I’ve resisted the pull for some time–to add my voice to the throngs of garden blogs.  Alas, I’ve given in to the…green side.  I don’t really know if I have anything new or different to add to either the blogosphere or to gardening in general, but I thought I’d give it a whorl (pun intended).  I’m hoping to do what others do–lament the awful heat and drought gripping Texas, post groovy pics about home projects, profile my favorite (or not) plants and discuss the whys and hows of transforming a boring grass home landscape to something vastly more interesting to wildlife and humans.  With a nod to the excellent and informative gardening blogs that I’ve enjoyed for several years, here goes.

So, for my virgin post (I don’t really expect the earth to move), some photos of my newest favorite plant.  Not to  worry, there will be other “newest favorites.”

I’ve been familiar with Lindheimer’s Senna (Senna lindheimeriana) for years, although only planted some in my personal garden about a year ago.  These have grown quite tall (really, a little too tall for the spot they’re in, but I like them and they were great all summer).  I love the soft (a common name for this plant is Puppy dog ears), grey-green foliage and the little flowers are bright and cheery.  Mine are planted in a difficult spot.  The area is bordered by the driveway and street, gets dappled shade most of the day, but receives the hot, blast of the Texas sun after about 3PM.  They’re doing a bit of a lean-thing, but I’m still happy with their performance.

I grew to admire the Lindheimer’s Senna in my job as gardener in the Green Garden at Zilker Botanical Garden and noticed that they seed out regularly, although not so profusely that they become weedy.  A sweet volunteer who was a Habitat Steward gave some seedlings to me to plant in the part of the garden that is certified as a Wildlife Habitat.  Some of her seedlings didn’t make it through our freezes in January/February 2011, but two did and they are lovely now. (No photos of those, you’ll have to visit the gardens!)  I have noticed that they are a bit tricky to transplant as seedlings, though.  I plan to add more of these great plants soon, both to my personal garden and to the Zilker gardens.  Check out the information on these native Texas plants on the NPIN website.