The Canadian Rockies come alive with native Canadian wildflowers during the summer. I had so much fun photographing and identifying these native plants on a recent trip to Banff National Park in southern Alberta.
Cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens), also known as Texas Sage, is an awesome evergreen Texas native plant to add to your garden. Its gray-green leaves add beauty throughout the year, while it is periodically has displays of prolific purple blooms after a rain, giving it the nickname “Barometer Bush”.
There are several great native Texas ground covers, and each deserves a spot in your garden. These low-growing plants are often overlooked but they can provide beautiful interest, an additional dose of color, a natural weed barrier, and soil erosion control.
Don’t be turned off by its name: Snake Herb (Dyschoriste linearis). This beautiful Texas native ground cover won’t give you any snake bites! Just lovely petite purple flowers that attract butterflies.
This perennial native ground cover is relatively fast-growing. Add it to a sunny area of your garden with well-drained soil for best results!
Are you looking for a Texas native ground cover to add interest to your garden? Look no further than Woolly Stemodia (Stemodia lanata). This silvery-white ground cover creates a beautiful contrast to leafy green perennials. This low-growing and semi-evergreen is a good choice for your garden bed.
Four-Nerve Daisy is low-growing and evergreen, making it a versatile plant at the front of a landscaping bed, in a zeriscape, or in a container pot. Its delicate flowers sway in the breeze!
Lemon Mint (Monarda citriodora) may just be my favorite Texas wildflower! I love its unique stacked blooms and pretty purple flowers. This plant goes by more than one common name – you may have also heard it called Lemon Beebalm, Horsemint, or Lemon Bergamot. All are referring to the same plant! Native to the southern US, this wildflower can handle full sun to partial shade. It starts putting on basal leaves in early spring and blooms in the summer.
Need a full sun drought-tolerant Texas native plant to add to your yard? Zexmenia (Wedelia texana) is for you! Butterflies and other pollinators love this small shrub with a sprawling growth habit. A long-time bloomer, Zexmenia will brighten your garden from May through November!
Looking to add a pop of color to a shady area of your yard? Plant Cedar Sage (Salvia roemeriana)! This Texas native plant thrives in nature under the shade of Cedar (Ashe Juniper) trees on the Edwards Plateau, hence its common name Cedar Sage. This low growing perennial is a great way to brighten your yard with red flower spikes in the spring. Saliva roemeriana grows around 1 foot tall and tends to form colonies by reseeding easily.
Need a beautiful ground cover to add to your garden? Silver Ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea) is a full sun-loving native plant that thrives in well-drained soil. This pretty groundcover is known for its silver leaves and silver stems. Dichondra argentea is a native plant – found in parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona! In addition to being a great ground cover, it looks beautiful flowing over rock walls or cascading over an elevated pot or hanging basket.
