Join us on Facebook for a live VIRTUAL tour of the Wildscape Demonstration Garden in Phil Hardberger Park! TPWD’s Urban Biologist Judit Green and Master Naturalist Patsy Kuentz will share how to create a wildscape in your yard. Learn what native plants you can use in your garden to attract wildlife, such as birds and pollinators. There will also be time to answer some questions from the comments as well.
Notice: This event has been changed to an online event. Not an in-person one.
Plants that may be discussed during the talk:
Autumn Sage, Salvia greggii--good for full sun or part-shade; deer resistant; blooms many months of the year which is good for early and late migrating butterflies (when not as much is blooming); deadhead for best blooming; cut back in late winter to create a fuller plant and to encourage blooming.
Lemon Beebalm/Horsemint, Monarda citriodora--deer resistant; flower is quite ornamental; sun to part-shade; easily grown from seed; in ideal conditions, can form large colonies; long blooming, especially if well-watered; good nectar source for bees and butterflies; both leaves and flowers are aromatic.
American Basket-flower, Centaurea americana--unusual 3" wide flower; allow seedheads to dry; each flower puts out around 150 seeds at the base of the filament-like petals; attracts butterflies, native bees, beetles and many other insects; water use is low.
Texas Betony, Stachys coccinea--deer resistant; showy red flowers March to October; butterflies and hummingbirds love it; West TX native; cascades or use as groundcover in shady areas; needs no maintenance.
Blackfoot Daisy, Melampodium leucanthum--has showy white flowers with yellow centers draw small butterflies such as hairstreaks; plant grows from 6" to 1' tall; will grow in part shade but blooms best in full sun; does not require much moisture except in the hottest part of a dry summer; will die fast from overwatering.
Mexican Buckeye, Ungnadia speciosa--aka False Buckeye; needs sunlight at least half of the day; tree naturally grows in a multi-trunked manner; usually 8-12' but can grow as tall as 30'; showy pink flowers bloom in early spring.
Cedar Elm, Ulmus crassifolia--fast-growing; has rounded or oval canopy; grows easily in sun and part-shade; tiny pale green flowers followed by samara (fruit) that birds like to eat; average height 30-60'; good nesting place for birds.
Cedar Sage, Salvia roemeriana--deer resistant; does well in part-shade and full shade; has showy, red tubular flowers from March to August; grows to 1-2'; let it go to seed for next year; can die back during heat of summer if doesn't get some water but will often green up and bloom with the first rain.
Walking Stick Cholla, Opuntia imbricate--attractive violet flowers that attract bees are followed by knobbly, orange fruits that stay attached to the plant for many months; provides food for several types of moth caterpillars; remove fallen sections to keep plant from spreading outside of the space you want it in; otherwise, little or no maintenance needed.
Texas Dandelion, Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus--conspicuous greenish-yellow flowers that do well in sun or part-shade; loved by all sorts of insects; not generally cultivated as it's usually considered a weed.
Roughleaf Dogwood, Cornus drummondii--not deer resistant; likes shade and part-shade; tiny clusters of flowers provide nectar for butterflies and many birds eat the white fruit clusters; leaves turn red in fall; very adaptable to wet or dry situations.
Gregg's Mistflower, Conoclinium greggii--"butterfly crack"; can attract Queen butterflies in masses; good fall nectar for Monarchs; long-blooming blue-purple flowers; deer may eat leaves.
Frogfruit, Phyla nodiflora--moderately deer resistant; really likes where it is in this garden so grows like crazy in the summer; lovely ground cover that goes dormant in winter; offers nectar to many small butterflies and bees.
Firewheel/Indian Blanket, Gaillardia pulchella--a major wildflower of the prairies and meadows; reseeds itself readily and is easy to grow; good drainage is the only requirement; rich soil produces only floppy plants without many blooms; moderate deer resistance; attracts butterflies for nectaring; often appears in large masses which probably gave rise to its other name, Indian Blanket.
Texas Lantana, Lantana urticoides--the native lantana; has red, orange, and yellow blooms from spring through fall; needs plenty of sun to bloom well and blooms best in poor but well-drained soil; deer resistance is high; attracts butterflies plus birds often eat the berries; needs to be pruned back in late winter or early spring to prevent legginess, especially in shadier locations.
Rock Rose, Pavonia lasiopetala--a type of mallow plant; attracts butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds; prefers well-drained, limestone soils; does well in rock gardens; has moderate deer resistance; needs to be cut back in late winter to prevent plant from getting leggy; leave new plants that might spring up around the mother plant, as the plants sometimes last only four to seven years; baby plants can take over when the mother plant dies out.
False Sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale--3-6' tall, erect perennial with numerous showy, bright yellow flowers; a butterfly attractor; most parts of plant are poisonous.
Texas Wisteria, Wisteria frutescens--vine climbs 25-30'; gets very woody and can push metal fence aside over time; grows best in E. Texas but planted here to cover the cables at top of fencing around shorter gates; flowers in 6-9" drooping lilac/blue-ish clusters that are scented.
Red Yucca, Hesperaloe parviflora--not red and not a yucca; is an aloe; has showy coral and yellow flowers on tall spikes; blooms March through July; leaves are deer resistant but if deer are present the flowers often never even get to open; hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths enjoy the nectar.
Zexmenia, Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida--aka TX Creeping-oxeye; has rough grey/green foliage and orange/yellow daisy-like flowers; blooms May through November; is long lived and drought tolerant; may get leggy so cut back as needed; deer resistance moderate; is larval host to Bordered Patch, Sierran Metalmark, Lacinia Patch butterflies; grows to about 3'.
Zizotes Milkweed, Asclepias oenotheroides--a larval plant needed to support Monarch butterflies; buy only from reputable nurseries where you can be sure neonicotinoids not used on plant; grows to 1-2' and needs full sun.
To learn more about each of these species of plants, you can find a detailed account of them on the Native Plant Database.