Fall Plants

Natural Gardener was having their 25% off perennials sale.  So I took the opportunity to purchase a few plants I have been eyeing.  The truth is, I'd prefer to wait to put them in the ground for another week or so.  We are still in the midst of a heat spell.  But it is hard to turn down a sale :o)




2 White Trailing Lantana Plants
I've been wanting some white Trailing Lantana to put in the left side of my front yard bed.  Someone mentioned that they work well with blue bonnets since Lantana are slow to start in the spring, and only start spreading after the blue bonnets die down.  And the ones on the right side of the bed have done so well.

White Mist flower

I think we have a native (or used to have) White Mist Flower in the space between our house and our neighbors.  I have always loved seeing its white cotton puff in the fall.  A true harbinger of cooler temperatures.  This was a total spur of the moment purchase.

Central Texas Gardener says :It’s native to rocky, limestone areas where the soil holds very little water so it prefers good drainage, but it also easily tolerates poorly drained soils, as long you don’t overwater it. It will also tolerate shady areas, but will perform better and bloom more profusely in the full, bright sun.  It sounds perfect for my front bed.

Mexican Honeysuckle

This was on my list of plants I wanted to pick up.  It blooms in early spring, When I was first shopping NG, we couldn't find it.  But when I went back on sale day, lo and behold, there it was.

Needs partial shade, so I am planning on putting it in the back corner, by the beauty berry and the turk's cap.  It may suffer freeze damage, so I'll need to be careful with it.



Compact Texas Sage

Another sort of spur of the moment purchase.  I purchased seven Texas Sage plants when we first moved into the house.  None lived.  The first year was a very wet yet (hard to imagine, I know), and half of the plants died.  The next year was super dry, and the remaining one died.  And, I know, I have a policy of giving up on plants I have not had success with in the past.  I know.  But these guys are incredibly beautiful this year.  More beautiful than I think I have ever seen them.  The neighbors yards are bounding with the lavender blooms.  And, well, I just couldn't resist trying once more.  And I think they are evergreen, so they will add some color and texture to my beds during the winter... if they live.

I only bought one plant, but now I can't decide if I'd rather have it in the back fence bed, or the front yard bed.  I'm leaning toward the hot dry spot in the back yard, if I can find room.

3 Square Bud Primrose

The same neighbor who have me a planting of her Red Saliva plant also has these gorgeous yellow flowers.  They come in early spring, and I love the look of them.  I am hoping that if I get them established this fall, I can have some flowers in the spring.  We'll see.  I am planning on putting them somewhere in the front bed.  Not sure where, just yet.



Jerusalem Sage

This plant was on my list.  Last year, in the dark days of winter, I was craving a little green in the backyard. I saw a post about Jerusalem sage being evergreen.  

It is full sun, so I was thinking about maybe putting it in the left porch bed, since that bed was completely dead during the winter except for the salvia. Since then, however, I have planted my Lorapetalum.  Although that Lorapetalum has not done well since I planted it, I still have hopes it will fill the bed.  

So I decided to put in in the side fence bed, in between the Veronica Blue ground cover.

3 small Purple Coneflower

I have to admit, I have never been a huge fan of this flower... I am really not sure why not.  But recently, I have seen it around town, and grown to appreciate it more.  And I am really looking for something that will spread.

So, when I saw NG has some very small pots of them, I thought I'd plant a few from plants, and then in the spring, put down some seeds.  

I also put these in the side fence bed, close to where the blackberry bushes were growing (but have since died)

4 Inland Sea Oats

Okay, in the past, I have really not liked this plant.  Someone once mentioned that the little "oats" looked like hanging cockroaches. I don't think they really do, but that thought has always been in the back of my head.  

So, what turned my mind?  Well, we were walking along the Barton Creek Trail, and I saw a bunch of these growing along the trail, along with some Turk's cap. They were green (when little else is), growing and sort of looked nice... at least they looked better than the brown dead grass in my backyard.

So I purchase four small plants.  We'll see how they do this fall.  It may be the wrong time to plant these guys.  I'm not sure if they will have enough time to seed out before dying from the frost.