By Bill Ward
Published in The Boerne Star on September 5, 2003
When protected from deer, several kinds of wildflowers just naturally sprout up in our backyard. Three falls ago we supplemented our indigenous crop with various wildflower seeds purchased from Native American Seed in Junction.
Of course, we bought seeds only for the native plants that are supposed to do well in this part of the Hill Country, and they did. Also, we have planted several kinds of salvias, mostly natives of Texas and northeastern Mexico.
Having a wildflower patch in place of a traditional backyard brings us a lot of pleasure through most of the year. It also brings a little consternation from time to time.
The nicest thing about our backyard is that from early spring to early winter we have a kitchen table vista of ever-changing color and texture. Just about the time the first bluebonnets start to flower, the agarita bushes are covered with tiny yellow flowers and the Texas mountain laurel is hanging with “grape clusters” of purple blooms.
Within a few days the patch of bluebonnet blue has spread wide, and here and there are spots of prairie verbena purple, Englemann daisy yellow, and gaura pink.
As the bluebonnets fade, more yellow flowers bloom. Then an orange cast spreads across the yard when more and more Indian blankets open.
In time, purple and blue patches dominate the scene as purple horsemint and mealy blue sage come into full bloom. Meanwhile, standing cypress has sent up red spires all over the yard.
And so it goes, continuously changing colors, through the summer and into the fall.
Our fall flowers often eclipse the spring blooms. especially when the late-summer rains are ample.
To tell the truth, this idyllic progression of color is not without its less-attractive periods that try our patience. Our first challenge is to wait for the withering bluebonnets to pop their seeds before we pull up the unsightly gray-brown remains.
The same is true for most of the other flowers. We often have to concentrate on what is currently blooming through the dying branches of earlier flowers.
And then there are the summer doldrums, when too much of the backyard tends to be dry brown. This is the time which requires the most patience.
That awkward time between early summer and fall bloom periods can be mitigated by planting enough of the wildflowers that will continue to bloom no matter how hot and dry it gets.
One of my favorite hot-weather bloomers is blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum). Just last week my wife discovered that blackfoot daisy flowers have a strong perfume, at least for part of the day.
That plant grows so close to the ground that we never smelled the flowers before.
Other Hill Country wildflowers that bloom through the August heat in our yard are common sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), Texas greeneyes (Berlandiera texana), rose pavonia (Pavonia lasiopetala), Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus drummondii), flame acanthus (Anisacanthus wrightii), and snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marinata).
Bush sunflower (Simsia calva) continues to bloom except during the driest period.
Strangely enough, many of our Indian blankets (Gaillardia pulchella), which grew from seed we planted, will bloom all summer and right up until a hard frost, especially if given an occasional watering when it is very hot and dry.
They’ve done that for three years now.
The South and West Texas native yellow bells or esperanza (Tecoma stans) flowers profusely all summer and fall. Two native-compatible exotics that bloom well during the summer heat are indigo spires (a Salvia hybrid) and Mexican oregano (Poliomintha longiflora). Another plus for these last two is that deer ignore them.
