TEXAN GARDENING

Among the specific varieties of beautiful blooming plants that you will hear Agricultural Extension Agents across the state recommend are:

GOLD STAR ESPERANZA

A very prolific bloomer, very drought tolerant and likes to bloom in the heat of summer.

SHOWER OF GOLD or

Galphimia

An excellent plant for our summer heat.

Red Yucca And Rock Rose

These two are a couple of Texas gardeners’ favorite native plants.

TIP:

Look for the Texas Superstar™ label when you are shopping for plants. The Texas Superstar™ Program is a cooperative plant corralling program with Texas A&M University, Texas Tech, and industry representatives that tests and then promotes plants and flowers that do well in our climate and are readily available in nurseries across the state.

Texan Gardening

Even as our Texas summers get hotter and dryer you can still have attractive landscapes and colorful garden beds.

Here are other examples of warm season annual flowers that will do well and spice up your summer garden without drinking up a lot of water.

Marigold

This showy annual thrives in hot weather and bright sun. Deadhead fading flowers and gangly stems to keep them blooming all summer long.

Pentas

Easy to grow and doesn’t take a lot of water to keep them happy and showy. Butterflies and hummingbirds love feasting on the Pentas clusters of tiny flowers. Pentas also thrive in container gardens, as they love well-drained soil.

Periwinkle

A popular shade-loving flower, also known as vinca. You can find this in a rainbow of colors. It’s also highly drought-tolerant and pest-resistant.

Texan Gardening

Portulaca

This thrives in full sun and is exceptionally easy to grow, even for beginners. It is sometimes called sun rose or moss rose.

PURSLANE

A low-growing annual that scoffs at dry, hot South Texas summers. Originally from India and Persia, purslane also looks striking in a hanging basket.

Pay attention to the tough realities of the new normal and make some adjustments to your regular gardening habits. It won’t change the weather but it will make it less frustrating on you as a proud Texas gardner.

TIP:

Look for the Texas Superstar™ label when you are shopping for plants. The Texas Superstar™ Program is a cooperative plant corralling program with Texas A&M University, Texas Tech, and industry representatives that tests and then promotes plants and flowers that do well in our climate and are readily available in nurseries across the state.

MARC HESS is an author whose latest novel, “The Gillespie County Fair,” is available on Amazon. It’s a riveting story about the gentrification of rural Texas. He is also the editor of Milberger’s Gardening South Texas newsletter, a monthly (except January) publication covering the challenges and solutions of gardening in South Central Texas’s unique growing zone. It’s available on-line at no charge at https://www.milbergernursery.com/newsletter-archive/