June 29 , 2022
Curb Appeal for Wildlife
On a Saturday errand run , I detour my agenda when I spotted this center - popping gang at an intersection . Under an anchor Lacey oak , bees speeded to native rock rose ( Pavonia lasiopetala ) and fiery Pride of Barbados . cool off silverish native cenizo ( Texas sage ) promise flush in humidity . Strappy native sotol ( Dasylirion wheeleri ) counterpoint shrubby rock jump . There are no cervid in this neighborhood , but everything is deer resistant to some stage . Sun - loving rock rose can bloom from bounce to hoarfrost . Prune to shape in previous wintertime . thinly clip back when flowers are drop to encourage bushier outgrowth and more flowers . It fain reseeds for you , too , even in the most inhospitable spot . I have some that landed far from the pee hosepipe , but a slight extra irrigation for certain meliorate their vigor . Even though street - reflected oestrus accelerate summer ’s beating , aboriginal Texas frogfruit ( Phyla nodiflora ) pass over the background to attract bantam butterflies and native bees to flowers the size of pencil eraser . As I know in my garden , it withstands drouth and flooding . Pink skullcap and a yucca ( maybe ‘ Color Guard ’ ) companion this section . Firebush ( Hamelia patens ) , a aboriginal bush sure to add hummingbirds , butterflies , and bees your way , goes hibernating in wintertime after flowering for month , even when the pavement melts skid soh . glance in , cricket bat - face cuphea ( Cuphea llavea ) , a perennial sub - shrub native to Mexico , nurture the same crowd . hummingbird and butterflies always welcome native esperanza ( Tecoma stans ) , include this orange hybrid . It freezes down in wintertime , but generally returns , especially when establish . On the home front , I get a fun surprise Sunday morning time ! From the kitchen window , I recognize a flutter of action in the plantation owner of Numax ‘ Twilight ’ peppers . An adolescent mockingbird was plucking those hot black pepper as fast as he could . There ’s more coming every day , so I go for he ’ll be back . involve an vigor / inspiration encouragement ? Check out Leah Churner and Colleen Dieter ’s piquant podcast , The Horticulturati , for design ideas and doctrine as they take us along on their paths of horticultural find . of late , they visit withJohn Hart Asher , CTG ’s emcee , about how to create a sack prairie . They go far beyond that , though , with fun , insightful and downright surprising revelation . heed here . From the CTG archives , watch Leah and Colleen ’s tips for saving seeds .
Thanks for stopping by ! See you next week , Linda
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