I have to confess. I’m a lazy gardener. I love Texas Native perennial plants which I can plant once and they come back every year. Some of these plants were here before we cleared the land to make way for cities and progress.
Texas Natives are wonderful plants. These plants attract native pollinators like birds, bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects which helps the environment and your yard. These species can save you money on chemicals. Texas Natives are usually drought tolerant and resistant to disease and pests. Who wouldn’t love a plant which thrives in the Texas heat, consumes less water and uses no fertilizer or chemicals to control bugs and fungus. You can save money on trips to the plant nursery, too. If you do a little research, you can find a Texas Native for almost every type of garden (sun, part sun, deep shade or part shade).
Some great resources for Texas Natives are Texas Native Plants Database (tamu.edu) , Texas Superstar Plants — Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service (tamu.edu), Texas Native Shrubs — Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service (tamu.edu) Any of these websites can assist you in selecting the perfect plant for your landscape. Some of my favorites are Gregg’s Mistflower, Flame Acanthus, Mealy Blue Sage, Gulf Mulhy and Frogfruit. But these are only a few of the many Texas Natives available to East Texas gardeners. I hope you will investigate these stars of the garden and hopefully you’ll be a lazy gardener like me.
— The Smith County Master Gardener program is a volunteer organization in connection with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.