September 22 , 2016
Wild about Wildlife Native Plants All Year
When I started garden , “ wildflower ” to the average person think springtime bluebonnets , Indian blanket and partner in crime likeThelesperma filifolium . Today , we originate for native plants in every season to abide all thing “ wild . ”For months , my various Turk ’s caps , including Pam ’s Pink , never loosen up their appoint project : to feed hummingbird , butterflies and bee . I have intercourse my neighbor who support our unexpressed “ wildlife neighborhood watch ” with their native plant . Hamelia patens , Salvia greggii , andSalvia leucanthathat stop dealings until the first hoar . I know that bees were all over the salvias , too , but I just snapped these guy on the Hamelia . No doubt the hummingbird zoomed in when I get out of their way . A few years ago , it was all lawn . One winter , they smothered it with heavy dim plastic or tarp for months . After regenerate the ground , they installed small plants that quickly fill in . At theTravis County Extension demonstration garden , I lucked into this bee maneuver to early dejeuner onSalvia farinacea . barricade by any fourth dimension to see piddle thrifty garden that illustrate how adapted and native plants , along with vegetable and herbaceous plant , beautifully work together . One native that ’s blooming right now is four - nerve daisy , Tetraneuris acaulis , though I still call it by its former name , Hymenoxys . No doubt that wench go for the seeds . Daphne crap this very drought large-minded native perennialPlant of the Week . Blooming from spring through late fall , four - nerve daisy stays downcast to the ground . you may tell that it prefers well - drain soil , since it ’s happily residing with blackfoot daisy and Yucca rostrata in this no - lawn front thousand in full sun . Since precious wildlife eat up all year , just like us , Tom get together Andrea DeLong - Amaya from theLady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centerto extend the carte du jour across the month with nectar and come . Migrating Monarchs ( along other butterflies and bees ) love frostweed ( Verbesina virginica ) , blossom right now in the back of a shadowy strip in my garden . It ’s tall , so plant it in back . American beautyberry and my Mexican beautyberry ( Callicarpa acuminata ) lighten up understory shadiness with former summer / early declension Berry . With all my spook these day , I ’m so lucky to have chile pequin for the birds , who snack on them in wintertime , even when the leafage is dried brown . As Andrea tell us : that ’s one of the many reasons not to clean up too tight after the first hard frost . butterfly stroke like this Red Admiral , go for the nectar ( as do bees ) on coneflowers . after , piddling birds land to snag the seeds . clean mistflower ( Ageratina havanensis ) , another for part tad , attracts many pollinators to its white downlike flowers in fall . Your small doll will give thanks you if you leave the seeds on until mid - February or so . Then , cut it back severely or to the ground , depending on what winter dealt us . Small birds , including Carduelis carduelis , devour aster come . butterfly stroke and other small creatures take binding in grasses , likeLindheimer muhly , here with fall - bloomingSalvia leucantha . I love Andrea ’s construct of “ time - communion . ” When lantana embrown up in a “ normal ” winter , pinkish eventide primrose will fend off the sess as it brings on the thirsty bees . look on now!you could add to your 12 - month mixed bag at theLady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Fall Native Plantsale on Friday , October 14 ( members only — but easy to bring together that day ) and October 15.Note : this fall , there is no Sunday sale !
Trisha heads to the garden and the kitchen to eggs us onwith incredible edible eggplant , include Black Beauty , Nadia , and Grafitti . Get her growing and harvesting tips , along with formula for Baba Ghanoush , grill Solanum melongena , appetizer , and vegetarian entrée . Her belated Christian Bible , Vegetable Gardening in the Southwest , answers ALL your questions for growing your good . On tour , Jackie Davis is always throwing a garden party for wildlife . It ’s a far different scene than when she bought her little - lot house , complete with dying tree and hound - trampled yard . Now herCertified Backyard Habitatis always full of life , let in over 110 species of birds . She ’s a member ofTravis Audubon , theNative Plant Societyand theAustin Butterfly Forum .
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Thanks for stopping by ! See you next calendar week when we visit the Arnosky Family Farms , Linda
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