Texas Native Plants for Pollinators All Year

Support pollinators and birds all year with successive flowers and fruits from spring to winter. John Hart Asher and Andrea DeLong-Amaya from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center “timeshare” Texas native perennials and annuals. When warm-weather plants go dormant in winter, cool-weather plants pick up the food supply for hungry wildlife.
Find resources, watch episodes, and read CTG's blog:
www.centraltexasgardener.org/
Follow CTG:
/ centraltexasgardener
/ ctglinda
We encourage conversation and dialog around all topics but do not tolerate hate speech. Any comments that violate this will be deleted and users may be banned. More information on our comment guidelines can be found here: bit.ly/2iHas1E

[@MickF04]

Interesting discussion. I think some Central Texans run into the issue of HOAs complaining about the "unkempt" look of a wild pollinator garden, particularly in the front yards. At times, it seems like HOA rules supersede local ordinances and the benefits of the pollinator population. Being from out of state and having moved to Central Texas 5+ years ago, having to answer to the HOA takes away some of the flexibility we might (and should) have planted in our gardens.
We ended up with several pollinator friendly plants in the front yard, but none of them are natives. The closest we have is Mystic Spires Blue Salvia, which is a Texas Superstar plant and blooms for us from early April until first frost. We have some Lantana, Gaillardia, Agastache, Abelia, and dwarf Buddleia, but none are native. Maybe if we ever get around to planting in the backyard (hello limestone and very little soil), some of the native plant suggestions here might find their way into our garden.

[@bjstark5069]

I have a big Turk's Cap plant under my young Oak Tree. It is a great plant, and I love eating the 'baby apples' it produces fall/winter! It amazes me that it produces fruit when it's freezing cold. It's right next to my front porch and door, I love grabbing the little red apples in the morning on my way out to work. I'm looking forward to learning about more Native TX edible & flowering perennial plants.

[@sstrong42]

Ahhhh, this is great stuff.

[@marysmith7396]

Go, Andrea!