This week in the garden - June 20

This week, as summer starts feeling very real, there are still a few surprises in the garden.

Giant Swallowtail Caterpillars

Most exciting, the Wafer Ash that I planted in the fall is already hosting some Giant Swallowtail caterpillars!!  I noticed two of them about a week ago, and there are at least four now.  While I know the birds need food right now, I'm really hoping these little ones make it to butterfly stage.

A new Zizotes!

Also, this year I let one part of the front lawn go un-mowed. I was very excited to find an antelope horn milkweed randomly pop up in the mix of grass, weeds and wildflowers a few weeks ago.

This week, I saw a plant I didn't recognize, and Seek informed me that it was a Zizotes Milkweed. Whether this popped up on its own, or was from a seed blown from my other Zizotes, I don't know. But since I have never witnessed my other Zizotes blooming until this year, I am guessing this was a random gift!

This Week in My Garden - The Back Woods June 13th

Twenty years ago, when we built our house, we did as many new homeowners did, we tore up all the "weeds" growing in the area, and planted a nice plot of St Augustine grass.  Now, I am slowly pulling up the grass, and purchasing native plants that were probably already there before we built. Sigh.

Fortunately, for about half the property (around 1 acre), we left it undisturbed.

This week, I decided to open the Seek app and explore that back part of our yard - the unmaintained part.  And I was very surprised by some of the native plants I found! I got pretty chewed up by mosquitos and chiggers, but it was worth it :)

It also makes me now know that yep, many of the plants that I have bought over the years, have been growing in my backyard, and were probably in the front, before I pulled them out to make a green sod yard. Double sigh.

It really reinforces the importance of wide spread education about native plants, and their benefits over grass. Had I known then what I know now, I would have skipped the grass, kept the natives, and saved myself a lot of dollars, and had a more wildlife friendly landscape.

Zone 1

These plants are all found right outside the backyard fence, where the trampoline used to be. Along with these natives is a now-identified-as-non-native honeysuckle. :( iNat had identified it as a native, but I cut open a branch, and the pith was hollow, so I believe it is non-native.  Bummer, because it is really pretty.  Since it is a non-native, I need to remove it, as it is starting to choke the Persimmon...

Texas Persimmon
I bought a Texas Persimmon for my back yard a few years ago. And now I realize I had one already growing, just on the other side of my back fence.  This one is much larger and even has fruit! I am going to keep my eye on it over the next couple of weeks, to see if that fruit matures! A feast for me (or the birds).

Hill Country Brickelbush (?)
Brickellia cylindracea

Quite near the Texas Persimmon is another Seek find that I have never heard of. There are two of these plants. I am not quite convinced this is the right name for the plant. I will have to come back throughout the year to see if it seeds or flowers.

Blackfoot Daisy

Another plant I have bought multiple times, and it always seems to die on me. Maybe I love it to death? There is a spot, right outside the backyard fence, which always has a nice stand of this growing wild. I think I have even tried to dig it up and transplant it, with no luck. So, I'll just watch this wild patch with pride, lol.

Zone 2

Walking on the trail toward the back of the property, there are many Lindheimer Silktassel, Pearl Milkvine, and of course Shrubby Boneset and Plateau Goldeneye.

Lindheimer's Silktassel
Garrya ovata ssp. lindheimeri

I found numerous examples of this plant in the back.  They were all over the place.

Reading online, this plant is great for pollinators. It says it blooms Mar - May, so I will have to pay closer attention next year. I also read this it has Bluish-purple fruit, so i will go back out to see if I see the fruit.

I'd really like to dig one of the smaller plants up in the fall, to see if I can transplant it to my front gardens.

Pearl Milkweed

I have several large stands of Pearl Milkweed in the back grounds, some of them quite large. I have purchased this plant for my front gardens... and it didn't make it. And here it is growing free and wild in my back grounds.

Zone 3

There is a small plot of plants, right whether the trail use to split (before the ice storm) that has a treasure trove of small native plants. On the left portion, there is a Fragrant Sumac and a small plant called Sweet Everlasting, a little further to the right of this plant is the first Plateua Silverbush on the path (there is one across the path and there are more further on), then up against the tree is something maybe called Smallflower Ground Cherry. Also in the area was a Fragrant Sumac. We have a lot of Flameleaf Sumac, but this is the first Fragrant Sumac I am familiar with. Then there is also some Virginia Creeper, which (it turns out) is native to Texas, despite the name.

Fragrant Sumac
Rhus aromatica

Native Plant Society has a nice write up about this plant, calling it an unsung hero. 

The colorful berries provide a critical winter food source for numerous bird species, including Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Cedar Waxwings. Their dense growth habit offers an ideal habitat for small birds to nest and seek shelter. Small mammals like rabbits and squirrels also enjoy the fruit.

As mentioned earlier, the blooms attract pollinators, and are the larval hosts for the Red-banded Hairstreak butterfly.

This is one I definitely would like to propagate from a cutting. It says I should do that is the summer, so I will give this a go!

Sweet Everlasting ???
Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium

This was id'ed as Sweet Everlasting. iNat and Seek both seemed pretty sure. But I am not so sure. The  flower doesn't look right. It looks like it either just bloomed, or is just starting to, so I'll go out over the next few days to see if I can get a better look at the flower.

Plateau Silverbush also called Tall Wild-Mercury

Argythamnia simulans

This was a total Seek find. I just saw a plant I didn't recognize and one I have not even heard of.  Reading online, I found an article on backyardnature.net was a little bit of into on this plant. It uses terms like "non-descript", but it does talk about the peas sized fruit, which I guess identifies it in the Spurge family (again, no idea what that is, but it doesn't sound very pretty!). The wildflower center page has little to no info on it.

The "Plateau" in the first name alludes to the fact that in the whole world the plant occurs only in Texas, mostly in the south-central part of the state known as the Edwards Plateau. 

I took a lousy photo of the flowers, but finally at least got the little fruits into focus. They do seem to confirm the plant.

Now I want to mark it, and observe it, to see what I can learn about it. Maybe take a cutting to try and grow it in my yard?

SmallFlower Ground Cherry (??)

iNat says it is a SmallFlower Groundcherry, Google says a clammy Groundcherry. Again, I am not convinced.  I will keep visiting to see if it ever flowers. Google says Groundcherrys begin blooming around June, so maybe we will know more in a month!

Zone 3

Toward the back of the property, there are a lot more invasives. Lots of Ligustrum trees and Nandina. I will need to get back here and remove these. There is also a lot of poison ivy, which, while not non-native, is not-appreciated. 

But along with these noxious plants are many Lindheimer Silktassel, Eastern Redbuds and these gorgeous Mountain Pink flowers.

Mountain Pink
Centaurium beyrichii

This is probably a non-descript little plant most of the year, and I just happened to be walking back here while it was in bloom. But dang, is it cute! Wish I had some of these in my flower garden. I will have to find some seeds!

Mountain Pink is a low-growing annual, typically reaching less than a foot in height, with numerous branches and pink flowers that form a rounded mass. The flowers are about 12-18 mm wide. It blooms from May to July, adding a splash of color to the landscape during the late spring and early summer months. It is commonly found on hillsides, slopes, and in prairies or meadows, especially where the soil is sandy, gravelly, or limestone-based. Mountain Pink prefers well-drained soil and can tolerate dry conditions. It does not thrive in soils with high organic matter. It also does well in rock gardens. Mountain Pink attracts various pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and moths.