Starting A Texas Native Garden

We’ve lived in Austin, Texas for about four years now, and have been living in the same apartment for the past three. Though we rent, we’re lucky enough to have a back yard. That being said, it hasn’t been an enjoyable space to spend time in. The “lawn” is really just a bunch of thistly weeds and is completely brown in the abrasive summer months. There are a few mulched areas encircled by rocks that indicate previous attempts at landscaping, but have since been neglected. Our summers are long, and the yard looks dead, hot, and dry the entire time. When it rains, there are mosquitos - a lot of them. A year or two ago, our landlord planted a fiddle leaf fig and some boxwoods in the yard in the middle of the summer and only came back to water a few times. They died quickly. I’ve been wanting to do some gardening for the past few years, but the heat begins so early in the year, it always catches me off guard and I don’t feel prepared in time. This combined with seeing how quickly other plants died when planted in the middle of the summer deterred me from trying. But this year, that desire to garden as a hobby turned into a feeling of responsibility and a way in which I can, and should, give back to the earth.

Recently, I’ve felt completely overwhelmed by the threat of climate change. I won’t go into my thoughts and fears about it, other than the fact that I know it’s going to take each of us making small changes to achieve any real momentum. It feels impossible to make an impact as an individual, and yet, it’s impossible to make an impact if we don’t individually act.

I’ve felt very strongly for years that eating a plant-centered diet is one of the most effective ways we can reduce our footprint on the environment. In our household, we eat plant-based, use reusable grocery bags, keep our thermostat set higher in the summer/lower in the winter, try to be conscious about our waste, etc. but if you think about it, all of these concepts are centered around reducing (which is very important in this culture of excess), but now I’m looking outward, to the garden, with an additive mindset…where I can add benefit? How can I encourage biodiversity in my backyard? How can I create more beauty and a healthier environment, even if just in my own backyard? By adding plants we can invite pollinators and other insects and creatures that will balance the local ecosystem.

WHAT WE PLANTED

We chose plants native to Texas, not only so that they would survive the hot climate, but in effort to restore the yard, in what ways we can, to what would grow naturally in this area and be beneficial to the soil and subsequent ecosystems. We first googled plants native to central Texas that will do well in full sun and extreme heat, but from there, we chose plants with different colored flowers. We have purple, red, yellow, and orange. Seeing multiple bright colors should be even more attractive to butterflies and bees.

The plants we chose are:

Texas Sage Green Cloud (Cenizo)

It should grow to about 6’ tall and diameter. It does well in full sun and is drought and heat tolerant once established. It has soft, sage green leaves and tons of beautiful, bright purple flowers.

Flame Acanthus

It will grow to 3’-5’ tall/diameter. It is tough and needs very little water. Hummingbirds love the bright red flowers!

Esperanza

These should grow to around 4’ and have stunning clusters of bright yellow flowers. They do well in full sun, but they will die if temperatures are below freezing, so we’ll see how these do for us.

Gomphrena
Also known as globe amaranth. They grow 1’-2’ tall and should flower all summer, which is exciting because our summer is loonngg. We chose two different types: one with orangey-pink flowers and one with purple flowers.

Frog Fruit

This is a ground cover that grows cute little white flowers.

Marigolds

We chose these to sprinkle in between the larger plants as they are great pest deterrents - though I am writing this about a week after planting and they did not do well with the shock of the intense heat. We will try these again when they have better conditions to establish themselves before more intense weather.

THE BEFORE

Unfortunately, we won’t be doing anything to fix the dead “grass.” Luckily it looks more lively throughout the rest of the year. In an ideal situation, and if we owned this property, we would rip out the bamboo and the invasive, thorny bush. We’d also tear out the “grass” and replace it with a mix of native grasses. To start, we are focusing on the oblong shape surrounded by rocks next to the shed.

THE LAYOUT

First, we placed the Texas Sage towards the back since it should grow to be the largest of the plants we bought and fill out the most.

Then we placed the next two largest plants, the Flame Acanthus and the Esperanzas. We want things to look natural and like they happened organically, so we placed plants of the same type near each other, but not in a row, so they will eventually merge together but have a nice flow around other plants. We placed these in front of/next to the Texas Sage since they are the next tallest. Our method is to have the tallest in the “back” and tier down from there.

We clustered the Gomphrena by color - the orangey-pinks in front of the Esperanzas and the purples in front of the Flame Acanthus - so that they’ll look more impactful than spreading them all throughout the bed.

Lastly, we interspersed the Marigolds - to deter pests - and the Frog Fruit to hopefully fill in the gaps.

We planted in the middle of the afternoon on a hot day which clearly isn’t the smartest idea, but we gave them a long, deep soak immediately after planting, and a second, shorter watering that evening.

The plants look pretty sad in these photos. They wilted pretty immediately after planting, but perked up by the next morning after that deep watering and break from the sun.

Now, a few days later, they’re looking happier. One of the flame acanthus is showing its first red buds, and everyone else looks a little more comfortable and perky.

Watering the plants the evening of planting.

This is just the beginning! This burst of inspiration and small taste of gardening has gotten us so excited and I see this as something that we will, not only keep up with, but continue to grow, experiment with, add on to, and nurture.

I look forward to posting garden updates in the future as these few plants grow and as we add to our garden!