I was in New Mexico for the first week of May, a state that truly lives up to it’s motto: Land of Enchantment. As much as I love the high desert plants and beautiful hiking trails, this was not the first time home from a trip that I was surprised and pleasantly reminded about the lush garden that I’ve created on my own slice of the Earth.

I don’t consider myself any sort of plant or design expert, but I’ve learned plants that work well in the Central Texas climate and the soil that my garden grows in. Along the way, mistakes were, and are, part of the process. I adore the plants in my garden, there are so many favorites, but also appreciate the wildlife that are integral to the health and beauty of my garden. There are periods of “mess” that I’ve come to understand are vital to a balanced ecosystem: allowing plants to seed out where they become unruly or tattered in the process. Those seeds provide for the native and migrating birds and all manner of mammals who pass through, insuring the future generations of those plants. The tattered leaves and stems become part of the mulch, eventually enriching the soil. The cycle continues.

I don’t typically photograph the wide swaths of my front garden, as I don’t want to get cars, trucks, street signs, or the neighbors’ AC unit in the shots. Alas, there’s no way for me to get a long shot of the narrow area between my driveway and the north-most neighbors’ property line without their AC unit or the slab of cement that is my driveway playing roles in the garden.

However, I can stroll along the driveway garden, capturing a couple of sets of shrubs, perennials and annuals.

Bloomers in this shot include the large shrub, Barbados Cherry, Malpighia glabra. Left to right grow Globe Mallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua, Blue Curls, Phacelia congesta, Blue Sage, Salvia farinacea, more Blue Curls, and not-quite-in-bloom Turk’s Cap, Malvaviscus arboreus.

Further along that same path and directly across from the front of the garage grows pink blooming Rock Rose, Pavonia lasiopetala, White Tropical Sage, Salvia coccinea, and yellow Zexmenia, Wedelia acapulcensis. Some taller shrubs, a floral vine and an old Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis complete the rest of this small section.

Turning to my right, I face the front of my house. In this raised bed are a large Cenizo, Leucophyllum frutescens, a Red Yucca, Hesperaloe parviflora, and more Rock Rose, Blue Sage, and Zexmenia. Another smaller raised bed to the right of the photo echos some of the same plants.

As I stroll away from the front of the house, down the driveway and to my left is what was once the front ‘yard’ and is now an enclosed mulched sitting area, surrounded by a garden chock-full of native and well-adapted plants.

The pathway continues parallel along the front of the house, towards my SIL’s garden. A few feet in and with a right turn, the mulch sitting area welcomes a visitor to sit, or in my case, to stand and mull garden changes. The narrow span of garden between the mulched pathway and the mulched sitting area is full of spring flowers now, but summer’s plants are becoming impatient, already nosing to take over the blooming and seed production. I use many plants repeatedly, in similar or different combinations, throughout my garden. I hope there’s just enough variety of plant matter that the space isn’t boring or redundant.

In this shot, two Engelmann Daisies, Engelmannia peristenia bookend the photo in sunshiny yellow. The back of this section is bolstered by three heirloom roses: a Martha Gonzalez, an Old Gay Hill, and a Caldwell Pink. In front of the roses are two American Basket Flowers, Plectocephalus americanus; one columnar, its neighbor to the right, pruned for branching. These two (and others of their kind) will bloom most of summer. Two silvery-green Mexican Feathergrass, Nassella tenuissima, wave gently in the breeze.

Across the mulched path, along the front of the house (side of the garage) grow Feathergrass and American Agave in pots nestled in a bed of ground-cover Purple Heart, Tradescantia pallida, backed-up by evergreen Burford Holly, Ilex cornuta. An Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis, adds structure and light shade. A variety of small shrubs, ground-covers, and perennials also grow in this section.

Off to the side, a trio of salvia: Blue Anise Sage, Salvia guaranitica, and both White and Red Tropical Sage, Salvia coccinea keep the potted Mexican Feathergrass company.

Turning back to the main garden area, more Rock Rose, Mexican Feathergrass, and Engelmann Daisy are joined by a sprinkling of white Small Coastal Germander, Teucrium cubense, and the tail-end of my Whooping Crane garden attendant.

Pivoting to view the rest of the garden which is bordered by my SIL’s garden, the street, and the driveway, you’ll see small trees and dense, summer blooming shrubs. Flameleaf Sumac, Rhus lanceolata, Evergreen Sumac, Rhus virens, Mexican Honeysuckle, Justicia spicigera, Frostweed, Verbesina virginica, and Turk’s Cap, along with other shrubs, perennials, and annuals, act together as a natural privacy screen from the street.

I really like white in my gardens! These common White Tropical Sage are prolific bloomers and most visited pollinator plants in my gardens. As they’re not big plants, I transplant the many seedlings in groups of three or more. I also let them bloom where they grow, so pops of white sparkle throughout my garden.

For structural focus, native yuccas, Soft Leaf and Pale-leaf, plus another container of American Agave attempt to balance indulgent spring blooms. I find spiky plants interesting–in others’ gardens. I’m not a member of the Spiky Plant Fan Club; I don’t like plants that hurt me. My focus is the tumble of floral and foliage color, as well as seasonal change. That being said, yuccas and the like add beautiful and varied color and structure and gardens benefit from that added beauty.

There are many plants I didn’t show or discuss that fill this very full garden: smaller perennials hug the ground and others fill space and add color and foliage interest. In the 5 years since this garden became a full-sun situation, it’s evolved and changed more than I anticipated, though I have welcomed the challenges presented. Some plants were the perfect choice, other plants were…not so much. As the one Red Oak that a squirrel planted grows toward its eventual mature height, along with the understory trees that I’ve added, the garden will continue to change with each passing year. I look forward to watching my garden grow, to observing who lives here or visits, and to being nature’s humble assistant in this quest for a garden alive.

A lush spring season continues and the garden blooms. I treasure the spring ephemerals for their brief flowering in spring, the seed development which follows, and the stability they lend to the garden palette long after their blooms are gone. Their flowery showtime is short, often only a few weeks, but important to the diversity of the ecosystem. Emerging pollinators from winter’s rest rely on these early bloomers and the gardener delights in renewal of life through these springtime beauties.

There are always a few Texas Dandelion plants, Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus, who appear in the front garden, though this spring, so far, there is only one. This sweet, butter-pat yellow aster closes up during each afternoon of the several days that it is in bloom. I’ve mostly observed small native bees nectaring here.

A neighborly stem of Coast Germander, Teucrium cubense, reaches out with a ‘howdy’ to the dandelion.

The germander is a small ground cover/shrub with minty foliage, currently covered in tiny, snowy blooms and visited by busy pollinators. They were so busy that I couldn’t manage any decent photos of the small nectar gatherers–but there were plenty!

I love white flowers in the garden. A particular favorite is the white Tropical Sage, Salvia coccinea. This one keeps company with a rich pink Hill Country Penstemon, a lavender Gulf Coast Penstemon, and a Mexican Feathergrass.

The white sage re-seeds prolifically and I tend to let the plants bloom where they grow. If I need to move one, they’re easy to transplant. In warmer winters with no freezes, they’ll bloom all winter, continuing into spring. This year, all of mine died to the ground, but popped up early, ready for flowering. The salvias’ blooms are more reluctant during our hot summers, but there are usually some available for the wide variety of pollinators who, like this gardener, love this plant.

A different Hill Country Penstemon, Penstemon triflorus, demonstrates the striping common to this flower, showing the pollinators the way to the good stuff!

Crouched and twisted, but with no resulting pulled muscles (this time!), I managed to catch a photo of this native bee as it worked the flowers of the Gulf Penstemon, Penstemon tenuis. Another brief spring bloomer, this lovely native blooms, then sets attractive seeds for the birds and mammals. I’ve seen Painted Buntings nibble at the seed heads when they pass through my garden in early May.

Blue and yellow is a winning color combination and I have plenty of both in my gardens. The yellow is Engelmann’s Daisy, Engelmannia peristenia, the blue is Mealy Blue Sage, Salvia farinacea. The morning of this shot was chilly and cloudy and no pollinators were out and about. Both of these natives are pollinator magnet plants; the sage blooms in summer and autumn, the daisy is primarily a spring bloomer.

My garden is mostly perennial plants, but I certainly make room for a few annuals, especially the spring annuals. Blue Curls, Phacelia congesta, spread far and wide and it’s no wonder, as it’s a plant with multiple flowers and usually a huge variety of pollinators in attendance. This cluster only demonstrates a honeybee at work, but she’s a busy bee with lots of spots to nectar. My garden is awash in this lovely blue/purple plant and I see individuals that have seeded out in the lawns on my street. Of course, those plants are likely to get mowed, as that is the norm in my neighborhood.

I haven’t grown geraniums in pots since I was in my 20s and sported a very brown thumb. However, there’s no need for a green thumb when the native Texas Geranium, Geranium texanum, graces the garden. A small annual herb, this cutey pops up all over the place–and I let it! The foliage is pinnately arranged, the petite flowers a gentle pink, with a yellow center.

This geranium is also called Texas Crane’s-bill, because its fruit resembles a crane’s bill! I’m not sure that I see that myself, but I have no better name for it and I’m charmed by the poetry of old-fashioned common names.

Once the bill is dried, the seeds are launched outwards and upwards, landing in soil to await the right conditions during the following February and March,starting the process again. As it’s not a showy plant, I’m not sure most nurseries would sell it, though I’d imagine seeds might be available from a reputable seller, like Native American Seed.

No stroll through the garden is complete without the skittering of Green Anoles. This one stopped to deliver a side-eyed glare at me, before moving on to its next adventure. It seems a good year for the Anoles, I’ve seen quite a few. I look forward to more lizardy stink-eye as the seasons progress!

Happy spring, y’all!