The plants that do exceptionally well in a given year depend upon the recent weather.
When it rained, how much it rained, when it froze, how cold it got for how long, when we hit 100 and for how long, all influence which plants thrive. This year, for example, my Coralbean plant was spectacular with its numerous bright red flower spikes.
However, this year I never saw a Mountain Laurel flower in my yard. Since my Mountain Laurels have been established enough to bloom, they never missed a year before.
We advocate that people grow native plants. Native plants are adapted to survive our local weather from days of over 100 to days down to zero degrees Fahrenheit, and from droughts to floods. When you first plant a native plant you will need to water it a year or two until it is established. Once it has put down roots and begun to form new branches you do not need to water it. It is not necessary to spray native plants with pesticides or fungicides or even to fertilize them. They are adapted to survive in our alkaline soil.
The City of Austin put out a helpful publication of native and adapted plants that grow in our area called Grow Green Landscape Plants. They have pictures of plants along with information about their size, whether they need sun or shade, if they are native to the Blackland Prairie East of I 35 or the Edwards Plateau with more limestone, and other special characteristics of each plant.
This publication is FREE and can be downloaded online from: https://services. austintexas.gov/watershed_ protection/publications/ document. cfm?id=198301 I thought about this book when I enjoyed the May Garden Club Tour because I could use it to look up information about plants I saw and considered adding to my yard.
Also, when we discuss specific plants in this column you can use the index and find a picture of the plant we are discussing.
Message from our President Kat Locke: KWB will definitely have “flower power” on our July 4th float! Check out our walking sunflower team for the best selfie in town!!
