Texas Gardening

In this section we’ll talk about the best plants for your Texas garden.

Check out the following websites for tips on growing fruit in Texas:

• General Guide to Growing Fruit in Texas
• Growing Citrus Trees in Texas.
• Growing Avocado Trees in Texas.
• Fruit, Nut, and Berries for Texas.

Depending on where you live in Texas, you may be able to grow some interesting and unusual fruits. In addition to the typical fruits that most people can grow in the U.S., Texas gardeners can grow citrus trees, and a variety of tropical fruits and subtropical fruits such as avocado, mangoes, and bananas.

Here are just a few fruits that you can find in Texas gardens:

1. Apples
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Blackberries
5. Blueberries
6. Boysenberries
7. Cherries
8. Dewberries
9. Figs
10. Grape vines
11. Loquats
12. Mangoes
13. Mayhaw
14. Pears
15. Plums
16. Papayas
17. Strawberries

Vegetables are a must for you garden. Some vegetables varieties do better than others in Texas. Below, we’ve collected a few recommended varieties of various vegetables for Texas. Remember to check the links from our section on regional gardening in Texas for tips on what vegetables grow best in your area.

Texas A&M has a complete list of recommended vegetable varieties for Texas gardens at this website.

Texas is famous for its beautiful wildflowers, with over 5,000 species of flowering native plants growing in the territory of Texas. People come out in vast numbers during the various seasons of the year to enjoy the wildflowers that adorn the Texas countryside. In addition to appreciating them in the wild, you can grow a huge number of wildflowers in your very own garden. The following list is just a sample of the wildflowers that grow in Texas.

• Texas Blue Bonnet

• Indian Paintbrush

• Black-eyed Susan

• Blackfoot Daisy

• Chocolate Flower

• Lantana

• Coreopsis

• Foxglove

• Goldenrod

• Mexican Hat

• Indian Blanket

• Prickly Pear Cactus

• Texas Blue Bells

• Standing Cypress

• Texas Dandelion

• Texas Mountain Laurel

• Texas Thistle

• Winecups

Growing wildflowers is not tricky. After all, wildflowers are adapted to the climate and conditions of most Texas gardens. However, some wildflowers are not appropriate for certain regions of the state.
Check out this guide from Aggie Horticulture for everything you need to know about growing wildflowers in Texas.

If you’re interested in growing shrubs native to Texas, look once again to Benny Simpson. He “wrote the book” (or at least the website!) on native shrubs from Texas.

As with trees, there are literally hundreds of shrubs, both native and non-native, that will work great in your Texas garden or landscaping. One of the favorites for Texas gardeners is the Crape Myrtle. In fact the Crape Myrtle is the State shrub of Texas. Texas is the only state with a state shrub, by the way! Unfortunately, while beautiful, the Crape Myrtle is not native to the state. It has been growing long enough here to be considered naturalized, however.

Learn everything you ever wanted to know about the Crape Myrtle at this website.

In addition to the popular crape myrtle, consider some of the following beautiful shrubs for your Texas garden:

•           Abelia
•           American Beautyberry
•           Artemisia
•           Aucuba
•           Candletree
•           Carolina Rose
•           Cleyera
•           False Indigo
•           Havard Oak
•           Holly
•           Lavendar
•           Leadplant
•           Ligustrum
•           Lotebush
•           Mahonia
•           Nandina
•           Pyracantha
•           Red Yucca
•           Sage           
•           Scarlet Sumac
•           Serviceberry
•           Santolina
•           Sunshine Rose
•           Texas Azalea
•           Texas Sage
•           Texas Wisteria
•           Viburnum
•           Wax Myrtle
•           Wisteria
•           Yaupon holly
•           Yucca

There are a huge number of trees native to Texas that will work great in your landscaping.

Below is a short list of some of our favorites. Benny Simpson also has an excellent website devoted to the native trees of Texas.

Here are a few native grass varieties that you may want to consider for your landscaping:

• Blue Grama

• Eastern Gamma

• Indiangrass

• Canada Wildrye

• Texas Bluegrass

• Inland Seaoats

The Dirt Doctor website has a complete list of grasses native to Texas.

Grass is an enjoyable part of any home landscaping. Many areas of Texas receive plenty of annual rain so that you can grow a rich, green lawn without too much effort. Other areas of Texas are drier and you may spend a lot more time watering and caring for your lawn. In the most arid regions of the state, you may want to consider other kinds of groundcovers that require less water. There are also a few drought tolerant grass varieties that will work for you. In arid parts of Texas, try and grow the minimum amount of turfgrass possible. You’ll see big changes in the amount of time you spend in landscape maintenance and the amount of water you use in your landscaping.

When caring for your lawn, we recommend a few basic things:

1. Water infrequently but deeply

2. Regularly aerate your lawn

3. Cut your grass the correct height

4. Leave the grass clipping on your lawn (this is called grasscycling). Reel mowers are excellent for quickly and easily recycling your grass clippings.

If you’re looking for more information on how to take care of your grass, the Aggie Horticulture website has a very comprehensive website both for professionals and home gardeners on growing and caring for turfgrass. They focus on specific lawn care techniques for Texas and have tons of great tips. Additionally, please see this website devoted to organic lawn care tips for more natural ways to take care of your lawn.