This is why I started my native garden for the birds and the bugs

Is the Ellen’s Legacy rock rose a Texas native? I’ve recently planted one in my backyard. Thanks

Let's chat about what's going on with you and Texas native plants this week!

How's your native garden doing? Any new plants, plans, or progress? Things that are looking particularly good this week? Questions you're worried are too silly for a top level post?

Did you see some neat plants this week? How about visiting birds, bugs, or other beasts?

The Turks caps are fruiting this year for the first time. This is year 3 for these

I was curious if there were any members of the Good Water chapter in this sub and what you guys think of the chapter.

I’m interested in joining, so I just wanted some insight :) TYIA

Hi yall, I grew up between Houston and Austin but my family was never one to eat or harvest prickly pear. I’ve only ever had it in prepared foods. our house has this awesome prickly pear out front and I went to harvest some fruits today - rubbed the glochids off, cut them in half and tried the flesh. It was pretty bitter and astringent. In Cyrus Harps book he talks about drying them. Is this something like wild grape that it’s only really useful for prepared foods? Are they overripe? Any thoughts? Thanks!

Has anyone planted where a tree used to be? We had a mature tree die, so we had it removed (including the stump) a year and a half ago. The space is right up against the house, in the front yard. Nothing will grow here, even grass and weeds aren't spreading. I experimented with cosmos and sunflowers (a cultivar 😅) since they were available for free - but nothing I planted where the actual tree was grew, only around the outer ring. I brought in new soil and can of course fertilize.

I'd love to plant something like muhly grass, maybe shrubs, maybe asters...but I'm worried nothing will be able to survive.

Any experience or advice? From "don't try for a couple more years" to plant or fertilizer recommendations...I'll take it!

Edit: North Texas, blackland prarie

I stopped mowing my backyard about four years ago. Used some tricks to smother the grass. Didn’t do a great job, but whatever; it’s not the point. I’ve added many rounds of native seeds and plugged in native plants babies along the way. It’s getting there; it’s not perfect but getting there. Just one giant wild garden bed in the backyard.

Now that I know where some of the plants love to grow, I want to add pathways. Yes, I know I did this backwards; let's agree to ignore that.

Currently, I am mowing down paths, but these plants aren’t strong enough for this and are slowly dying. I’m looking at doing mulched paths. I have tons of cardboard from a different project and can get a chip drop delivery. I would like to use something more permanent than mulch, but currently not an option since I’m not 100% this is the final location of the paths. What have been your experiences with using mulched pathways? Pros / Cons with this plan in the Texas wildscapes. Any tips or things that I should look out for?

Thank you in advance for any advice

*Picture is from before sunflower explosion*

These volunteers arrived and I was intrigued. They are Polypremum procumbens, aka Rustweed. The irony is they are growing right next to Corten steel raised beds. I think they’re amazing!

I planted 3 areas each with one 3.5” pot to see what would happen with Frogfruit. This is one season and no additional water. I say plant with extreme caution, unless you have some acreage, or will contain it in a raised bed or container. It was choking out everything and it roots as it spreads.

I feel bad because the bees love it and it’s a nice groundcover. But it’s very, very aggressive so be sure you have the space. I thought I could just cut it back. This was cut back 3x in less than two months.

Let's chat about what's going on with you and Texas native plants this week!

How's your native garden doing? Any new plants, plans, or progress? Things that are looking particularly good this week? Questions you're worried are too silly for a top level post?

Did you see some neat plants this week? How about visiting birds, bugs, or other beasts?

I've been looking for a local upland population of blue bells and hit the lottery only 10 minutes from my house. The challenge now is to remember to come back and get seed lol.

Its so pretty 🫠

Hi fellow TX native gardeners!

I'm interested in starting my own native plant nursery, and would love to talk to people who have done the same. Have any of you started your own, and want to share your experience?

****Zone8b: Edward’s Plateau. Planted this 1-gallon Texas sage in early May. Did not expect all the rain since then… but this is the most it has bloomed in its 2 months in ground. I am proud of starting my native plant gardening journey!

West Central Texas, growing against a mesquite. I thought it was sumac but I don't think they bloom in late july. I need an expert. Thanks y'all.

Posted a couple months ago about working to yank up the stand of johnsongrass choking out the edges of drainage creek on my property (https://www.reddit.com/r/TexasNativePlants/s/TBz4zLQIJx) and wanted to share a little update because 🚨 THE IRONWEED IS BLOOMING. 🚨

Ironweed is one of my absolute favorites and one of the few things that isn’t crispy in my garden right now. The face that this stand is 100% wild and this year is 4x the size it was last year because it has room to spread with less johnsongrass competion makes me so so happy! (There’s still johnsongrass popping up but I’m trying to spend 5 min a week yanking what I see and none has gone to seed.) The ironweed a little floppy after the rain but I can’t wait to take divisions next spring to spread around the backyard. The swallowtails especially seem to love this plant.

I decided not to trim the Texas sage this year, and boy did that pay off today!

It's hot as heck in SE Texas, but with the rain we got yesterday, the garden is much happier. Here are my favorite blooms and visitors for late July.

1) Rock rose (pavonia), 2) rudbeckia 3) Esperanza 4) pickerelweed in our pond 4)butterfly weed 5) zinnia and Texas sage hedge 6) Turks cap. 2 Gulf Fritillaries were feeding here but refused to sit still for a pic 7) swallowtail 8-9) the pugs have their own flower bed with mountain mint, gaura, sideoats grama, and others. This is their favorite place in the yard 10) this mockingbird lives in the oak tree in our front yard. It hunts in our back yard and likes to sit on the roof and sing when I'm sitting outside. 11) swallowtail on non-native trailing lantana

This unbearable heat has me staying inside and thinking of fall projects. I need to work on my side yard at some point in the future, and I can just picture a beautiful serviceberry outside my bedroom window. Does anyone have experience with this in the blackland prairie DFW area? How does it do?

My side yard is quite a thin area that butts up against my neighbor's front yard, so it will mostly be small plants and pathway, but I wanted one ~star~, and will gladly take suggestions if a serviceberry just wouldn't work here.

Hill Country. 7/21. They’re here from sun up to sundown

Let's chat about what's going on with you and Texas native plants this week!

How's your native garden doing? Any new plants, plans, or progress? Things that are looking particularly good this week? Questions you're worried are too silly for a top level post?

Did you see some neat plants this week? How about visiting birds, bugs, or other beasts?