What Now?

Nancy said that 3 years ago her lawn was green, lush and beautiful. But now, it's gone. The drought, the hard freezes, and intense summer heat was too much. And being alone, she couldn't keep up with it. So, now she just doesn't know what to do. She really doesn't want to re-sod her entire yard and under the current water restrictions it would be very difficult to get a new lawn established now.

So, her question is what do I do now?

I think what's best for her is to replant the flower beds but hold off on the lawn grass. Many of the lawns in her neighborhood have reduced the amount of lawn grass by eliminating the grass. Some of those lawn grass areas can be replaced with other ground covers such as vines or gravel or mulch. And that can be attractive in it's own way.

So, for the flower beds, here are some of the plants we are talking about.

-Sparklette Esperanza is a variety that blooms from spring until almost winter in San Antonio. The yellow flowers have a maroon throat and the plant only gets about 3' tall.

-There is Blue Plumbago and White Plumbago and both bloom from spring until winter.

There are at least a dozen varieties of Lantana to choose from. Here we have

-New Gold

-Purple Trailing

-and Radiation

these will all bloom from spring almost until Christmas.

Same is true about Salvia greggii. There are quite a few different varieties. Some have fancy names, others just go by bloom color, like these

-Coral

-Purple

-and White

Here are three great plants for shady spots

-Giant Leopard Plant

-Variegated Japanese Sedge

-and Holly Fern

-Variegated Ginger is great in a shady spot but it can take some sun too..

-Rose Creek Abelia is a compact shrub that will get about 3' tall in about 3 years.

-Prostrate Rosemary is an herb but in San Antonio it might as well be a shrub because that's how we use it.

-Rock Rose or Pink Pavonia is native to the Texas Hill Country and it blooms most of the summer.

-Variegated Flax Lily does well in sun or shade.

-Dusty Miller stays pretty short and deer won't eat it. Actually, deer don't eat many gray plants.

For those pots out by the front door and the garage, here are some ideas of plants to put in them when Spring gets here.

Well, that's about it for today. Let me know it you have any questions. My contact info is on the previous page. I'd love to hear from you.