-)
July 21, 2015 Death Star-adapted plants tend to be small-leaved and airy, the better to retain precious water. But our native Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) defies that expectation with vaguely heart-shaped leaves the size of a napkin scrounged … Read More
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