Since several people have asked, I’m posting a list today. No, it’s not one of those house-fixing lists I mentioned full of projects. But related, in a way, as it constitutes my contract of To-Do fun with my yard, garden, flower beds, and planter pots. It’s my seed and plant list–what I’ve put in thus far, and some of what I intend to add, the latter being primarily a larger batch of the listed Wildflower Sowing Mix. It’s my own blend, by the way, concocted from reading up on and observing what is native and/or simply adapts well in our part of the landscape. Starred (*) items are known natives or very long established growers here in north Texas, and items marked with two plus signs (++) are ones I’m emphasizing in placement or quantity because they’re particular favorites of mine.
For the Front Yard Flower Beds:
Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisirynchium)* ++ I’ve long been attracted to the tiny-orchid flowers of this miniature lovely, and was thrilled to discover the plant is native here. A surprise bonus when moving to a place that has a generally less easy climate than my place of origin in the Pacific Northwest.
Chives, Garlic (Allium tuberosum)
Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)* ++
Garlic (Allium sativum) I don’t cook with a whole lot of garlic since marrying a Supertaster, but since they’re beautiful plants, I figure I’ll get what little garlic I need for cooking and have the garden attraction besides.
Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia)
Nasturtium(Tropaeolum ‘Milkmaid’)
I have to admit I enjoy plants whose babies I can recognize early and so chart their progress a little more accurately. Nasturtiums are a very easy one to spot . . .
Penstemon (Penstemon spp.)*
Showy Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa)* ++
Snow-in-Summer (Cerastium tomentosum)
Spreading Petunia (Petunia x hybrida ‘Purple Wave’)
Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis)* ++ Seriously, how could I not put in any of this classic when I’ve moved to Texas? Not to mention that I’m a sucker for blue flowers. And things that will self-perpetuate once established.
Herbs (Planted front, back, indoors and out)
Basil, Sweet (Ocimum basilicum)
Borage (Borago Officinalis) ++ A rather magical herb, in my estimation, with its refreshingly cucumber-like flavor and exquisite bright blue flowers.
Chives, Onion (Allium schoenoprasum)
Marigold (Tagetes)
Parsley (Petroselinum hortense)
Curled
Italian Flat-Leaf @ John: I’ll try to have it fully in leaf when you show up here!
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) ++ I have one healthy plant going, and since it seems to thrive in this yard and I love the plant and its culinary qualities, I have a feeling it will get siblings eventually.
Vegetables (Mostly integrated into the flower beds, for fun)
Beetroot (Beta vulgaris ‘Tall Top Early Wonder’)
Kale (Brassica oleracea ‘Dwarf Blue Curled Vates’)
Carrot (Daucus carota ‘Petite ‘n’ Sweet’)
Corn (Zea mays)
Ornamental, ‘Rainbow’
Sweet, ‘Silver Queen’
Sunflower, (Helianthus annuus)* Mixed Colors +
‘Vanilla Ice’
Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum)
‘Black Krim’
‘Black Sea Man’
‘Cherokee Purple’
Tomatillo Purple
Vines
Cardinal Climber Vine (Ipomoea sloteri) [Backyard]
Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) ‘Tangerine Beauty’ [Backyard]
Morning Glories (Ipomoea)* [Backyard]
‘Crimson Rambler’
‘Heavenly Blue’
Passionflower (Passiflora) [Front Yard] ++
Blue (caerulea) I grew this one in Washington and loved its exotic look.
It's easy to develop a passion for Passionflowers, they're such showoffs and so prolific when they decide to perform . . .
‘Maypop’ (incarnata)*
Purple (edulis)
Red (alata)
WILDFLOWER SOWING MIX [Backyard]
African Daisy (Osteospermum)
Annual Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus)
Baby Snapdragon (Linaria maroccana)
Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila muralis)
Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)*
Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
Blue Flax (Linum lewisii)
California Bluebell (Phacelia campanularia) ++
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
China Aster (Aster x frikartii)
Chinese Forget-Me-Not (Cynoglossum amabile)
Clasping Coneflower (Rudbeckia amplexicaulis)*
Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)* ++
Crimson Clover (Trifolium incarnatum)*
Cupid’s Dart (Catananche caerulea) ++
Dwarf Cornflower (Echinacea)
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Gloriosa Daisy (Rudbeckia hirta)*
Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)* ++
Lance-Leaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Larkspur (Delphinium)
Lemon Mint (Melissa officinalis)
Lupine (Lupinus perennis)
Maltese Cross (Lychnis chalcedonica) ++
Mexican Hat (Ratibida columnaris)*
Moss Verbena (Verbena tenuisecta)
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum)
None-So-Pretty (Silene armeria)
Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)*
Poppies (Papaver somniferum) ++
‘Drama Queen’
‘Pepperbox’
Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia uvaria)
Red Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
Rocky Mountain Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) ++
Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)
Salvia Blue Bedder (Salvia farinacea)
Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea)
Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum maximum)
Shirley Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
Showy Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa)* ++
Siberian Wallflower (Cheiranthus allionii)
Sulphur Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus)*
Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis)*
Wild Annual Lupine (Lupinus lepidus)
Wild Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)*
Live Plants Added
Bicolor Salvia(Salvia sinaloensis)
Bright blue like that of this Salvia gives such pizzazz to the garden . . .
Blueberry(Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Biloxi’) ++ You may recall that I really dislike eating blueberries–but I know the birds and creatures will like them if I leave them, and I think the plants are beautiful!
Irresistible little blooms on the blueberry . . .
Clematis (Clematis, var.) I’ve put in several varieties, and the first leaves are beginning to appear, so I think I had better give those little green pretties something to climb up soon or risk their meandering in the underbrush.
Peering out from under oak leaf-mold and purple tradescantia that's already shown its first bloom of the season, the clematis leaves are beginning to crawl forward . . .
Columbine (Aquilegia ‘Origami Mix’)
Corkscrew Rush (Juncus effusus ‘Spiralis’)
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) The first of our little city give-away adoptees appears to have survived the winter, but won’t yet show its bud growth.
Fig Tree (Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’) I found a sturdy fig tree rooted in a three-gallon pot for four dollars. How could I refuse? Even if it turns out to be only semi-productive (though I’m told they grow well enough here), the leaf will be a nice variant in the yard.
Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia) A good shot of early color is always welcome.
Horsetail Reed(Equisetum hyemale) Strangely for a place that verges on drought, the yard here has one or two water-collecting spots! So wet-footed plants should do fine.
I find it strange that there is a place--ANYWHERE in this north Texas garden--that can stay wet for so long, but it's a handy spot to put water-tolerant plants like the Corkscrew and Horsetail reeds, after all . . .
Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina)
Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana)
The Mexican Plum tree just planted this last fall has wasted no time in putting out dainty little white flowers . . .
New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax) Going for a bit of large-scale drama, here. (You can see the NZ flax’s big burgundy swords in front of the wet growing bed above.)
Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra)
When it's on sale, why not use the bedding plant! And I got a half-flat of red cabbage babies, so they went out front for their ornament as well as in hopes of good eating . . .
Soapberry (Sapindus saponaria)
Even the six inch tall Soapberry tree seedling from last year is swelling into bud . . .
Texas Sage ‘Desperado’ (Leucophyllum frutescens)* ++
Tulips (Tulipa spp.) Of a white unnamed variety; oh, yes, I did succumb. I put just a dozen in my front porch planters. Half of them were soldas orange, but buying a generic handful of bulbs, one gets what one gets, no? And white tulips are beautiful too, so I shan’t complain.
A splash of orange might have been showier, but there's no classic like an elegant white flower . . .
Variegated Flax Lily (Dianella tasmanica) ‘Variegata’
. . . and lest you think I'm doing all of this unsupervised, the Watch-Cat does continue making the rounds . . .
Art-Colored Glasses 
WOW! You are going to be a very busy girl this year and i absolutely approve the choice to grow as many native species as you can, as well as everything else they are EASY CARE. A fantastic list.. my tulips are just popping up, yours will be flowering soon i bet. Love Watch Cat.. you got a good shot of him this time.. c
Yes, these tulips in the photo opened yesterday already! Hard to believe my eyes.
In addition to ‘going native’ with my plants (okay, don’t panic, I don’t intend to run nude through the gardens, if any of my neighbors are reading this!!) I have just learned that our city has a resource person (the same one we called upon to do an indoor energy-use assessment of our house last summer that led to our re-insulating the attic and my re-caulking a number of moldings and such) who can do a water-use assessment for us. I am planning, in addition to the rain barrels I told you are on my agenda, to put in grey-water systems and change our existing sprinkler system to a drip system, whenever we can afford it. It’s nice to know the city values it enough to offer that evaluation resource for *free*.
No doubt Watch-Cat will approve of the change from pop-up Attack sprinklers to a drip system!
xo
K
You have GROWING season, we are still in the midst of SNOWING season!!!!
Seriously–I just read an Edmontonian blogger’s post with her fresh snow pictures taken yesterday! Of course, I do myself remember at least a couple of Good Friday Pro Coro concerts when the river was still almost completely frozen and the snow was falling . . . yet, if I had an excuse to fly in I’d be right up in the snow with y’all in a heartbeat, don’tcha know! Hope the time will come again, whatever the season. And we’re still looking for your visit down this-a-way . . . 🙂
Watch Cat huh? Cool! I bet your garden is a wonderland!
I can imagine it would be quite acceptable to my dear Rumpy and June Buggie and DeDe and all of the other paw pals you could muster. It’s not quite as pretty here yet in pure landscaping terms as I hope to get it, but this is a start, and having the little greenbelt out back is a big draw for the cats, dogs, squirrels, possums, birds, raccoons, rabbits and other creatures here.
Marvelous list! You *do* set the bar high for yourself, don’tcha?
Blueberries are such marvelous plants – I’d have them for fall color, even if I didn’t like to eat them.
The only thing I noticed that I’d say “be careful” with is the primrose – they’re such prolific seeders that they can overtake the whole area in just a few seasons. Learn to recognize the seedlings, and yank ’em out before they crowd-out the others.
Happy Gardening!
I’ll be interested to see how that goes with the primrose here; they’ve struggled locally lately to the degree that this last year I only saw a very few. Probably the drought was pretty hard on them, but I’ve been told that they’re only aggressive when they *really* get a toehold, so we shall see!
I can hardly wait to see how your garden grows and I bet it will not be contrary to your hopes :-). Really like your mix of wildflowers.
I’m just doing a small test patch of the wildflower seed blend at the moment, but if it proves felicitous enough it’s going to become the main part of our whole backyard–*that* I’m really looking forward to seeing! Meanwhile, it’s fun just to see all of the green and sprouting things coming on so early . . .
You are one energetic woman! If I get some impatiens planted with a couple of tomato plants potted, I will be lucky! Oh, to have your green thumb!
Heh, heh–more optimistic than energetic! We’ll just see what Mother Nature grants me in the way of assistance. Or mercy. 😉
I hope we get to see the continuing results of your work! Pretty prolific.
I shall keep you posted–literally–as things progress. It’s a smallish proportion of the whole yard that I’m attempting for starters, but then I have to begin somewhere, right? 🙂
Now your’e taling my kind of list language 🙂 Oh what a wonderous list, all the leaves, the different shapes, colours, heights, then we get onto flowers and blooms and onto sweet secnted herbs, moving swiftly to ornamental and edible vegetables. I’m in heaven 🙂 Lots of plants I know, a few unfamiliars, so much to look forward to 🙂
This is one of the few areas where, Miss Impatience that I am, I enjoy the anticipation almost as much as I do the actual appearance (and hopefully, thriving!) of the plants. 🙂
I will have to be contented with my orchid and a few other plants. 😉
Growing an orchid impresses the heck out of me! 😀
That’s some nursery you’ve got there, Kathryn! Such a great assortment and love that you’ve included native plants. Even so, you’ve got plenty of work ahead of you and I hope you share your progress with us. It’s only March and I’m already a week behind!
Oh, I’ll keep y’all posted on my progress–if any. I would guess you’re a number of *degrees* behind us here, despite the mild winter, so don’t kick yourself. Just be a foolish optimist in the garden like I am, and then we’ll have something fairly comparable to share as the season rolls along . . . 🙂
GADZOOKS!!! That’s a lot of stuff there! I’d be most content just with the herbal bits, especially the bits that don’t require a lot of tending . I guess I might want to inspect and clear out the micro farm and get it ready.
I do love the most low-maintenance of herbs as both food and decoration. I’ll look forward to seeing what you get up to with your micro farm too!
And thanks for the epithet, one of the best words out there!!! 😀
Are you seriously planting all of the above? Just looking at your tiny little sprouts I feel so green with envy… you’ve got tons of knowledge on this one post for people living in your climate! I hope they realize how lucky they are! I know I couldn’t do the same for my city!
Ha! I’m experimenting like mad, so nobody had better be taking my garden posts as gospel, only optimistic. But *much* of what I’m trying has some reputation for (or in my limited gardening years, history of) survival under similarly ridiculous circumstances, so there’s some hope. Meanwhile, yes, I did plant everything on the list, if only in small quantities thus far, so we shall see what transpires!! 🙂
And by the way, I would guess from my short visit in Calgary and my years visiting Edmonton that you have equally daunting garden challenges, but more on the opposite end of the temperature and moisture spectrum from ours, so you can hardly be faulted if you’re not volunteering to put out masses of time and labor to attempt what might be the near-impossible. 🙂
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