Carolina Jasmine

Our poor plants are struggling with the meager rainfall and late freezes. I keep a plant diary and most plants are at least three weeks late in blooming. However, I noticed my Carolina Jasmine vine is blooming. There are flowers on the Agarita and Texas Mountain Laurel. All three of these plants are evergreen, drought tolerant and grow in either full sun or part shade.

The Carolina Jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens) vine is a perennial that climbs up to my high deck and gives bright yellow flowers just once a year in the late winter/spring. It is said to be deer resistant but mine is in a fenced area so I cannot vouch for deer resistance. It is certainly easy to grow and some people use it as a ground cover on slopes to prevent soil erosion.

Agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata) is a native plant with sharp leaves which is commonly found under trees in hill country. I have never planted Agarita but it can be found in several places out where the deer roam. When I trained to be a docent at the Ladybird Wildflower Center they called Agarita a nursery plant because plants the deer like to eat are protected under Agarita’s spiny leaves.

Its yellow flowers are blooming now which will be followed by edible red berries.

You might miss the berries because the birds devour them. Then they sit in a tree and poop out Agarita seeds, hence Agaritas are commonly found under trees.

As I write this article, I am hoping we will have some significant rain to help our gardens to flourish. Written by Jackie Mattice, Hays County Master Naturalist