Below is our list of 10 Texas drought-tolerant plants that any garden lover would be happy to have in their garden.
For our 2018 Idea House, we head to Austin, Texas to take on a fixer upper of our own.
Taking a cue from traditional Texas style, our Escondido Idea House elegantly pairs old-world sensibilities with laid-back lakeside living.
Are you looking for Texas landscaping ideas? These 10 Texas landscapes filled with native plants are sure to inspire you!
In my years as a landscape designer I’ve compiled a great list of super drought tolerant plants for the Central Texas landscape.
Austin author-gardener Pam Penick, who wrote The Water Saving Garden, uses native plants to battle Central Texas' high temperatures and lack of rainfall.
July 21, 2015 Death Star-adapted plants tend to be small-leaved and airy, the better to retain precious water. But our native Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) defies that expectation with vaguely heart-shaped leaves the size of a napkin scrounged … Read More
Three months ago I started a seemingly innocuous project. "How hard can it be to make a flowerbed?", I said. Well I learned along the way and so I am now going to share what I learned and the steps to make your project easier. The major milestones are: Design the Area Excavate the Area Construct a Border Refill with Good Soil Plant the Flowers Cover with Mulch Required Tools Work Shoes - At several points it stormed and flooded my half-dug bed. After working for just 15 minutes I would have 2 inches of mud on the bottom. Be prepared to throw away your shoes or be stuck with permanent junk shoes. Work Gloves - This pair is actually the 2nd that I used. The first pair is in the trash. I wore through all 10 fingers on the first set. Large Spade - This is the best way to get soil up. I tried a shovel and had no luck. This worked especially well with the black clay that we have. Whatever This Is - Yup, I have no idea what to call it, but it is the best tool for clearing out defined areas. I used it dig out the outline for the bed before I started. Spreader - I used this to spread out the new soil evenly throughout the bed. Small Spade - Most people have this already. You dig holes for the bulbs and flowers with it. Heavy Duty Cart - Now I did not have this wonderful contraption for most of the project. For the first 40 or so bags, I just manually carried them to their locations. This will save your back when hauling a lot of soil. Now you may ask why I am going to all this trouble. Well that is because I have lots of Black Texas Clay underneath my yard. It has the nickname of "Black Gumbo". It soaks up water and swells. This is one of the reasons that so many people have foundation problems in our area of North Texas. Most plants need "Well Drained Soil" which is pretty much the opposite of what I have. So I replaced it. I ended up digging up only about 1 - 1.5 feet down. Others have done more, but I frankly got tired of digging. Here is what I replaced it with: Peat Moss - 10 Bags Top Soil - 20 Bags Manure - 10 Bags of the cheap stuff. They have premium manure... but I can't imagine what that means. Compost - 10 Bags Top Soil - 20 Bags Mulch - 12 Bags So let's take a look at those milestones again. Design the Area - This is probably the most important step. This allows you to put in a lot of effort without having to redo things. My wife gave in to my pleadings and helped measure the back yard space beforehand. The map came out like this: I went online and printed off a grid and then with help of a ruler hand drew the dimensions. Next, we did an initial master plan, or how we want it to look in the end. Our friends, Karson and Sharon, helped in this process. This keeps each sub-project from being vastly different and looking odd in the end. Next, we prioritized the sub-projects and focused on our first bed, outside of our bedroom. We found a plan in a landscaping book tailored to our area and used it as our base: This plan came from Creative Homeowner's Texas Home Landscaping book. I would highly recommend it. We then took our master plan for the backyard and fit the plants that we wanted into it. The end result looks like this: Sp now that you have a good plan, digging in the right spot and building a border is not a game of chance. Excavate the Area - This where all the oomph comes into play. At least 50% of my time on this project was spent digging. I am estimating that I dug out about 3,000 lbs of dirt. So be prepared for this phase to go slower than you thought. The first thing to do is to dig out the border a little bit. This allows you to be reckless inside that border with your spade. I used our hose and snaked it around into the shape that I wanted the bed to be. I then used the yet-to-be-named tool from above to strip the grass along the hose. I then removed the hose and dug a little trench and shaped the border a bit. The rest is just good ole-fashioned hard labor. One thing that I did not consider before starting this phase was where on earth all of this dug up dirt was going to go. Luckily, the lot next door to me is empty right now.Now lifting all of that dirt over the fence was no fun, but at least it is out of my yard. Construct a Border - I used two different kinds of border. We have leftover brick from the house construction and so I turned that into a decorative border: I had enough brick to go vertical and it looks good from the grass side. You can also see that famous black clay with the brick there. The fence did not need anything fancy, so I bought the cheap pliable plastic border from Lowes:Before going to the next step of refilling the area, it is a good idea to consider drainage and watering levels. I have a downspout that was pouring right into the middle of the new bed and would erode my hard work. I got a very cheap solid black tube and extended the drain out of the flower bed:I also had four different sprinkler heads that were designed for a lawn and not a flower bed. I found replacement heads that are gentler and used a simple female-female connector to attach them to the main line: Refill with Good Soil - Now is when all of those bags of 'the good stuff' comes into play. I put the good stuff in quotes because frankly anything was better than my black clay. So when I see a $20 miracle bag and a $1.85 pretty good bag, I choose the cheaper. With the number of bags that I bought, this added up to a lot of savings. I layered Peat Moss, Top Soil, Manure, Compost, and Top Soil. I had a friend recommend a combination similar to this and so far I like it. I used my spreader to evenly mix the dirt around the entire bed. Make sure at this point re-check your drainage. Make sure that it slopes away from the house for instance.In the end, my nasty soil was transformed into this: Plant the Flowers - This is the part that you actually planned for. This is the easiest stage. We planted a bunch of bulbs and using our nifty plan, I knew exactly where to go. This stage is fairly anti-climactic. Cover with Mulch - Protect your plant from moisture, bugs, and weeds with a good mulch. This last step also adds a colorful layer to the top Hopefully this guide can help you. Feel free to post and questions or suggestions. I will be following up in the Spring and beyond with how the plants grow in and look.
When is the best time to plant a tree or shrub? How best to pick a healthy plant? Why are some so much more expensive? We asked an expert to fill us in.
For our 2018 Idea House, we head to Austin, Texas to take on a fixer upper of our own.
Hand drawn landscape designs for Austin and all of zone 8 a/b. With 20 years of landscape experience in low water, low maintenance gardens, I work knowledge.
Check out these fuss-free flowers and shrubs for a gorgeous landscape with minimal work.
Native plants. The term has different meanings for different gardeners. There are Texas natives, US natives and those plants that act like natives. All in
Two weekends, a lot of STUFF and we have a garden. The idea for our "Keyhole" garden came from a work friend of Flip's. An article about t...
Old World Garden Plans As we are dreaming of the summer ahead I know our yard and garden budget won’t be much but I have some ideas of doing some beautiful fixes to bring improvement to our yard with Old world garden touches. One of the areas that I want to fix in our backyard […]
Get ready to discover the diverse and stunning world of Oakleaf Hydrangea Varieties, with their unique colors that will leave you in awe.
Note: Photos used this week, unless otherwise noted, were posted to my Facebook page by friends in the past week. You’ll see why I wanted to feature this plant. Thanks ...
Yardzen is the leading landscape design company serving Austin, Texas. Browse our past designs and learn more about our process today!
What to plant with Shasta Daisies Plants That Look Good Together About Shasta Daisies Shasta daisies are a type of wildflower that is native to Europe but has been naturalized in North America. They typically return every spring or early summer and bloom until fall. They form clumps that are 2 to 3 feet tall… Read More »What to plant with Shasta Daisies : Companion Plants
If you garden in zone 6 or warmer and your garden doesn't include Vitex agnus-castus—commonly known as chaste tree, or Texas lilac, or just vitex—I'm here to ma…
Terra-cotta, water features, and fig trees, oh my! Here’s how to bring this Mediterranean style to your backyard, with expert tips and an explanation of the trend.
List of low maintenance plants for Texas, including low maintenance shrubs, low maintenance flowers and low maintenance trees.
List of low maintenance plants for Texas, including low maintenance shrubs, low maintenance flowers and low maintenance trees.
This is your guide to water-wise landscaping and gardening. Discover design ideas and tips, as well as the best trees, palms, hedges, shrubs, and cacti!
Making your home the envy of the neighborhood is easier than you think when you choose Texas native plants in your landscaping. Native plants mean low maintenance, less water, and higher chances of success. It just makes sense. Here's the Top 15 Texas Native Plants that Will Make Your Home Look Stunning. Want to grow your own garden? It's easy with these tips. With so many Texas native plants to choose from your home's landscaping can look great not only right now, but for years to come. A beautifully landscaped yard can even mean a great return on investment when
Are you making one of the 10 most common North Texas gardening mistakes? Get advice from the experts at The Dallas Garden.
Texas' most invasive plant species, with pictures. Terrestrial, aquatic, water & wetland invasive plant identification and control.
Desert landscaping uses elements like drought-tolerant plants and hardscaping for a low-maintenance design. Discover 19 desert landscaping ideas to get inspired.
Want to have a truly spectactular garden AND be able to help the local bee and butterfly population? Use Texas native flowers!
Native plants and hardscape ideas for an outdoor design perfect for central Texas homeowners in Leander, Cedar Park, Liberty Hill, or Georgetown, Texas.
The best native shrubs to plant in Texas, including flowering, shade and full sun shrubs for central, eastern, southern and northern Texas.
Three months ago I started a seemingly innocuous project. "How hard can it be to make a flowerbed?", I said. Well I learned along the way and so I am now going to share what I learned and the steps to make your project easier. The major milestones are: Design the Area Excavate the Area Construct a Border Refill with Good Soil Plant the Flowers Cover with Mulch Required Tools Work Shoes - At several points it stormed and flooded my half-dug bed. After working for just 15 minutes I would have 2 inches of mud on the bottom. Be prepared to throw away your shoes or be stuck with permanent junk shoes. Work Gloves - This pair is actually the 2nd that I used. The first pair is in the trash. I wore through all 10 fingers on the first set. Large Spade - This is the best way to get soil up. I tried a shovel and had no luck. This worked especially well with the black clay that we have. Whatever This Is - Yup, I have no idea what to call it, but it is the best tool for clearing out defined areas. I used it dig out the outline for the bed before I started. Spreader - I used this to spread out the new soil evenly throughout the bed. Small Spade - Most people have this already. You dig holes for the bulbs and flowers with it. Heavy Duty Cart - Now I did not have this wonderful contraption for most of the project. For the first 40 or so bags, I just manually carried them to their locations. This will save your back when hauling a lot of soil. Now you may ask why I am going to all this trouble. Well that is because I have lots of Black Texas Clay underneath my yard. It has the nickname of "Black Gumbo". It soaks up water and swells. This is one of the reasons that so many people have foundation problems in our area of North Texas. Most plants need "Well Drained Soil" which is pretty much the opposite of what I have. So I replaced it. I ended up digging up only about 1 - 1.5 feet down. Others have done more, but I frankly got tired of digging. Here is what I replaced it with: Peat Moss - 10 Bags Top Soil - 20 Bags Manure - 10 Bags of the cheap stuff. They have premium manure... but I can't imagine what that means. Compost - 10 Bags Top Soil - 20 Bags Mulch - 12 Bags So let's take a look at those milestones again. Design the Area - This is probably the most important step. This allows you to put in a lot of effort without having to redo things. My wife gave in to my pleadings and helped measure the back yard space beforehand. The map came out like this: I went online and printed off a grid and then with help of a ruler hand drew the dimensions. Next, we did an initial master plan, or how we want it to look in the end. Our friends, Karson and Sharon, helped in this process. This keeps each sub-project from being vastly different and looking odd in the end. Next, we prioritized the sub-projects and focused on our first bed, outside of our bedroom. We found a plan in a landscaping book tailored to our area and used it as our base: This plan came from Creative Homeowner's Texas Home Landscaping book. I would highly recommend it. We then took our master plan for the backyard and fit the plants that we wanted into it. The end result looks like this: Sp now that you have a good plan, digging in the right spot and building a border is not a game of chance. Excavate the Area - This where all the oomph comes into play. At least 50% of my time on this project was spent digging. I am estimating that I dug out about 3,000 lbs of dirt. So be prepared for this phase to go slower than you thought. The first thing to do is to dig out the border a little bit. This allows you to be reckless inside that border with your spade. I used our hose and snaked it around into the shape that I wanted the bed to be. I then used the yet-to-be-named tool from above to strip the grass along the hose. I then removed the hose and dug a little trench and shaped the border a bit. The rest is just good ole-fashioned hard labor. One thing that I did not consider before starting this phase was where on earth all of this dug up dirt was going to go. Luckily, the lot next door to me is empty right now.Now lifting all of that dirt over the fence was no fun, but at least it is out of my yard. Construct a Border - I used two different kinds of border. We have leftover brick from the house construction and so I turned that into a decorative border: I had enough brick to go vertical and it looks good from the grass side. You can also see that famous black clay with the brick there. The fence did not need anything fancy, so I bought the cheap pliable plastic border from Lowes:Before going to the next step of refilling the area, it is a good idea to consider drainage and watering levels. I have a downspout that was pouring right into the middle of the new bed and would erode my hard work. I got a very cheap solid black tube and extended the drain out of the flower bed:I also had four different sprinkler heads that were designed for a lawn and not a flower bed. I found replacement heads that are gentler and used a simple female-female connector to attach them to the main line: Refill with Good Soil - Now is when all of those bags of 'the good stuff' comes into play. I put the good stuff in quotes because frankly anything was better than my black clay. So when I see a $20 miracle bag and a $1.85 pretty good bag, I choose the cheaper. With the number of bags that I bought, this added up to a lot of savings. I layered Peat Moss, Top Soil, Manure, Compost, and Top Soil. I had a friend recommend a combination similar to this and so far I like it. I used my spreader to evenly mix the dirt around the entire bed. Make sure at this point re-check your drainage. Make sure that it slopes away from the house for instance.In the end, my nasty soil was transformed into this: Plant the Flowers - This is the part that you actually planned for. This is the easiest stage. We planted a bunch of bulbs and using our nifty plan, I knew exactly where to go. This stage is fairly anti-climactic. Cover with Mulch - Protect your plant from moisture, bugs, and weeds with a good mulch. This last step also adds a colorful layer to the top Hopefully this guide can help you. Feel free to post and questions or suggestions. I will be following up in the Spring and beyond with how the plants grow in and look.
For our 2018 Idea House, we head to Austin, Texas to take on a fixer upper of our own.
Making your home the envy of the neighborhood is easier than you think when you choose Texas native plants in your landscaping. Native plants mean low maintenance, less water, and higher chances of success. It just makes sense. Here's the Top 15 Texas Native Plants that Will Make Your Home Look Stunning. Want to grow your own garden? It's easy with these tips. With so many Texas native plants to choose from your home's landscaping can look great not only right now, but for years to come. A beautifully landscaped yard can even mean a great return on investment when
One of the hardest things, I think, is imagining how to break up a yard’s static lines to create discovery adventures, get from here to there, and showcase our plants. But, how do you do it? Ideas I collected in Colorado on the Garden Blogger’s Fling are all familiar in Central Texas—and as dive
When is the best time to plant a tree or shrub? How best to pick a healthy plant? Why are some so much more expensive? We asked an expert to fill us in.
We want our wildflowers the way we want a lot of things: to be made in Texas. That requires native seeds.
Native plants. The term has different meanings for different gardeners. There are Texas natives, US natives and those plants that act like natives. All in
Making your home the envy of the neighborhood is easier than you think when you choose Texas native plants in your landscaping. Native plants mean low maintenance, less water, and higher chances of success. It just makes sense. Here's the Top 15 Texas Native Plants that Will Make Your Home Look Stunning. Want to grow your own garden? It's easy with these tips. With so many Texas native plants to choose from your home's landscaping can look great not only right now, but for years to come. A beautifully landscaped yard can even mean a great return on investment when
