Native Plants

It's official. Between the twenty plus days of 105° heat last summer and the 20° hard freeze of this winter I have lost a dozen plants in my xeriscape yard. Purple Fountain Grass, Plumbago, Milkweed and even a Crepe Myrtle to name a few of the casualties. For the past ten years in both Florida and Texas I have dug up grass and replaced it with a water-wise landscape. I love the variety, texture and color of the native plants, grasses and flowers. Why have short green grass that you have to water, edge and mow when you can trade it for continuous flowering and minimal maintenance? The annual mulching, which I have yet to do, follows a rigorous weeding and cutting back. The spring rains hasten new growth and the heat of the summer brings it into bloom.

However for the last four years since I moved to Texas, we have broken all sorts of weather records. Wettest summer. Driest summer. Coldest winter. Longest days with rain. Almost the longest days of heat. You name it, we've had it. There is one plant out of all my plants that doesn't seem to mind the vast disparity of fluctuating weather conditions. That winner would be the humble beauty, salvia greggii, also known as Autumn Sage. It shows up red, pink, white or coral and practically blooms continuously. If you brush up next to it, it smells strongly of its herby cousin. These hardy evergreens will stand up to extreme weather and soil conditions and survive on the craggiest hillsides in a variety of terrains.

Here in Texas and and in Florida, both counties put out helpful books through cooperative extension centers that list appropriate native and adaptive plants for the area. In Central Texas go to www.growgreen.org or to your nearest local native nursery. Talk with someone who is knowledgeable about your soil and weather conditions and who will encourage and not discourage you to get rid of your grass and replace it with native and adaptive plants.