Yellow Flowers for Central Texas

Lisa's Landscape & Design ♦ 08/09/2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Love the color yellow but you’re not quite sure which plants are right for your space? I am here to help, this is a quick list of some of my favorite yellow flowers for Central Texas that are Xeriscape and low maintenance.

Yellow Daylily 

Edible from head to toe, the Daylily is a profusion of yellow flowers from spring to fall. She loves sun and low water and requires little to no maintenance.

Yellow is the color of  happiness, cheerfulness, hope and fun.  It’s the color of sunshine and it is a bright, warm hue in the landscape. Yellow flowers grow best in full sun but there are a few exceptions that do well in part sun as well. Yellow is a big butterfly attraction and creates contrast in the landscape.

Jerusalem Sage

flomis fruticosa

Jerusalem Sage is a stunner of a plant when it blooms.  This evergreen mounding plant reaches from 2.5′ tall to 3′ wide, prefers full sun but will take partial sun. The leaves are a true sage color with sage green front and silver back of the leaves. the flower form is much like a crown with petals in rows around the bud formation. I will say that this plant can be a little fickle in some spots and will not tolerate wet feet. Good drainage will help and it is great as a specimen. This plant is evergreen and requires no maintenance except to cut back spent flower heads.

Yellow Bells, Esperanza 

Tecoma Stans

Yellow Bells Esperanza is a spectacular plant in the landscape. It is a big one so make room, it can reach 8′ wide and 10′ tall but is more typical at 6′ x 6′ so allow it its space and you will benefit from all it has to offer. This is a full sun plant that likes its sunlight and is a very drought tolerant and low maintenance. This plant goes dormant after the first hard freeze then returns in early spring. Cut back the dead branches when you see new growth coming in.

Four Nerve Daisy

Tetraneuris Scaposa

This low mounding daisy is an excellent choice for the front of your bed as its low profile grass like blades and long-stemmed bright yellow daisies are an awesome outline for a garden. The 4 nerve daisy also commonly known as Hymonexis is an evergreen perennial that blooms all summer long. Full to part sun, low water and the only maintenance is to cut off the spent blooms. Very cool border or rock garden plant 1.5 t x 1.5 w.

Mexican Mint Merigold 

Tagetes lucida

This perennial herb is as beautiful as it is delicious. If you are an anise fan as I am you are going to enjoy the flavor profile of this plant. Aside from the myriad of medicinal and edible uses it is a super drought tolerant, low maintenance plant for the Texas landscape. Mexican Mint goes dormant after the first hard freeze and returns in the spring. It loves the sun so give it proper light. It will bloom in late summer then is covered in bright yellow flowers late in the season. It also makes an excellent cutting flower with its fragrant leaves and flower clusters. Cut back the dead stems in late winter. Grows to about 2.5-3 x 2

Texas Flowery Senna

cassia corimbosa

The flowering Senna tree is an excellent specimen for a protected area. It can be a little fickle in a hard freeze so I recommend planting it in a south end of your yard away from the northern exposure. Mine is planted close to my home and has done beautifully over the winters and can reach heights and widths of 10 x 10. This plant is a huge hummingbird attractor.

Golden Thryallis 

Galphimia glauca

Golden Showers Thryallis is an awesome Austin plant though listed as zones 9-10, this plant does fabulously in zones 8b in a protected area. Use this plant along a southern exposure fence, among a large landscape where there are layers but plenty of sun, or as a hedge plant. Because of its open airy stature it is a lovely shrub alternative to the “boxier” varieties.

Evergreen to semi evergreen, color all summer long and great for sun to part sun areas. Low water and little to no maintenance.

Soft Caress Mahonia

A texturally interesting shade plant that sports yellow flowers followed by dark blue berries. The feathery foliage plays beautifully in filtered light and the low maintenance shrub is low water once established. Deer resistant, 2.5 x 2.5ish. 

Lady Banks Rose

A mammoth climber to 30’ this yellow or white flowering rose if a favorite among rose enthusiasts for good reason. Evergreen and a spring bloomer, low water once established.

Zexmenia 

This native beauty is a super hardy, low mounding plant for the xeriscape garden. Deer resistant and covered in blooms all spring and summer. 

Damianita 

Another native that’s widely used in xeriscape gardens throughout  Central Texas for good reason. Evergreen and low water, mounding to 1 x 2’ and fragrant. 

Gopher Plant, Euphorbia 

A super drought tolerant, evergreen plant that grows to 2 x 1’. Deer resistant, with silver blue foliage and a lover of full sun.

Black-eyed Susan

These interesting flowers are loved for their large flowers daisy with dark centers. Deer resistant and drought tolerant, growing to 2 x 1.5’. Full sun.

Liguilaria

while preferring deep shade and a bit of moisture, it is a funky leaved plant with stunning yellow flowers. 2 x 2’

Engelmann’s Daisy

Engelmann’s Daisy grows to 1 x 2’ and is covered in yellow daisies for most of the summer. 

Goldenball Leadtree

This interesting native tree is a beautiful addition to any full to part sun garden and the fuzzy Pom, Pom flowers are as unique as the foliage.

Carolina (Yellow) Jessamine 

This wild vine can be a climber or fountain of a shrub. Great for borders and property lines, it blooms each spring with highly fragrant yellow flowers. 

In Austin we have a spectacular native landscaping palette and there are so many stunning plants to choose from. Choose them all as I have or use a few statement plants, but however you fit them in they will be an impact in your Central Texas landscape.

For more fantastic plant ideas check out  my YouTube channel  or click here to visit my LL&D facebook page where you will find photo albums for sun, shade, trees, shrubs and more. You can also contact me at lisalapaso@gmail.com for an educational consultation or complete landscape design. 

 

Lisa LaPaso

Lisa’s Landscape & Design

“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”