If you could only put 5 types of flowers in your garden what would they be besides the Texas standards of verbana,perriwinkles,lantana,or my dreaded ballon flower which keeps popping up everywhere,etc? My 5 are Heliotrope (wish I could find the white),summer snaps(angelonia angustifolia), Black & Blue salvia, I.Nils (Japanese morning glories) & corkscrew vine. The reason I'm asking is I'm stuck trying to find something different for the full southern exposure front yard I have. Lots of ideas but want some feedback as to what you've grown around here & wouldn't go w/o in your summer garden. So your challenge (if you want to take it ) DGers is to list the 5 flowers you wouldn't do w/o in your Texas summer garden so I can come up w/ so more ideas on what to put in mine. Thanks & Have a great day gardening, Catssdawg2
If you had to pick 5 plants to grow in Texas what would you?
Cannas of any kind, hardy hibiscus, bridal wreath bush, Zinnias and rock roses
Zinnias, cosmos, coneflower, marigold, morning glory.
Flame Acanthus, Turk's cap, Lantana, Frostweed, Salvia greggii. You can not go wrong with those.
Cannas of any kind, hardy hibiscus, mini red cascade rose, evergreen wisteria, and Lantana.
Okay this is what I needed - let's hear from some more DGers on their picks. Also what would you use for a edging plant (20' feet worth) in blue or purple between 5"-10" to front out pink dwarf cannas,pink summer snaps & pink Texas salvia in middle row & border plants of Black & Blue salvia & blue brazilian sanpdragons in back row w/ various blue,pink & purple Japanese I.Nils & lavendar moonflowers growing over the fence behind it that'll take the full southern exposure & last the summer since my petunias (not even the 'heat waves' types make it past that)will bite the dust by mid-June? LMKP what your choices would be - I'm going nuts trying to figure out what will last in full southern exposure until my tiny little shumardi oak gets big enough to throw some shade on this area. Thanks for all the help & Happy Gardening, Catssdawg2
Hi all. I lurk on your forum as we are planning to snowbirding in the future and I want to learn all I can. I was surprised to see the canna responses. My question is: don't cannas need alot of water? How do you get them through the hot summer? Thanks.
I don't know about down south Texas but I got a small clump of orange 1's from a friend about 3 years ago & now have about 50 of them all around the garden & have given away at least that many more & I never water them & they still keep coming back every year w/more "friends"(anybody need about 50 orange "friends"? My front garden is all purple,pink & blue except for those orange cannas & don't have the heart to pull up healthy plants & just toss them though they do make a good fence between my house & my nieghbor's - these are the tall 1's 5'-6' when full grown). The oranges,reds & yellows seem to handle the heat & little water better than my whites do which I hit w/ about an 1" of water a week just because they happen to be on the path of my soaker hose for the flowers.
Cats, if no takers on your canna's you can always post them free to craigslist to. I had to revamp my front yard when we bought and I had people take allll the plants and even the clay dirt beds they were in away for me! :)
I don't think canna's require much water or any other care. I do nothing with mine and they bloom and grow just beautifully here in Houston, zone 9.
Thanks catssdawg2. We're looking in the west around El Paso. I just found a list of plants that grow well in that area in the DG Guides and canna is on the list.
Hi Tir_Na_Nog, Great idea - didn't even think of Craigslist & I just got rid of 40 guppies there last month! By the way loved your 'What's your fav gardening quote' thread - got a ROFLMAO here - you have a great sense of humor & hopefully a garden that matches it (plants grow better for Happy people) but you can keep your Houston weather - too much humidity for me but y'all do grow some pretty gardens down there.I'll post them there & here too but they can't have my sandy loam soil - just those orange cannas & a few thousand regular MGs that have decided to make a late season apperance w/the rain a couple of weeks ago. Will never do those again - got the I.Nils to replace them:)
Try daturas (kinda aggressive here but nothing the lawn mower can't fix :) or brugmansia also & my fav Heliotrope - it's an old fashioned plant(10"-12" max) brought to US by Pres.Jefferson & mine grow well in full sun & require less than 1" of water a week & look great & smell better - but go for the old fashioned 1's - hybrids don't scent up as well.
Thanks for the compliments cats. :) I forgot about that thread. I'll have to go back and reread myself---I'm funny? LOL!
Ah yes, no fan of Houston myself either. Here for the money that's all.
Having lived there, you'd have to offer me a WHOOOOOOOOOOOOLE lotta money to move back. Too big, too busy, too many people. Then again, if I did live there it would be right inside the loop, around Montrose. And I wouldn't own a car.
We live out of the city limits (less taxes!). I'd say one spouse doubling their income from one city to another warrants a move. There are always things I like and dislike about the many places we've been. But I love Texas!
My favorite 5: esperanzas, brugs, antique roses, durantas, coneflowers, buddlieas, gardenias, rangoon creeper, jasmine, passion vine, salvias (all kinds), milkweed, candlestick plant, impatiens, bulbine, gingers, almond verbena.........okay, that's more than 5. Heehee.
I vote for knolan's list. :)
Dwarf pink Katie's Ruella can take any sun to shade condtions and isn't as free seeding as the taller type. I have low growing salvia sinaloensis in a west facing bed that grows about 8 inches high with pretty blue flowers except when it is dreadfully hot. The plant foliage is pretty enough.It had the label "Plants For Texas"
Purple trailing lantana might work for your front....looks great mixed in with my blackfoot daisies right now and it spreads nicely. Next year my whole side border is getting fronted with the daisies, I just love them! Others that are doing well right now are salvia greggii, yellow butterfly bush, caryopteris, and hardy hibiscus.
I couldn't pick just five. No way! The rest of my favorites would be jealous.
Forgot about pink skullcap. That is a tough compact!
Okay getting somewhere now except I've grown almost everything on everybody's lists except the esperanzas,gingers,caryopteris &dwarf katie's ruella (which I'll look into for sure) & just got my 1st brug 'Daydreams' for the only spot that gets afternoon shade & the bed I'm doing killed the trailing lantana this year(think it was combo of heat & the fact the bed is edged w/paving bricks) & the lantana just turns into a giant bush(even put it in my 'hotspot' garden -brick in front & behind small 3x8 bed under daughter's window - if they make it there they'll grow anywhere) & the stupid thing is probably 3' tall & 2' wide & not slowing down. Need something w/ med. size bloom not taller than 10" & purple or blue & super heat tolerant as the front of the bed has no shade at all - I Nil vines shade towards the back of bed - victims so far this summer include (2) black butterfly bushes,evergreen vinca,vinca major & minor,dianthus,petunias & blue daze is barely holding on as well as the summer snaps & I water at least twice a week w/soaker & get about 1/2" to 1" of water when I do it. ARGHHHH wish that shumardi would grow faster - probably go through a nursey's worth of plants on that big bed alone ( 10'at the widest point & 19' long,curved for my 3 angel statues -(1) 4' tall flanked by (2) 2' small angels - would look killer if I could get something to grow there between June & early Aug when I Nils do their show). Oh well if nothing else being a Texas gardener teaches you patience or drives you insane - not sure about that yet. Thank you for all the suggestions DGers - I've got some plants to go investigate for next year's torture.And keep posting them - I'll take any & all ideas!
Four nerve daisy (since it blooms most of the year), blackfoot daisy, flame acanthus, dwarf ruellia, skullcap, and creeping phlox. (Ok, that was six!)
Dennis
I love my Firecracker shrub so much I plan to order another one. Here is a link since it comes under several names
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/search.php?q=Firecracker+bush&Search=Search+PlantFiles
I also love my beautiful Bottle Brush shrub. It just keeps on blooming and the hummingbirds love it as well as the Firecracker shrub. I also enjoy my black elephant ears and Veronica (speedwell). My Veronica has blue spikes. I've got to name two more. lol I enjoy my different kinds of Dianthus in my rock garden and my striking white plumbago.
Lin
Maybe if you added lots of compost and lavasand and used compost tea , it may be more drought resistant...Just a thought.Or some umbrellas!
Dennis, I love those daisies.I have the four nerve and blackfoot blooming away in between the driveways in full south sun. If they were the right color, they would fit the bill.
Mexican Bird of Paradise shrub, Esperanza, blue plumbago, Roses, and daylilies
It's tough to narrow it down to five, but these are the five that give me the longest bloom season, maximum bloom count with minimal care. I don't do anything more than throw a handful of Ozmocote on them a few times each year.
-Red purslane - never heard of it, picked it up at Home Depot, this stuff thrives in the heat and the sun. Love love it so far.
-Sweet potato plants, any variety, they are the perfect quick "cover this disaster area" in the garden
-Summerwine ninebark (it's slow to grow but it's so pretty!)
-Blue plumbago -- ubiquitous here in Brenham, nice and clumpy and pretty flowers. Kind of scratchy though.
-Star jasmine. Can't kill it, twines so beautifully, smells phenomenal in June
All of these are happily happy in my nearly sun parched front garden. The sweet potatoes wilt a little during the heat of the day but pop back out at night.
Gosh y'all have given me so many ideas I may have to start another garden plot:) Love the pic from the wombatfamily. Haven't had much luck w/potato vines but may be because I've been picking the darker colors. Know I don't know which 1 to do so I may have to total everyone's votes & see which 1 wins. I will keep you up to date as to what won the coveted,burning hot edging race...LOL hope they'll make it through at least 1 summer in my front yard which of course now my morning glories have started blooming you don't notice much else planted around it - 75-100 blooms every morn & I actually got smacked in the face walking up the sidewalk by 2 fighting butterflies (hope that's what they were doing anyway ....LOL) bees & dragonflies everywhere. Must have planted something right this year (actually it's the gulf flittary butterflies - eat the top off my huge maypop passi every year but at least they leave the blooms :) & it always comes back twice as nice when they get finished).For any newcomers please feel free to add your (5) or more picks - I'm always looking for new ideas for my huge yard w/ no shade. Happy gardening to y'all!
I agree with all of the above favorites and have one to add. My batface cuphea is doing amazing! It's not the colors you are looking for though. I bought it as a 99cent little plant in May and it is now about 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall and solid green with blooms all the time. Never looks wilted and the bugs have not bothered it all (though some plants around it have been eaten alive).
Did anyone mention pineapple sage. I don't have any right now but I love it.
Hi all, I've been lurking and reading your posts and love all your ideas. I thought maybe agapanthus might work. I grow mine in sun and part shade both white and blue, doesn't freeze and stays nice and green all year.
jana
I am loving my dwarf crepe myrtles in combo with knockout roses. Also, dwarf goldenrod, harbor belle nandinas and bush morning glory.
I haven't been gardening in Texas long, but so far I would pick cannas, day lilies (any lily really), nepeta (Walker's Low), roses, and ornamental oregano. My backup team (not on the starting team due to the five member limint) would be cone flowers, rosemary (for the green color), sun drops, any salvia, and possibly vitex (not sure yet about longevity, but honey bees love it and I'm trying to help them out).
Walker's low sounds nice. Do you know if it grows well in full sun xeriscape conditions?
I've found that during the first year it does need some extra watering but after that it does well with just the occasional watering beyond the rain. It is included in the High Country Garden's catalog and used in their "Inferno Strip" pre-planned garden. I think that would recommend it for a sunny and xeric spot in the garden. Lady bugs like to overwinter in it so don't cut it back until spring.
Sounds so good, I can't wait to get some.
The five most successful plants that I have had are, marigolds, costas, zinnias, basil ( yes I use it as flowers), & purple globe amaranth. All these are supposed to be annuals but they reseed themselves every year & sometimes twice a year. Especially the basil..that always overtakes!!
for your front garden I have aklso had success with baby's breath, it can get large but is sooo pretty as it has that lacy look to it. It also lasts a LONG time, well into the fall.
my garden is sectioned where the back is all perennials..usually roses, one little area is for herbs, & the other is for annuals. Now I have a middle section, where I removed a tree & put a birdbath in, I will use for whatever I want! haha
I am a Canadian married to an American & living near Dallas & I LOVE Texas.except for the heat! haha
If you want really fast growing trees try to get some seeds from someone who has loquots. They are evergreen, big leaves, bloom in fall and have fruit that is usable in the spring. Sometimes called Japanese Plum. Beautiful tree. Butterfly vine: evergreen, doesn't take over, has bunches of little yellow flowers and seeds encased in "shell" that resembles at first a chartreuse butterfly and that later becomes brown. Makes for nice flower arrangements in the house, etc. if you don't want to use the seeds. Already named is cosmos - yellow, orange, pink in short to tall sizes that reseeds freely or can be easily pulled up if you don't want new plants. No care required. Oleander short to tall, crepe myrtle short to tall. The oleander is evergreen and depending on variety blooms from 1 to 2 times a year to everblooming all summer long. Crepe myrtle comes in beautiful colors and blooms in the really hot days of summer, is deciduous. Back to seeds or plants there are any number of zinnias in any number of colors and bi-colored, short to tall. Save their seeds for next year, too. Althea is unbelieveably pretty and one of the few plants I can take a cutting of and have it up and blooming the next year. Deciduous, a member of the hibiscus family in single and double flowers.
Have fun gardening!
I'm a native Houstonion and can't stay away. Love the weather here, too except when it's cold, wet and windy. Born here a Loooooong time ago.
Ann
I like bachelor buttons, the old fashion deep maroon "Cocks Comb" that had the huge head, antique roses, larkspurs, zinnias, and the old fashion pink petunia that reseeds itself (they are about the size of a quarter or half-dollar and they are fragrant).
Veggies: Okra, mustard greens, tomatoes, cream cow peas, and cucumbers.