Must be March, right?

We got outside today. Again. James mowed the dandelions, and I cut back Mexican bush sage, blue mistflower, mealy sage and other plants with dead growth. James spotted a handsome he wolf spider on the front porch. And I found some native lantana BLOOMING! It feels like March, not February, right? And nature seems to agree, too.

Spring pretend

With days like yesterday and today, it's easy to wish even more than spring was TOMORROW! Even a pair of frisky red admirals (above) were flitting about this afternoon. With the recent rains, volunteer henbit and other nuisance natives (and nonnatives) are flourishing. Yesterday afternoon, I got out and pulled henbit from our front beds. For now, it can grow elsewhere for the benefit of bees, butterflies and other insects. When she visited Tuesday, my mother asked about henbit. Time to get out the books!

Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) is the common name for a cool season weed, originally from Europe. It's also called dead nettle and is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae). Howard Garrett in Howard Garrett's Plants for Texas says he likes the plant, "but if you don't, mow it down." According to Delena Tull's Wildflowers, Trees and Shrubs of Texas, "the young tender plants of both species [Lamium purpureum, East Texas species] are edible raw or cooked; unlike most mints, these do not have aromatic leaves."

And with yet another new year already here, I've decided to wage war against invasives in our Wildscape. The lantana (pictured above) was here before I moved into the Pink House in 2002. It struggled to survive last summer's drought and wasn't as hearty as usual. Though not listed at Texas Invasives, many biologists, native enthusiasts and other experts frown on Lantana camara and consider it to be highly invasive. So out it goes.

Lantana parade

Last weekend, I admired a hot pink lantana growing at a ranch where we stayed near Austin. This week, I've looked at a couple of nurseries but haven't found a similar one. In the meantime, I thought I'd shoot some photos of our lantana collection, which are all blooming. My pictures don't do justice at all to their colorful beauty....

'New Gold'

'Irene'

Trailing white

Lantana horrida
(true native)

'Cream Spreader'

Trailing purple

'Tangerine'

'Lemon'

Red

Penstemon and more

Naturally, after our visit to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, we visited a nursery and browsed through all the plants. We came home with more than we should have, but that's our true fun in life–adding to our Wildscape. In the evening, we enjoy sitting outside and watching all the birds, especially the hummingbirds.

That evening after our Austin trip, we planted a native butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) near our blue mist, a nectar host plant for butteflies. Earlier this summer, we planted a butterfly weed that has red-and-yellow blooms. Last year, we planted a yellow-flowered butterfly weed, and it didn't come back after winter. We're hoping at least one of these two do. Queen and monarch butterflies lay their eggs on this plant. Last summer, I watched numerous caterpillars grow from tiny to big on our butterfly weed. I got up real close and spotted eggs underneath the leaves, too. Lots of fun!

Butterfly weed (newest one)
Asclepias tuberosa

We also planted a blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) near a rock rose (Pavonia lasiopetala) that we planted last year. The rock rose came back this spring but has struggled a bit with powdery mildew. We've cut back on water, and it seems to be doing better. I thought a blackfoot daisy might do well near the rock rose because it's also a low-water user.

Blackfoot daisy
Melampodium leucanthum

Last Friday, we bought three red turk's cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) and also two pink ones ('Pam's Pink'). They'll be planted in the new bed that's under construction in the back yard. In the front yard, we have a huge patch of red turk's cap that grew from three small ones I planted three summers ago. My former husband gave me those little "saplings," and they've done quite well.

Isn't the pink bloom pretty? Can't wait to get those established.

Turk's cap 'Pam's Pink'

In the past week, we've also added two new lantanas in a front bed: a purple trailing lantana and 'Texas Flame.'

Purple trailing lantana

Lantana camara 'Texas Flame'

Here's a photo of a bed that's in the center of our back yard. Front and back, our yard is huge. Little by little, we're adding more native plants and building more beds. Just takes time!


Can you see that bit of red at the front of this bed? Yep, we loved that cut-leaf penstemon so much at the Wildflower Center, that we bought one for ourselves! It's between two columbines.

Cut-leaf penstemon
Penstemon baccharifolius

Lantanas in our Wildscape...

Lantanas grow wild in Central Texas. You'll see them along fence lines, in fields and in yards. When I moved into this home in 2002, the yard came with four VOLUNTEER lantanas–three orange (Lantana urticoides) and one yellow/pink (Lantana camara). They're super hardy and bloom prolifically. The butterflies love them, too.

This year, we planted several hybrids–white trailing lantana, 'New Gold' and 'Irene.' Check'em out below. 'Irene' is my favorite with its bright, BRIGHT pink flowers. So far, they're all doing well in a front-yard bed.

Lantana urticoides (native)

Lantana camara
(Don't plant these! They're considered to be a naturalized but invasive plant
in Texas that was originally brought from the West Indies. )

White trailing lantana (hybrid)
Planted this season

'Irene' lantana (cultivar)
Planted this season

'New Gold' lantana (cultivar)
Planted this season