Did your lawn take a beating these last several summers and autumns with the dry spells and the prolific sod webworms? Then it went through the whammy of the ‘Terrible Freeze’ this winter. Have weeds moved in to fill the dead spaces?  Perhaps it is time to consider replacing a lot of that grass with some planting beds that are filled with drought tolerant perennials and grasses.  There are so many lovely, hardy native plants that can be incorporated into a landscape.  Reducing your lawn with more of our native plants will reduce your need to water, mow and spray.  Now doesn’t that sound attractive?

Have a fear of offending your neighbors or, worse yet, your HOA, which has rigid rules on landscape specifics?  You can now plant those native, drought and disease tolerant plants with impunity.  You are now protected by a bill passed by the Texas legislature.  Although homeowners may still need to submit design plans for approval, the bill passed by the Texas Legislature specifies that a design cannot be denied simply because it uses native plants, which help conserve water. 

Texas water resources are under stress, so this allows homeowners to conserve natural resources by using plants that need less water and are adapted to the climate. Estimates suggest about one third of the water used by Texas homeowners goes to landscaping and more specifically to lawns. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s official spring outlook  published this March sees an expanding drought with a drier than normal April, May and June for a large swath of the country from Louisiana to Oregon. including some areas hardest hit by the most severe drought.  This type of forecast and the increasing cost of water alone makes you want to consider increasing your use of native plants. 

Laying out a plan on paper is always a good idea when starting any new landscape project.  You can incorporate

your ideas and plant suggestions into a meaningful layout without digging one clump of soil.

A plan on paper will go a long way in appeasing your HOA, should they require a plan to be submitted. Though the process can take time, it comes with real rewards and reduces mistakes.  Always strive for a look that has purpose to it, rather than an aimless planting of random plants.  Hmm, I should take my own advice!

Flesh out your initial ideas by visiting native plant gardens, native prairies and other parks that have native plantings. Pay attention to what plants look great together or what plants grow well in full-sun or shade.  Regardless of the size of your yard project, now is a great time to start planning before you prepare beds and plant while the weather is relatively cool. And when you’re ready, you can find local nurseries that carry native plants, or attend native plant sales at the Houston Arboretum, Mercer Botanic Garden’s plant sales, and NPSOT’s annual Wildscape seminar.  Good advice and native plant seeds adapted to local ecoregions can be obtained from the Native American Seed Company.

Make use of the Native Plant Database kept by the Wildflower Center to choose from among thousands of native plants to install. It contains a nifty tool called ‘the combination search,’ which you can use from anywhere in the country by typing in your city and state or ZIP code. The feature lets you narrow your search down to qualities such as plant type, bloom color, size and even the time of year a plant is in bloom.  It then searches the database and spits out a list of those meeting your requirements.

Many of our most beautiful native plants come from our native prairies.  These are typically tough and tolerant of our climate and insects. Keep in mind that plants which are native to our own ecoregion are always the best choice. Texas is so blessed with a wonderful palette of native plants with a great aesthetic that is full of color and texture. So, take advantage of this and create a beautiful garden that gives life to this beautiful heritage.  Using native plants in our landscapes is not only the right thing to do it is also a good thing to do. 

Consider incorporating more of our natural heritage into your gardens and cut down on that St. Augustine lawn that serves no good purpose in our environment.  Keep in mind that living in the middle of a grassy field is no longer the imperative that it was to very-early people who needed to always be on the lookout for predators approaching.  This was the beginning of the lawn craze!  That, and the 18^th century practice of wealthy landowners having great swaths of lawn to show off their wealth, in that they could afford the gardeners to keep it neatly mown.  With the invention of the lawnmower, everyone could afford to mow a patch of lawn.  But, with the knowledge we now have of the true cost of having a lawn, it’s time to consider alternatives.  We have been cutting down on our lawn spaces. Currently we are considering a native groundcover as an alternative to a problem lawn area.  Stay tuned!