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Pigeonberry — perfect for shady spots
What can you plant in the shade under the live oaks? For the answer, look no farther than pigeonberry.
Pigeon-berry — NICE! plant for shady spots
After “Do deer eat it?”, probably the second-most-common question asked by Hill Country gardeners wanting to grow native plants is “What can I plant in the shade under the live oaks?”. For the answer to that, look no farther than the Operation NICE! (Natives Instead of the Common Exotics!) plant
Sustaining Mother Nature with Native Plants
Douglas W. Tallamy wrote a whole book on what this column has mentioned too briefly and too few times; namely, that growing native plants in your garden concerns a lot more than conserving water. Of course helping sustain Hill Country aquifers is indeed ample justification for us to “grow native,”
June 2009
NICE! Plant of the Month (Pavonia lasiopetala) Family: Malvaceae Other Common Names: Rose Mallow, Rock Rose Type: Low shrub. Natural Habitat: Edwards Plateau, Rio Grande Plains, and Trans-Pecos. Growth: 2-3 feet. Deer Resistance: No. Wildlife: Butterflies. Light Tolerance: Full sun, dappled shade, part shade. Flowers: Pink, 2″ hibiscus-like blooms; opening
Nature Boxes educate children in Boerne
At Cibolo Nature Center “Nature Boxes” filled with fun nature-themed activities enhance current school science curriculum.
Rose pavonia keeps blooming in the hot, dry summer
**ARCHIVED POST ** Hill Country summers are hard on most flowering plants, even native plants. By July many blooming wildflowers and shrubs, whether in the wild or in the garden, are in a summer slump. However, one little native shrub that keeps blooming through the heat and on into the
Wichita Falls to be site of fall symposium
**ARCHIVED POST ** Since 1991 our annual fall symposium has rotated through 17 different Texas biomes. This year we will visit Wichita Falls, hosted by the Red River Chapter. The symposium will look at the western Cross Timbers and Rolling Plains ecoregions that meet near Wichita Falls, and the history,
Solved: mystery of the first-collected big red sage
**ARCHIVED POST ** In May of 2004, Patty Leslie Pasztor and I got permission from land owners to kayak through some limestone canyons on Cibolo Creek to make notes on the unique native vegetation of that area. As we came around a bend, sharp-eyed Patty spotted some rosettes of big
May is the month for agave
Only 4 or 5 agave species are thought to be native to Texas, but agaves have been valued and transplanted by man prior to historic cultivation.
Anacacho orchid tree, a NICE! landscape plant
Anacacho orchid tree (Bauhinia lunarioides) is the Operation NICE! (Natives Instead of the Common Exotics!) choice for May. This large shrub or small tree is ever-increasingly popular as a hardy landscape plant for Hill Country yards. Bauhinia is a large genus with 250 species of shrubs, trees, and vines growing
Steve Lowe suggests May as month of the “maguey lily”
Author: Bill Ward Steve Lowe, Kendall County Park Naturalist, wrote to say that this spring he has seen more than the usual number of Agave species blooming. He suggests May is a good month to reiterate the attributes of this landscape plant that does so well in Hill Country yards.
Rose Pavonia – NICE! Bloomer for Hot, Dry Summer
Author: Bill Ward Hill Country summers are hard on most flowering plants, even native plants. By July many blooming wildflowers and shrubs, whether in the wild or in the garden, are in a summer slump. However, one little native shrub that keeps blooming through the heat and on into the
