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.
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
Abutilon fruticosum
Performs well in dry areas in both sun and part shade. Readily propagated from seed. Tough fibers from the stems have been used as cordage for making ropes or in weaving. Readily eaten by deer and some livestock. Young foliage is a larval plant food for several species of skipper butterflies. The seeds are eaten by bobwhite quail and mourning doves.
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 Vine 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.
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!
Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
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 4
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.
Texas Ash
This guy was also right along the path. Seek identified it as a Texas Ash. It is obviously very young.
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.
