Turks Cap
Turks Cap is one of those ubiquitous plants often seen in both commercial and residential landscape. But what most people don’t realize is that it has super powers, so we’re gonna discuss that today.
Turks Cap is Edible
Yes, it is edible. The flowers, fruit and leaves are all edible and make a delicious addition to salad. The flowers have a lightly sweet melon flavor and can be used to make a soothing tea. The fruit has a similar flavor and can be used to make dried fruit or jelly, and the leaves can be cooked or steamed and eaten like spinach.
3 Beautiful Shades of Color
The Texas Native is red, but there are two hybrids which are pink and white.
All of these plants are super hardy and low water once established. They are beautiful planted as individual specimen plants and planted in mass. The white and pink varieties can be hard to find but worth the trouble, though curiously, I have had a pink morph into white over time.
Pink Turks Cap (Pam Puryear)
Turks Cap ( White lightening)
Red Turks Cap (Native)
They Love Sun to Shade!
As a Landscape Designer, it can be a real challenge finding plants that can work well in landscapes that range from full sun to deep shade. I use this plant in my designs quite often because it’s one of those rare plants that really thrives in both sunlight conditions.
The flowers, fruit and bright green leaves are quite lovely from sun to shade and play beautifully with the filtered light.
A Perfect Xeriscape Plant for Central Texas
You may find these native plants in green belts where birds will drop the seeds and spread them about. This tells you that this plant is easy care, super low water and deer resistant, which makes a huge difference when you’re growing a xeriscape garden where wildlife thrives.
Xersicape doesn’t mean “rock garden”, it means low water landscape. So using rock or mulch has less to do with it than the plants you choose.
Its mature size can vary wildly. I have seen them mature from 3-6’ tall and wide, so it’s best to place them in the back or middle of your beds to allow it to do what it wants.
I hope you have a new found interest for this lovely plant and the reason it is so popular in Central Texas. It is a highly versatile perennial for its ability to grow from sun to shade, it is beautiful in all 3 colors, it is super drought tolerant and deer resistant, and it is very low maintenance once established.
If you’d like help with more native and adapted plants for Central Texas, please contact me at Lisalapaso@gmail.com!
If you’d like more information on edible Texas Natuve plants, check out this great resource.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Tropical House Plants
I recently made a contribution to an article about easy care Tropical indoor Houseplants for Redfin.com, and I thought why not share them with you too.
Pothos Ivy
Gold Pothos and Green Sansevieria
I would say that Pothos, also known as Devil’s Ivy, is a super low maintenance houseplant. I have no idea why anyone would call it Devil’s Ivy like it’s a bad thing to have an easy care plant that grows with minimal attention, but it’s one of my favorites for its hardiness and versatility.
It loves bright indirect light and can grow in water or soil.
Silver Queen Pothos
Sansevieria
Jade pagoda Sansevieria
Sansevieria, also known as Mother-In-Laws Tongue is another low maintenance houseplant that likes a little neglect and can take low light. It’s a funky structural plant that is highly used in modern interiors and comes in an array of colors of green, white, and yellow, as well as various sizes.
Variegated Sansevieria
Spider Plants
Spider Plants are another easy care plant that can be found in green, or variegated with gold or white. It produces spider like babies on long stems and creates a lot of interest in filtered light.
Spider Plant
Dracaena
Golden Heart Dracaena
Dracaena is a family of 200 different species and they are easily found anywhere tropical plants are sold. They light bright, indirect light and need to dry between watering as do most houseplants. They range in size and colors which makes them a versatile plant for many areas and home styles.
White Aspen Dracaena
Chinese Evergreen
Last but certainly not least is the Chinese Evergreen. I’m a big fan of this cutie because it is a moderately low light beauty that makes a real statement. Ranging in color from blue-green, silver, white and even pink, they are a lovely addition to the tropical plant repertoire.
Chinese Evergreen
All of these plants are low care, but need good soil, good drainage, the right sunlight and occasional feeding with organic plant food to produce for years to come. Houseplants improve air quality, enhance the environment and your mood. They can lead to better sleep and boost cognitive function.
If you’d like more information from other professionals about some great, easy care houseplants, check out this post from Redfin!
if you’d like some great information about landscape plants for the Austin and surrounding area, contact me at Lisalapaso@gmail.com!
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape and Design
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Is Your Landscaper Killing Your Landscape?
You’d be unpleasantly surprised by how often I’m called to a clients home for consulting only to inform them that the service they hired to care for it is the reason for their problems. More times than not, your landscaper is killing your landscape.
Unnecessary Trimming is Ruining Your Landscape
One of many reasons is bad and unnecessary trimming. It may not seem like proper trimming is a big deal overall, but it’s actually a lot more serious than you may realize. The first, and perhaps the least concerning would be the aesthetic of the landscape. Shaped plants are completely out of style and my running statement is “the 90s called and they want their shrubs back”. Secondly, it’s completely unnecessary. If you’re using native plants they should be able to grow to their mature size and shape without you needing to intervene, I mean who’s out in the woods trimming them back?
Another reason you don’t trim plants is it can make them look crazy. The trees above are Yaupon and they have a beautiful natural shape that is destroyed by shaping them this way. Trees and plants are shaped the way they are for a reason. Cropping trees like Crepe Myrtles (or any tree) destroys the structural integrity of the tree and leaves them with weird knuckles and stringy stems that can’t hold the weight of their own flowers. Additionally, this natural growth allows them to have flowers, berries, a particular leaf coverage of their stems, roots and branches, and allows wildlife to find refuge.
Constantly trimming plants and trees is disruptive to the ecosystem in the way of noise, pollution, and disruption of habitat. In some cases, however, it can be deadly. Trimming back plants at the wrong time of year can cause leaf loss that forces the plant into dormancy, food deprivation or sun exposure, which ultimately kills the plant.
Lawn Chemicals and Synthetic Fertilizers are Killing Your Landscape and The Planet
Another crime they commit is chemical use and poisoning of the soil. Chemicals are almost completely unnecessary in the landscape. There are very few reasons for your landscaper to apply chemicals on your lawn or garden. Conversely, they cause far more harm than good in general and cause planetary damage from the runoff that flows into our ponds, lakes, streams, and eventually the ocean. The lies we’ve been sold by big Chem are for profit, not for practicality. The only thing your landscaper should be adding to your landscape is compost. Remember that compost will save the world and chemicals will kill it.
There is an entire world of information that supports this knowledge and it is each homeowners responsibility to find the resolve that’s needed to negate the use of chemical sprays, pellets, or broadcast applications of any kind. Weed and Feed not only kills all the weeds on your property, but it also kills your trees and shrubs (says so right on the bag) and eventually humanity. We cannot continue to poison our earth and think that it won’t affect everyone when millions of pounds of poison is applied each year. Stop buying these products, tell your landscaper not to use it and why, and they will stop selling it.
Your soil is a living ecosystem. Your lawn and garden begin in the soil, so when you have a healthy soil, you have a healthy landscape and planet. The soil is filled with mycorrhizal fungi and healthy bacteria that become a “wood wide web” of food and mineral resources for your plants to exchange, but chemicals of any kind destroy that process.
Leaf Blowers are Killing Your Landscape
The chemical problem is only exacerbated by the dreaded blowers. This is a particular area that I get really angry about because blowers are virtually unnecessary with exception of patios, rock areas and maybe occasionally your driveway if it’s over run with leaf litter. Leaf blowers being used by your landscaper in the landscape beds is absolutely criminal because they blow all of the top soil and mulch, deprive the soil of necessary nutrients, and remove the compost and mulch that’s added for the soils protection. The bed above was freshly mulched in spring, and this was what was left by the end of summer.
The obnoxious practice of blowing away every leaf and stem that hits the ground exposes the tree and plant roots, allowing the crowns of the plants to dry out in our brutal Texas heat. Leaves drop in the fall for a reason and it’s important that each gardener and homeowner understand their value. The messy look you may be trying to avoid only increases the messy look of dying plants in the summer heat because you have removed the layer of compost and hummus that is created by the decay of leaves over the winter months.
If you must blow the leaves from your lawn, (which is also unnecessary unless you have live oak trees), then they need to be blown into your landscape beds and left alone until the spring. They should then be covered with compost and mulch and will become food for your plants in the inclement temperatures. During the summer months, beds should never be blown under any circumstances and this is a waste of your money, it’s a poor use of the landscape companies time, it adds to environmental and noise pollution, as well as being detrimental to the health of your soil.
Poor Plant Choice is Killing Your Landscape
Poor plant choice is another common mistake and many landscape companies or so-called landscape companies make by just purchasing whatever they can get their hands on with a lack of knowledge for your particular lighting and needs. Placing a shade loving plant in the sun is a recipe for disaster, and knock out roses are not the answer to every sunny spot.
Diversity in the landscape is crucial just as it is with humanity. We all bring something unique to the table and this is also true with plants. Using a variety of indigenous plants that are native or highly adapted to your area are also a great value when it comes to wildlife. Native plants will also thrive in our low annual rainfall and extreme summer and winter temperatures. The azalea above is an acid loving plant and we have alkaline soil, sooooo. Google the hardiness zone of each plant you’re interested in.
You also need to know what type of plants will survive and thrive under a tree canopy or morning shade versus afternoon sun. If you’re landscaper is really just a landscaper and not a professional gardener who is knowledgeable in native and adapted plants, then you’re going to potentially throwing thousands of dollars away after choosing the wrong plant selection and wondering why you cannot find success.
Dirty and Contaminated Lawnmowers are Killing Your Landscape
Buy a quality weed popper and mow often to keep new plants at bay. Once they go to seed, you’ve got 99 problems and weeds are one of them.
One of the values of a landscape consultation for me is going over a lot of these details with a homeowner who ultimately had no idea that some of the choices that they were making with their landscape company or lawn person was possibly detrimental to the health of their landscape. One of the big ones is hiring out lawn service and while I understand that not everyone has the time or the inclination to mow their own lawn, it’s really important that you understand the value of even providing your own lawnmower for the service.
This is because every time your lawn person pulls up with their lawnmower every other week or so, they have mowed down potentially 100 lawns since they saw you last and with that service, they have brought you every weed seed and disease they ran over. This means that every piece of dog poo, fungal disease, pest issue and invasive weeded lawn is now making its home on your lawn.
By providing your own mower, you can at least ensure that the lawn they’re mowing is your own, and you can negate a lot of the damage that’s being done by dragging the same machine over numerous problematic blades of grass. If you chose to so this, consider an electric lawnmower. Electric lawn mowers are incredibly easy to use, self-propelled, leave much less of a carbon footprint and are almost silent when in use. Traditional lawn mowers, put out toxic fumes, noise pollution, and use gasoline powered engines that require oil and maintenance making it a more expensive unless efficient machine.
The final option might just be to ask the landscaper to wash off their mower blades with your hose when they get to your property. This will at least rinse off the weed seeds.
Poor Quality Soil and Bed Fills are Killing Your Landscape
Poor soil quality, Lisa’s landscape, Austin
One of the most important facts you’ll learn from me or anyone who truly understands the garden or ecosystem of a landscape, is that gardening begins in the soil. If you aren’t working with quality soil, then you’re already at a terrible disadvantage. Adding poor soil to the landscape or raised beds will begin your garden on the side of error.
Many landscapers will purchase cheap dirt like sandy loam (above) for bed and garden fill and it typically consists of sandy loam which is an orange substance that holds water like a sponge when wet and sets like concrete in the heat. Poor drainage and lack of nutrients is the last thing you want in your planting beds. Quality, living soil includes some loam, but also compost, living organisms, nutrients, minerals and air. So make sure that any soil that is laid beneath your sod, or in your garden beds is a high quality, dark, rich and fertile soil to give your plants a fighting chance at success.
Landscape Fabric is a Lie, and it’s killing Your Landscape
A huge upsell (profit for nothing) is landscape fabric. To be very clear, landscape fabric should never be used beneath mulch or around a tree (above). Landscape fabric is wrong because it increases the temperature of the soil, (which we certainly don’t need in central Texas), prevents the amendments from integrating with the existing soil, prevents adequate moisture absorption and retention in our short bursts of rain and the extreme heat. It also breaks down and tears apart in our heat after a short period of time which makes it unsustainable. Weed fabric only allows weed roots to penetrate the fabric and become more difficult to pull by the roots. If you want better weed prevention, apply a 3” depth of natural hardwood shredded mulch.
Weed Fabric is for use beneath rock, and not much else.
Contact Me for a Personal Landscape Consultation to Save Your Landscape!
Now you have a great foundation for what to look for in a landscaper and which questions to ask before you hire, if you’d like more detail on your existing landscape or are looking to make some changes in your plant or tree selection, contact me for a landscape consultation and I can set you in the right direction.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Corten Metal Design
Corten Metal is a Work of Art
Corten metal is a high end steel that provides your hardscape areas with definition and purpose. This type of metal is often custom cut and installed, but there have been more options available as the metal becomes more popular with Central Texas gardeners.
Corten metal planters with travertine patio and Lueder limestone, step stones.
Corten steel, also known as “Weathering steel” is a type of steel alloy that develops a protective patina over time. Unlike mild steel that will continue to rust and degrade in the elements, Corten steel will not. The rust finish provides a barrier for the metal and continues to darken over time. The graphite color you see in these photos will eventually turn a rust color, but the metal will never break down.
This is the construction created prior to the finished product. The can see the patina process already beginning at the base of this planter.
The after is a clean finish, ready for planting. The stone work is a stunning juxtaposition to the graphite color and clean lines.
Below, we installed custom (floating) steps that are framed with metal and supported by metal posts. The custom cut Lueder stone is simply inserted into the custom frame and gives the illusion of floating on air over the rocky terrain that also serves as a drainage area and dry creek bed.
Here is the framing required for completion. Much like the edging for the sidewalks, these steps had to be mounted to the existing bedrock. Each post is mounted to bedrock and stabilized, then a frame was added to hold the inlaid Lueder stone. This execution is so impactful and really raises the level of flow and creativity.
This technique was specifically used to allow water flow from the front and side of the house to continue to travel the path of least resistance and a dry creek bed only adds to the design aesthetic.
Using both block and native stone in the wall gives a rustic feel to the sleek metal and creates a symbiotic relationship with the various textures.
Below, metal and stonework create varying levels of interest. This creates both feature and functionality. It is also valuable for both the resale of the home and for the longevity of the materials which would last a lifetime.
The Art of Design
Once again, the structure and stability are as important as the finished product. Corten Metal is a high end finish not only for its look, but for its quality. Corten or Cor-ten Metal is a heavy duty steel that starts out dark grey but oxidizes over time. This rust colored patina is part of its character.
However, given Corten’s longevity and lower maintenance needs, it represents a long-term investment.
It also means a lot of work up front, so expect to pay a premium for this quality product and workmanship.
This finished product is absolutely stunning and the high end finish is a resale upgrade that will pay for itself.
Creating curves is a bit more challenging with metal and rectangular stone, but as you can see from design below, the finished product is spectacular, if I do say so myself. And I just did…
To add a final touch and a cohesion to the overall design, the Corten metal bands were added to the mailbox which makes this custom work a step above the rest.
Think Outside the Box
Above, this mailbox is about as cool as it gets. I spotted this baby while on a consultation and fell in love with the concept. Creative solutions are where landscape design and arts inclusion make an inspiration collaboration. This is what Corten steel eventually looks like when the patina process has completed. It is a metal that will stand the test of time and never go out of fashion in Central Texas.
Below, this custom iron gate creates an inviting entrance to a welcoming garden. Thinking beyond practical uses and design is an even more spectacular result.
Here are several photos of inspiration I’ve seen along my consultation and garden travels. Using metal and steel in out of the box ways, brings the landscape to life.
I love this look used by the Denver Botanical Garden because they used cut metal pipe to create this design in the Zen Garden. Recycled clay roof tiles could serve the same purpose.
The two works of art below were made by a clients husband who does metal work for fun. It clearly demonstrates the whimsical approach to landscape art. But is functional as well.
Screenshot
Metal is also an excellent screening for privacy.
And of course, Corten Metal is a quality material for landscape sculpture. Its heavy weight and ability to resist the environmental hazards is a winning combination.
Now that you have some insight into this stellar product, I hope you will be encouraged to incorporate it into your landscape in some way. It will also help you understand the price point which can be 50% higher than mild steel, but for good reason.
Being a landscape Designer has been a joy for me for over 20 years in Central Texas, and working with metal design has just made it that much more interesting.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Pink Flowers for Central Texas
There are so many beautiful Pink flowers to choose from in the Central Texas landscape. Pink flowers can help create a beautiful, happy color pallet for sun to shade. Texas loving flowers can include an array of pink shades as well as interesting greenery and textures.
Pink Turks Cap
We will begin with a true blue (or pink) Texas native that is typically found in red. The Pink Turks Cap (Malvaviscus drummondii “Pam Pluryear”) which is a hybrid of the red can be hard to locate, but if you can find one, they are a beautiful addition to the full sun to shade loving garden. Growing 4’ x 4’, it is low water, low maintenance and deer resistant.
Turks Cap are also edible! Yep, the leaves, flowers and fruit are all edible, making them even more valuable and special in your landscape.
Pink Dwarf Ruellia
The Dwarf Ruellia (Ruellia Simplex) or Texas Petunia, can be found in purple, white and pink. The pink variation is a happy little mounding plant that spreads by seed over time and provides free plants in the landscape. Thriving from sun to shade, growing to about 8” x 1.5’w.
Pink Dwarf Ruellia
Pink Creeping Phlox
The Pink Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata) is an evergreen ground cover you’ll find covered with bright pink flowers in early spring, then remains as an excellent mat of green all year. Growing to 4-6” t x 1’w, it is a low maintenance, deer resistant plant that loves the sun to part sun landscape.
Pink Yarrow
Pink Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is one of my favorite varieties of Yarrow. While the native variety of Common Yarrow can be found in mostly white, the pink is a special surprise when you find them and can be entirely pink or a combo of pink and white as shown below. This medicinal plant known for its healing properties blooms from spring to late fall.
the leaves are delicate and add an unexpected texture in the garden and they grow to about 2’ tall and can spread over time. They thrive from sun to part shade and are deer resistant and drought tolerant.
Pink Yarrow
Pink Salvia Greggi
Commonly used in retail spaces for good reason, this Texas native is a super hearty, sun loving, evergreen shrub. Growing to about 2-3’ x 2-3’ with bright pink flowers from spring to fall.
Pink salvia does well with an occasional hair cut to keep it from getting leggy and needs to be cut back more severely every few years to produce more greenery and a rounded shape.
Salvia Greggi is a super drought tolerant, deer resistant plants and fairly low maintenance over all.
Pink Salvia Greggi
Pink Skullcap
One of my favorite border plants is the Pink Skullcap. It is a highly adapted plant for Central Texas that loves the Texas heat and full sun. Growing to 2’ x 2’ with an abundance of rose, pink flowers, it is a beautiful plant along the garden border, planted in mass, or as a single specimen plant.
PInk Salivia, Lisa LaPaso
‘Peggy Martin’ Climbing Rose
Oh, how I love this rose! She makes me happy in ways I cannot explain. Becoming very popular after hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and they were left underwater for several weeks, but ultimately surviving. It became painfully obvious that this was a superstar climber that could thrive from drought to flood.
Quickly growing to 15+’ , it is super disease resistant and pretty much thornless. It loves the sun and provides a profusion of pink blooms in spring and then again in fall. The most important tip for this rose of to give it good support and room to grow. Perfect for hardiness zones 5-11.
Peggy Martin Rose
Pink Daylily
I don’t think most people realize how well Daylilies do in Central Texas. Most will bloom multiple times over the spring and fall, typically slowing down during the extreme summer heat.
They are super low maintenance and low water and come in an array of colors including shades of pink.
Daylily, Lisa LaPaso
Rock Rose Pavonia
This Texas native is a non-stop bloomer and it seems like the hotter it gets, the better it performs. As a member of the mallow family, each flower is a two inch hibiscus-type flower, with blue green leaves along long stems of multiple flower clusters.
The Rock Rose Pavonia (Pavonia lasiopetala) opens up in the day and closes at night. It is a butterfly attraction that is just a happy looking plant for hardiness zones 8-13. Another thing I personally like about the plant is that it will reseed and provide volunteers you can use throughout your space, or give to friends and family.
Rock Rose Pavonia
Rose Meadowsweet, (Subalpine Spiraea)
(Pink Spirea)
This is such a cool plant with its long, narrow leaves and funky pink flower clusters. This deciduous shrub is an interesting addition to the sun to part sun garden, grows to about 2×3’.
‘Belinda’s Dream’ Shrub Rose
Known as a Texas “Earth Kind” rose, this rose has stood the test of time. Touted as a disease resistant and low maintenance rose, it is a super easy care rose with pink flowers on 5” blooms. It needs a lot of sun and minimal care and thrives in low water and semi annual trims of the dead wood.
Belinda’s Dream Rose, Lisa LaPaso
Texas Sage
Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) is one of those no brainer shrubs that make a great privacy screen for thier evergreen and color palette. Unfortunately, many people like to shape them, and Tex’s Sage is a free spirit who doesn’t want to be tamed. So, make sure to place it where it can grow to maturity and leave it alone once established.
known as the barometer plant, it is better than the weather report for its ability to predict rain with its flower timing. Growing to 6+feet with silver-green leaves and lovely pink-lavender flowers, this native shrub is an excellent, full sun choice for Central Texas.
Pink Gulf Muhly
Pink Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is another favorite, fall blooming plant that makes a big splash in the landscape, growing to about 3’x 3’, it will go dormant in the winter months, then make a return in late spring.
Ruby Crystal Grass
Melinis nerviglumis “Pink Crystals” is a whimsical ornamental grass with pink blooms that look like crystals in the sunlight. Growing to about 1’ x 2’, it is a perfect little grass for sun to part sun and I find that it really thrives in part sun. A semi evergreen in Hardiness zones 8-10, it is low water and a lot of fun in the landscape.
Ruby Crystal Grass, Lisa LaPaso
Mexican Buckeye
The Texas native Mexican Buckeye (Ungnadia Speciosa) is one of those non-descript trees that may not stop your eye until you see the spring bloom or interesting seed pods that follow. But it is one of my favorite trees for its interesting, small stature (8-10’) and rounded shape. I love the late winter, fragrant flowers and funky seed pods. It is super drought tolerant and thrives from sun to shade. It is highly deer resistant and polinator friendly.
Desert Willow
So, I seem to say everything is one of my favorites, but this is an old school love of my life. 🥰 I’ve had a “Bubba” Desert Willow in my yard for the last 3 homes, over the span of 30 years. With its long, narrow leaves and stunning, large, fragrant flowers, it is a must have in my landscape.
Growing to 25’+, it is an open structured tree with large clusters of rose colored flowers. The native variety has very light pink flowers that aren’t quite as exciting to me, so while I don’t like the name “Bubba”, I love the tree. It is s sun loving, super drought to and deer resistant choice for Central Texas.
Desert Willow Tree
Mexican Redbud
One of the Texas Native trees that you see a lot in early spring but may not know, is the Mexican and Texas Redbud. The Mexican variety grows to about 20’ and the Texas Variety to about 30’, and both can live in sun to shade.
Chitalpa Tree
The “Pink Dawn” Chitalpa Tree is a hybrid of the native Citalpa and Desert Willow tree. With huge flower clusters in a light, dusty pink color, it grows to 30-35’. It is sun loving, drought and deer resistant and a stunning addition to the Central Texas landscape.
Needles to say, there are a lot of great options. Now that you’ve seen some of the many beautiful choices of pink flowers for Central Texas, I hope I have encouraged to give some of these great native and adapted plants and trees a chance in your landscape collection.
If you would like some help with more great ideas, designs and placement, contact me for a Landscape Consultation or Landscape Design at Lisalapaso@gmail.com.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”