Native Plants & Lanscaping
Native Landscaping Plans & Management
If you are interested in attracting birds, butterflies and wildlife to your property and want to enjoy plants year round then natural landscaping with native trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers will provide this. We can help you design a plan that will fit the needs of your property taking into account soil, terrain, water availability and amount of care. In these busy days people often want landscapes that take little time or money and native landscaping really fits the bill. We can help you plan a low maintenance, high species diversity landscape that will give you years of pleasure. We can also do native and ornamental mixes where it is more practical. We can design landscapes for any area of Texas for homeowners, schools, businesses and agencies. Contact us for a site survey and consultation.
Why We Support Native Species Restoration
- Promotes water quality in a watershed
- Provides for more recreation opportunities
- Wildflowers, birds and butterflies bring tourists
- More wildlife for hunting, photographing, viewing
- Improves forage nutrition for livestock
- Prevents erosion and improves soil
- Low maintenance and cost of native species
- Better nutrient cycling of nitrogen, phosphorus and other minerals
- Sustainability - it pays for itself
- Restores natural communities
Landscaping for Butterfly, Birds and Wildlife
Butterfly Gardening
When gardening for butterflies, there are two categories of plants that butterflies use, both of which you will want to plant. The first are plants that provide nectar for feeding. The second are plants that butterflies lay eggs on, known as host plants.
Most butterfly caterpillars do little damage to a well balanced butterfly garden. The caterpillars themselves will attract other wildlife that feed on them. Catepillars are usually host specific, meaning a particular species of caterpillar will only feed on one or a few particular plant species and no others. Native plants are usually the best source of food and reproduction sites for butterflies because they are adapted to them. If you have wondered why you see few butterflies look at the composition of plants in your yard and if it is mostly ornamentals you may not be attracting many butterflies because the plants they like are elsewhere.
We carry many native plants that are well adapted to attract butterflies. In order to get the maximum performance from your butterfly garden, consult with us and we will design a garden that will give you maximum pleasure. Not only must the correct plants be used, they must also be placed properly with respect to soil, sunlight, and neighboring plants. Shallow, moist depressions also attract butterflies, which congregate in such locations to obtain necessary salts and minerals.
Steps for Establishing a Butterfly Garden
In these busy days you may not have time to do all or any of the steps listed below and we can help you with any of them. See our Contact page for help.
- Survey Area: Take several warm sunny days and observe and list the butterflies in your area as well as birds and other wildlife.
- Choose Location: Select a location that is relatively undisturbed and has sunlight at least ½ of the day and some protection from wind. Determine your soil type, area size, and test the soil for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, organic content and moisture. Knowing these things helps in the selection of plants that will grow successfully on your site.
- Select Plants: Select host plants and nectar plants for the maximum number of butterflies visiting your garden. Single flowered plants are more utilized than double. Decide if you are going to use all natives or a mix of natives and non native ornamentals. If ornamentals are used check to see if they are nuisance invasive species and avoid them if they are. A native mix will give you more butterflies. Decide where and how you will get your plants. We can supply many native species. We grow from seed and propagate from cuttings.
- Design Layout of Garden: Shorter plants should go in front, keep colors grouped together, and plan for blooms the entire growing season. Host plants should be more solitary and in a more secluded site. Design any access or other accessories like water sources, paths, borders and benches. A natural "prairie" design does very well for many sites. Butterfly tables can be easy to construct and fun to do. A platform feeder will suffice and a variety of fruits will attract butterflies. Don't forget puddle areas or places where soft mud is exposed.
Butterfly Nectar and Host Food Sources from Native Plants
| Nectar Plants | Larval Food | |
| Lantana | Passion Vine | |
| Bee Balm | Lime Prickly Ash (Hercules Club) | |
| Ironweed | Cherry Laurel | |
| Blazing Star (Liatris) | Sugar Hackberry | |
| Indian Blanket (Gaillardia) | Hop Tree | |
| Blue Mistflower | Dogwood | |
| Phlox | Milkweed species | |
| Viburnum | Violet | |
| Purple Coneflower | Hawthorne | |
| Butterfly Weed | Wild Carrot | |
| Black-eyed Susan | Tulip Tree | |
| Coreopsis | Sassafras | |
| Goldenrod | Sweet Bay | |
| Prairie Verbena | Pawpaw | |
| Tall Boneset | Lupinus | |
| Antelope Horn (Milkweed) | Milkvetch | |
| Queen Anne's Lace | Cottonwood |
Gardening for Birds & Wildlife
If you are looking for a great escape, landscape your backyard to attract birds and wildlife and you will be transported to the wild zone. You can even register your backyard with Texas Parks and Wildlife or the National Wildlife Federation as and official Wildscape. We have experience in designing wildscapes that will attract your favorite birds or wildlife. Contact us for a consultation and plan.
Hummingbirds
If you really want to attract and keep hummingbirds visiting your yard, plant their favorite foods and you will see as many visiting your flowers as your feeder. Some native flowering plants that attract hummingbirds include:
| Turk's Cap | Blazing Star | Salvia sp. | ||
| Coral Honeysuckle | Trumpet Creeper | Texas Lantana | ||
| Ocotillo | Coral Bean | Bee Balm |
Other Birds
We can do a survey of your property and surrounding area to determine what birds you may be able to attract and design a habitat that will bring them in.
Planting lots of shrubs is a great way to attract birds to your yard. They use them for food, shelter and escape from predators. Evergreen shrubs are especially useful as they provide cover year round. Shrubs and trees that produce berries will attract many different birds. The following is a list of some native trees and shrubs that provide habitat for birds. We can help you design a plan that incorporates these plants into your existing yard. Wildflowers of the Composite family like sunflowers are also favorites.
| Mexican Plum | Agarita | Mulberry sp. | ||
| Texas Persimmon | Eastern Redbud | White Brush | ||
| Flowering Dogwood | Evergreen Sumac | Virginia Creeper | ||
| Sugar Hackberry | Deciduous Holly | Black Willow | ||
| Rough-leaf Dogwood | Flameleaf Sumac | American Beautyberry | ||
| American Elderberry | Wax Myrtle | Western Soapberry | ||
| Rusty Haw Viburnum | Vitus (Grape) sp. | Yaupon Holly |
Creating Wildscapes
A good wildlife management plan makes it easy to attract wildlife for your enjoyment and viewlng. Some general guideline for wildscaping your property include:
- Decrease grass areas and increase mulched areas. Lizards, toads and ground foraging birds prefer mulched areas.
- Create islands of plants and mulch in your yard and keep adding more
- Provide rocks, brush piles and thickets of shrubs and grasses for shelter.
- Aim for fruit bearing trees and shrubs
- Avoid using pesticides, herbicides and fungicides
- Plan for water sources like ponds, tubs, bird baths and shallow pan. Use Gambusia (Mosquito fish) to keep mosquito populations down.
- Provide supplemental housing and food stations
- Provide rocks, logs and brush piles for shelter
Historical Gardens
If the thought of gardens makes you nostalgic for an earlier time, perhaps you should consider developing an historic garden for your property. Gardening has always been a favorite pastime in America with gardens ranging from kitchen herb and vegetable gardens to more formal entertainment gardens. Some old garden favorites include sweet alysium, basil, cornflower, larkspur, foxglove, hollyhock, parsley, bee balm, Canterbury bells, columbine, flax, garlic, lavender, lily of the valley, thyme, narcissus, dianthus, sage, sweet marjoram chamomile, yarrow, rose of Sharon and roses. We can design a garden to represent a specific historical period along with a written history of the plants and garden style you select. If you are in love with history you will love historical gardens.
Backyard Ponds
We have consulting experts in the design and maintenance of backyard ponds. Ponds adapt well to any garden style and will bring many hours of pleasure from the uniquely adapted plants that grow there to the amazing animals that can live in a backyard pond. Go to sleep listening to the peeping of frogs and toads and wake to birds calling as they find a morning drink and relax during the sunlit day watching dragonflies and butterflies flit around your pond. We can help you design the backyard pond and develop a maintenance plan that will bring you years of enjoyment. See Contact Us for a consultation.
