Spring time is right around the corner—making it the perfect time to give your yard a makeover. With so many different plants and flowers to choose from, it can be overwhelming when determining  what to choose. When landscaping your yard, it is important to consider the Central Texas climate as well as how much shade and sunlight your plants will naturally get. Here are a few suggestions of some native Central Texas shrubs that thrive in the environment, are low maintenance, and will make your yard beautiful.

White Mistflower

This drought tolerant, Native Texas shrub grows 2-6ft tall. It produces a long lasting, sweet smelling pinkish-white flower that blooms in October-November. It grows best in the sun with dry soil. Not only is the plant beautiful, but it also attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

White Mistflower

Flame Acanthus

This shrub produces a stunning red-orange flower, making it a very popular choice in landscape design. In favorable conditions, it will spread seed, resulting in more budding plants. The plant will bloom June – October and is known to do well in patio pots. It is drought tolerant and can also survive lower temperatures. It does best in sun/part-shade and will adapt to a variety of soils.

Flame Acanthus

Texas Kindeywood

This shrub grows anywhere from 3-10ft tall with an open structure and has many branches. It grows quickly and makes a great accent shrub. It produces a 3-4 inch “spike” of white flowers at the end of the branches. The flowers are known to produce a sweet citrus-like smell that attract both butterflies and bees. The most common time for this plant to bloom is May – October. It requires low water usage and does best in the sun. However, this plant also does well in lower temperatures.

Texas Kidneywood

Red Yucca

This shrub provides a stunning accent to any yard growing 3-5 ft tall. It produces long spikes of pink-red coral bell-shaped flowers that last from May-October. Not only is this shrub beautiful, but it is also extremely durable. It tolerates both extreme heat and cold, adapts to many soils, and needs little to no extra attention. This shrub does best in sun/part-shade.

Red Yucca

All of the shrubs mentioned above not only add a beautiful accent to a landscape, but are also durable and low-maintenance. For more information on Central Texas landscaping contact us here.

1. Have Sharp Blades and Mow Often
To keep a green lawn, the best rule of thumb is frequent cutting, which ensures that your lawn will grow thick and weeds won’t spring up. Sharpen your mower blades so the grass isn’t torn up and susceptible to wilting diseases.

2. Refrain From Mowing Wet Grass
Mowing when the lawn is wet with water will mash down the soil so the roots don’t get great oxygen intake. When that happens, the grass withers and your lawn can end up with bald areas.

3. Leave clippings in your lawn
Don’t remove the clippings fro your lawn. You’ll avoid trips to that trash with mulch bags. Also the clippings fertilize the soil. If you’re mowing frequently, the clippings are short and sparse. Eventually they wind up back in the soil and they don’t end up looking dried and withered.

4. Don’t Water at Night
The grass needs to dry before the dew comes down. Extended periods of watering can bring about disease. The best time to water is early in the morning. Water will evaporate by midday and you’ll be paying for evaporation.

5. Use One Fertilizer
Mixing fertilizers doesn’t yield great results, especially if you are combining synthetic and natural fertilizers.