Leftover dirt from construction and some nursery soil create a raised bed. The plants 1) screen, 2) create a thicket at the back corner of the yard, and 3) create a distant focal point. Monterey Oaks form the backbone. Underneath them are Fragrant Sumac, Littleleaf Sumac, Wafer Ash, Elbow Bush, Southern Wax Myrtle, Texas Mountain Laurel, Fiddlewood, and Desert Rosewood. Perennials like Rock Rose, Lyreleaf Sage, Hinckley Columbine and Cowpen Daisies grow under and around them, and a number of Clematis pitcheri (Leatherflower) twine up in the tangle. I'm pleased to say that I can't walk through the middle of this bed, so wildlife can rest easy here.
Water - a popular spot with birds and squirrels this summer. I put a couple of Cardinal Flowers into the water, and they have survived. Behind the pond is a copse of Evergreen Sumac, a lovely shrub.
The Bamboo took years to root out, and it continues in a couple of neighboring yards. When we moved in it owned about 30 feet of the back yard. What remains of my bamboo is caged in a sheet-metal-lined trench that goes about 15 inches deep. When other plants have matured enough to screen the back of the yard, I'll remove these, too.
The Bamboo canopy. The small Chinkapin Oak at right was a reject from a nursery. It may not have a classic shape, but it will be a fine tree.
Looking across the back. In the foreground, wood chip mulch, and a compost pile – the remains of a log pile of Chinaberry and Hackberry trees. The brown area at the rear turns green in no time with some rain. It's all Horseherb, and in spring, wildflowers.
The snag in the middle is the remains of an Arizona Ash, one of the landscape trees of circa 50 years ago. It was starting to lose limbs, and I wanted to bring light and open space into the yard, so it's been girdled (like the Hackberry, lower left) and topped. It's a perch for a local red-tailed hawk.
Mexican White Oak, or Monterey Oak. Semi-evergreen, some years it sheds toward spring, much as Live Oak. In colder winters, it may be bare for a couple of months. It's a pretty fast-growing tree, requiring little water. The new foliage has a pink hue and a softened look. There's a grouping of them at the back of the yard, growing into a privacy screen.
When I got this tree, I believed it was native, but am told that it really only occurs south of the Rio Grande. Arroyo Sweetwood grows FAST. This one is about 4 years old and taller than trees that are years older. The flowers are sweet-smelling. The pods are decorative. Since it grows so fast, I suspect it will be relatively short-lived, but haven't found any data on it.
Behind the Arroyo Sweetwood is a thicket of Aromatic Sumac, Littleleaf Sumac, Elbow Bush, Pavonia, and Clematis pitcheri/Leatherflower growing under the Monterey Oaks. It's almost impenetrable already. I can imagine Max and the wild things back there. Leftover construction dirt and some additional nursery soil form the raised bed they grow in.
There are some great natives here. The bushy shrub on the right is a grouping of Barbados Cherry. The pink flower clusters mature into fat, red berries that birds love. The pair of dark-foliage shrubs to the left are Texas Pistaches - evergreen and xeric, they make a good component in a green fence. The silver shrubs are an Australian import, Cassia artemesiodes.
This area under construction. In spring, there are wildflowers galore, but it dries up over the summer. By establishing some native grasses, I hope to create a more year-round landscape. It's not looking great this summer, but patience and incremental additions prairie species will cure that, or at least I think it will. The broadleaf clump in the foreground is a plant that I can't get enough of - Hill Country Penstemon. Beautiful spikes of delicately striped pink blossoms in March/April, tough as a boot heel all summer, and the rosette stays green through the winter. Nice.
My poor, poor vegetable garden. Now that it's raining, the eggplants are loaded with fruit and peppers are producing, but no tomatoes this year. The tree trunk is the remains of an Arizona Ash - now another habitat snag. The bare ground behind it is now swimming in Horseherb. What a difference a few inches of rain make!
The Texas Smoke Tree in the center is an outstanding landscape plant. Eye-catching feathery flower plumes in spring and colorful fall foliage in yellow/peach/orange/red offer multi-season appeal. Beneath it to the left is a Silktassel, an evergreen shrub that isn't easily found at nurseries, but ought to be. Center front are a Pavonia/Rock Rose and some Tropical Sage. All of these plants are pretty drought resistant. On the flip side, I have planted them above my stream beds, so that when the weather turns really wet, the soil around these plants drains adequately.
The view looking into the part of the yard we acquired about 6 years ago. Maybe the most important feature of my yard has been the way I've re-sculpted it to alter runoff patterns. Water used to run off of this area in sheets during heavy rains. Now, it is channeled and flow is interrupted by "pools" that slowly soak into the ground instead of running down the street. Gravel and mulch also slow drainage. Texas Mountain Laurel, Texas Persimmon, Texas Smoke Tree and Silktassel line the built up beds by the channel.
My Burr Oak is a little lost here, in front of a Hackberry that will have to go (I have others!). Underneath are a Golden-ball Lead Tree, an Anacacho Orchid, Asters, Purple Coneflower and Hill Country Penstemon.
The tree in the foreground is a Burr Oak, a long-lived native well-suited to deep clay soils like ours on Shoal Creek. It grows somewhat slowly into a large, handsome tree. The large, shaggy acorns are an outstanding feature.
When possible, I leave dead tree trunks standing. They provide good habitat and vines colonize them nicely. This former Sycamore was home to a family of Screech Owls a few years ago. The vine is Crossvine, a semi-evergreen native which blooms around March.
Arizona Cypress is really native to higher, drier lands in the Southwest. In our wetter climate it requires good drainage. In this area, they are said to grow to about 40 feet, but in upland canyons in Arizona, there are some much larger specimens
This shot gives a good overall look at the bed. The downside, potentially, is that "my" garden is out in the city's easement. I'll take my chances. It seems hard enough to get sidewalks even if you're trying to get them.
It was always hard to maintain a yard on this west exposure, and the slope made mowing more difficult. The plants out here don't even think it's a hardship. Natives in this bed include Wooly Butterfly Bush, Night-blooming Hesperaloe, Red Yucca, Gregg Dalea, Blackfoot Daisy, Devil's Shoestring, Silver Dalea, Desert Willow, Manfreda, Prairie Fleabane, Four-Nerve Daisy, Snake Herb and Mexican Feathergrass. Some hardy European herbs, South African succulents and Mexican natives live in this garden.
This is the sunniest part of this front bed, and was planted before I was very informed about native plant choices. Spriggy branches back left are Texas Kidneywood (N) with Turks Cap (N) flowering red in front of it. The silver shrub is Silver Germander (I). Foreground plants are Mexican Ruellia (I) on the left and Firecracker plant (I) in the center. To the right, the low plant is Zexmenia (N), with Argentine Bird-of-Paradise (I) and yellow-flowering Esperanza (N) above and behind. The dark shrub obscured behind the telephone pole is Evergreen Sumac (N). N= Native. I= Introduced.
Runoff from the our eaves and from my neighbor's yard drains downslope into this streambed. It looks nice and serves a practical purpose. A series of "pools" slows and holds runoff so that it gets a chance to be absorbed instead of running into city drainage. Native plants growing in this bed include: Texas Kidneywood, Turk's Cap, Blue Nolina, Yellowbells/Esperanza, Evergreen Sumac, Salvia Greggii, Zexmenia, Mountain Pea, Big Red Sage, Yellow Columbine, and Texas Mock Orange, as well as some adapted non-natives.
Our driveway is a big old sponge. Behind the concrete skirt and the stone hardscape, there is about a 9-inch layer of chipped cedar over the clay bed below. It provides an absorbent cushion and moisture reservoir. The cedar is fairly long-lasting and needs a new top layer only every few years as the mass disintegrates and compacts. Few weeds germinate there, and those that do are easily pulled. The concrete skirt prevents washout or erosion by stormwater running down the street.
Jackie O'Keefe, native plant enthusiast, a local gardener, and an occasional writer for the LBJ Wildflower Center’s “Mr. Smarty Plants” standing in her backyard.
