Tropical Texana: HOT PINK & AGAVES IN A TEXAS COTTAGE GARDEN

The last of the three colors I'll be using this year (besides yellow and blue) will be hot pink.

This is a case where I did not pick the color; the color picked me.

The first rule of gardening is survival. And if the plants thrive and just happen to have hot pink flowers, then who am I to kick them out.

Besides, my wife says I'm a bit color blind so I have no idea what to call them. LOL

The purples, lavenders and hot pinks all run together in the art department of my brain.

Garden bouquet from last summer

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So, who am I inviting back this year for

TEXAS COTTAGE GARDEN ~PART DEUX?

Pink skullcap (Scuttelaria suffrutescens) will be back this year.

Rock rose will be back. I love this plant!

Melochia tomentosa is a fantastic little bloomer. It will be back!

This shade of Angelonia will be back, but not the deeper purple or the white varieties.

And cat mint will also be back. The little blooms are a bonus.

Here's the plant. Plants with small leaves and a snappy character are what I'm looking for.

Unlike its English cousins, a Texas Cottage Garden has a different set of architectural plants.

That western flavor makes for some unique combinations.

Above is Agave 'Sharkskin'.

Here are two more agaves. The one in the front is Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'. It is a very slow grower.

The one in the back is Agave stricta.

If you have excellent drainage, you can also add a spineless Opunita. There are several varieties of spineless Opuntias. I got this one in Gruene, Texas in a parking lot.

My last set of structural plants are the yuccas and aloes. I only have a cottage garden in the very front of the yard. The rest of the garden has nothing but shade and that's where the tropical garden begins (hence the palms).