why I cant have a certified native landscape

I understand that you cannot grow invasives if you want to be certified. I dont think I could give these up.

They are just so beautiful and reliable. The drought barely fazed them.

Yes, they are beautiful and very reliable but other plants are beautiful and reliable too, but of course we all must make choices.
I think that our Wild Petunia, Ruellia nudiflora is also beautiful and very reliable too.
http://wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=RUNU
Josephine.

The flowers are beautiful and the foliage is pretty and green.

What is the advantage of having a certified native landscape? I've never heard of this thing - I'm sort of a here-and-there-do-what-I-like gardener and ignorant about most things related to the gardening world. :)

I like that wild petunia, Frostweed!

Thank you Elizabeth, I don't know that it is an advantage about having a certified landscape, but what is does is that it lets people know that you care about Texas native plants and conservation, while at the same time it lets people see the native plants that belong to their state.
Many people have never seen or heard about native plants, so it also serves as an education tool.

I do think that all flowers are beautiful, who can deny the beauty of a rose or a peony, they are all gorgeous.

I probably have enough natives to qualify but these are like the only thing that have performed well in the crazy weather we've been having. It seems we have the worst of both worlds. We alternate between scorching summer heat and winters just cold enough to wipe out tropicals. Natives seem to be the answer and Ive converted almost everything to natives and veggies. I have no turf anymore. These, I just cant bring myself to kill. I love them too much.

I like them, too, and i have some in a mostly shady area of my yard along the garage and driveway where nothing will grow well.

Bless your heart, I can see that you are doing a good job without the certification, so if you can't part with them don't do it.
I agree the weather has been terrible it is hard on all of us, humans, animals and plants.
My cat just keeps whining because she is uncomfortable and wants me to make it better.

While the grasses have gone dormant, the natives are green and healthy, am seeing bindweed going crazy little blooms everywhere, Colorado fields were white with them, Amarillo has them growing in thru out the lawns, sides of the road, thriving with the heat and dryness, guess its why we use them as xeriscaping when cultivated blooms fail, all depends on the eyes you see the world thru, if I am happy with my efforts, then that is the person I was trying to please, after all, Your flowers are beautiful, healthy and appear to be well controlled where they are. My daughters cats treat me like I am the butler for what their cat thoughts dream up, chuckle, they sleep more than I do anyway, then parade in and out like the teens looking for something to do, chuckl

I just learned something from Josephine about the native wild petunia this past weekend. It drops it's seed BEFORE it blooms. I saw seed pods on mine and was bummed because I thought I had missed it's blooms. Now I know I have a lot of blooms on the way!

Well Josephine, sit her in front of a fan! LOL

LOL! She was following us around getting loving the other day...such a sweet kitty.

I'm so happy because some Turks Cap showed up under the cedars in the back yard.

I could probably easily qualify for the natives. The backyard is overtaken by Mexican Hats, Four-Nerve Daisies, and Chocolate Daisies. :)

Now if I only I could get rid of the only shade-tree in the backyard. Stupid ugly china berry...

Steadycam,
I have a lot of native plants but I have non-natives also. I keep one invasive species, a sterile variety of loosestrife that spreads in wet areas so I guess I wouldn't qualify either.
btw your patches of m. petunia are lovely ( I got rid of all of mine)
C

This R. nudiflora is finally blooming. I moved the poor thing 3 times! Thank you Josephine for giving me a few of these, I really like them.
C

This message was edited Jul 1, 2011 4:08 PM

If the majority of your yard is planted with natives, then why not try for the certification? Do they *really* need to know that you have this one non-native? I thought certifications were for the totality of your yard, not that you plant only 100% natives. I say, go for it.

Carla

Loonie, it is not "non-natives" that disqualify me. It's the fact that Mexican Petunia is on the "invasives" list.

We have the worst drought in over 100 years here in Texas and it's a good year to look around and see what is thriving without a lot of hand-holding.

This message was edited Jul 1, 2011 4:30 PM

I'm too much in love with my bananas and EE's to ever even try to be certified. No way I would get rid of them. However, the last two winters have taken out a lot of things that I have replaced with natives. I also have the Mexican Petunia and don't how in the world one would ever get rid of it. I pull it like a weed all over the yard every single day. I do have an area that I like it but, just not everywhere.

LouC, As you can see this bed is completely surrounded by concrete walks, driveway and street. They cast spring-loaded seeds especially when watered but Ive found that well-mulched beds dont allow any seeds to come up. In addition, I see the doves each morning picking up a lot of seed that falls on my sidewalk. I have not watered these plants all spring and summer so far...and you know how much rain we have received. I believe that much of what else I have, would be dead if I had not watered. We are down 22 inches from our normal rainfall.

LOL sorry I posted twice, I thought the first one didn't go through.

I live 14 miles from downtown Dallas and don't know the exact statistics but we are somewhere in the same range as Houston.....NO RAIN. Just came in from outside and there is the biggest tease of a thunder cloud. Almost made me cry.

Even natives need some water. I water but I think the native plants look better and survive the heat better than other plants.
It took me weeks of digging to get rid of the m. petunias. They infiltrated the entire garden bed with underground runners.

C

Newton, mine seem to grow in clumps except for spraying seed. The bed that I pictured has about 5 clumps and for 5 years they would not spread to the street so last year I planted a few more near the street. When all the foliage dies in winter, I can see my 5 original clumps. This bed is not improved or fertilized or watered. It is mulched only.

My tecoma looks good but my farinacea looks bad, in the same bed. My buddleia looks good and my redbuds are thriving. My crackerjack marigolds are vigorous. Mexican Mint Marigold is alive and so is my cowpen daisy and century plant. My lantanas look terrible and my duranta erecta and repens both look OK. Petunias look pitiful, some coleus died, my forsythia looks good, flame acanthus looks good, parthenia looks good. spice bush looks good but did not grow much this year. My firespike is not very tall this year. Ive lost one and possibly two well established azaleas.

coneflower, passiflora, look great.What do y'all have that is doing well in this heat?

My list would mirror yours.

Mexican Hats and daisies, plus my Plumis on my porch. Pretty much everything else has drooped and died...including the firespike you sent me cam. :( I'm so depressed. My cherry tomatoes look more like marbles. Tasty, yes, but tiny.

My plum tomatoes look like cherry tomatoes! I have some Black Cherry that only got half day of sun and they look normal.