Butterflies and hummingbirds are the two kinds of forums I was hoping for later also, as they are truly tied to gardening so closely. But I do understand that this site should only grow in stages.

Yes I would really love lists of natives that are for these two - I see a lot of plants on the market but they are not natives...

Then again on my county list of natives they have listed - Bremuda Grass.... so not sure that there is a list for us around here that I can take for a true "native plant" list.

What an impressive plant list-some of the plants I grew in Corpus Christi (not many) others are unfamiliar (a lot) but I'm interested in learning! I garden in Live Oak County (brush country-South Texas) zone 9a now. It is really a challenge even without the drought conditions. Any suggestions for beginning flowers, trees and shrubs for this area? I have Texas sage, buttonbush and chokecherry already on my shub list for fall planting. We have 2.5 acres but right now I'm concentrating on a fenced 100x90' yard with several native trees already on it. (mesquite, anaqua, chinaberry mostly).

Hello Sheila, you are so kind, and Pat thank you for joining us, I do hope that other friends will be able to come and see the garden also.
Josephine.

Hello LindaMcGill, thank you for joining us.
I am not familiar with which plants would do best in south Texas, but I will try to suggest some that I think will work.
You already have Mesquite and Anacua, very good trees, but Chinaberry is not native and is on the Texas invasives list.

You might try to add these Trees.
Pecan, Cedar Elm, Texas Mountain Laurel, Roughleaf Dogwood and Mexican Buckeye.

Shrubs
Rock Rose, Turk's Cap, Texas Kidneywood, Barbados Cherry, Texas Lantana, Salvia gregii, Flame Acanthus, Zexmenia,
Western Ironweed, Heartleaf Hibiscus, Red yucca, Skeletonleaf Goldeneye, Texas Sage.
Button Bush is very nice but it loves water.

Vines
Crossvine and Coral Honeysuckle.

Here is a link to recommended plants for South Texas from the Wildflower Center.
http://wildflower.org/collecti...
I hope this list helps.

Work hard and have fun!!!
Josephine.

Thanks, Josephine, for the plant recommendations. I am now going to try and locate sources for them. I plant for the birds and
butterflies, etc. and some just for the beauty. We have lots of wildlife here. Your yard is beautiful. Thanks again for your help!
LindaMcGill

I plant for the wildlife too, if Possum Haw will live in your area it is very much worth a try, the fruit is beautiful and the birds love it.

Ooh, lots of wildlife, how cool! I garden for wildlife also and after a while it's easy to see which plants are useful that way. Does anyone know exactly how cold-hardy Barbados Cherry might be? It survives here, but it seems like it barely makes it some years. Don't know if it'll bloom this year, because with the more serious winter dieback and restrained watering because of drought, it's coming back slower.

my dwarf cherry barbados has already had fruit....gone now because of mocking birds...survived icey winter and grew even bigger....easy to propogate.

The ones I have in the ground are very little and will not bloom this year, but they did survive.
The one I have potted and bring in when it gets too cold has done well, and bloomed very pretty, but hardly any fruit.

My Barbados Cherry still very small made it also with a heavy mulch around it. I am looking forward to it getting larger.

Linda....the butterfly threads from Cubits have been moved over!! Check the forum list for the name or do a search.

The Texas Mountain Laurels around here are starting to die back a bit. I think they'll survive, however. They're pretty tough! I went to the nearest feed store to get more deer feed and wild birdseed. The guy said they keep running out...that lots of people feel sorry for the deer and other wildlife! I'm so glad...sometimes it felt like it was just me around here! It's good to know there's compassion for wildlife.

This year will really be a test for a lot of plants, even our natives I am afraid.

Yes, I am paying close attention to what works best, especially at the Wildscape and Fielder House gardens.
Since i can't watch them as I do my own I need plants that can take the heat.
Even here at the house, the plants on the slope which faces south with no shade are not looking good and fresh like other years.

Let us know which natives are the winners.

I will be sure to do that, I am making notes during this extremely hot and terrible summer.

The only heat-related fatalities I have had this summer have been a few newly planted non-natives. My lost natives have been due to digging varmints...

Armadillos have killed more plants in my yard this year than usual! I can fence out some animals, but others always find their way in! I guess I'm lucky that so many Sweet Everlasting plants came up and established in 2010. Even though some seem to be gone, others are hanging in. The largest two plants of that around close by are in the bed of the dry creek on the vacant property next door. The property is finally listed for sale, but with the economy in a nosedive again, I'm wondering if it will just sit there unsold for quite some time.

Most of my losses have been the four legged barking kind causing damage. They make it their duty to chase and bark at lizards even!! My neighbor found a dead rat and dead squirrel on the other side of the fence they patrol most. I figure they are ones that got away then died. All kinds of varmits are coming to the pond to drink with the creeks drying up. I just hope the turtles and snakes don't visit...frogs we can handle.

My cowpen daisy is really doing well as is the Zexmenia.

Yes, we lose a lot of plants here due to the squirrels, and at the greenhouse it is the armadillos, it is a real problem.