Friday, April 18, 2014

TEXAS COTTAGE GARDEN~ 50 PLANTS THAT LOOK GOOD ALL WINTER (PART 3)

This is the final segment in my series on plants that look good all winter. Even here in zone 9 Texas, not EVERY plant stays green and vibrant through the winter. So...I've gone through my garden to pick out 
the best of the best for anyone who wants to build a year round cottage garden along the 
Texas coast or in warmer regions of the world. (Names are below the images)
Large photo: Agave x 'Mr. Ripple' (good down to 5F)
Far left bottom: Texas Sage aka Barometer bush (Leucophyllum frutescens)
Bottom middle: Native wire grass/wire sedge
Bottom right: Peter's Purple Monarda or bee balm (natural hybrid that doesn't die of powdery mildew!)
Bottom corner: Silver Mediterranean Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis cerifera)
Top right: Kentucky Colonel Spearmint (already mentioned)
Middle Right: Creeping Rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis prostratus)

Large image: Dusty Miller (Senecio cineraria)
Bottom left: Bright Lights Swiss Chard
Middle bottom: Agave toumeyana (already mentioned earlier)
Right bottom: Chocolate mint (Mentha x piperita f. citratata 'Chocolate')
Bottom corner: Azure germander (Teucrium fruticans)
Top right: Zexmenia hispida (exeptional Texas native...drought tolerant)
Middle right: Our cat 'Bear' trying out the catmint
Bottom right: Tea hyssop (not a hyssop but great little herb)
                          Summer                                                                         Winter

So there you have it. Of course, adding seasonal flowers to your foundation plants is what cottage gardening is all about. So remember to space out your larger plants to leave room for the flowers.
All for now. I've got to get ready for Spring!
David/:0)



5 comments:

  1. I hope you're enjoying spring! I love the look of the silver fan palm. Such a pretty color. And I thought you were trying to pass off Bear as a plant - until I read the catmint caption! ;)

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  2. I especially like how some of those are grayish or bluish, which is a great contrast to all the green I see there. Good selections!

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  3. How awesome! Thanks so much for the ideas. We're floundering a bit over here in SW Houston: it seems as though our seeds sprout really well - but then don't seem to want to grow too much. Someone's getting to our mini chard before we can ever hope to. However, other things are doing well: rosemary, butterfly weed (which some caterpillars found - sad and happy at that!), and coneflower and rudbeckia seedlings are coming up. I am going to start sowing more seeds in the hopes of filling up some terribly empty spots soon. I'm drooling over all your structural plants which I hope one day we'll have as well. See you soon, David!

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  4. Dave-o, greetings. I would love to grow some of the Agaves and Palms. Guess I'll have to stick to prairie plants. Glad you stopped by the blog, its seems I don't post near as much. And yes your list of nuclear bomb survivor is correct. We also have nutsedge (yellow) and if I remember right your mainstay is purple.

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I always appreciate your comments & questions! Happy Gardening from David/ Tropical Texana