The Yellow Flowers of August

I have several different yellow native flowers blooming in my yard now, but will focus on three of them that survived our deep freeze. The Yellow Bells (Tacoma stans) are looking great all over town. It is known for its drought tolerance and spectacular display of yellow bell shaped flowers. It can get up to 8 feet tall. The deer will eat its flowers, so I spray mine in the front yard (that I can see from the dining room window) with stinky deer repellent. It grows in the sun but can tolerate some shade. Yellow Bells, also called Esperanza, is a perennial that dies back every winter. I cut mine back severely after it freezes.

Several years ago I bought a Texas Green Eyes (Berlandiera texana) plant and put it in my fenced back yard because deer are supposed to like them. The overall appearance of the flowers is yellow, but when the yellow ray flowers fall away the green sepals are apparent as they surround the developing seeds, hence “green eye”.

Texas Green Eyes (Berlandiera texana) bears the name of the French botanist, Jean Louis Berlandier (1805-1851), who collected and gave Latin names to many Texas species. This perennial plant likes the sun and requires alkaline soil, such as is found in Hill country. It blooms most of the summer and gets about 4 feet tall.

The most recent yellow native addition to my yard is the Plateau Golden Eye (Viguiera dentata), given to me by a fellow Master Naturalist. My friend grew it in a deer accessible location. So far the deer have not eaten mine.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center says the Plateau Golden Eye is “extremely drought-tolerant. Grows 3 ft. in sun; up to 6 ft. in partial shade. Great source of fall color. Let spent flower stalks stand through most of the winter to provide good seed forage for finches and other birds. Reseeds readily under favorable conditions.”

Written by Jackie Mattice, Hays County Master Naturalist