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”
Salvia Greggi “Mirage”, Deep Purple
Salvia Greggi “Mirage”, Deep Purple
A Cultivar With Class
True to the Texas native Salvia Greggi, the cultivar “Mirage” deep-purple is a show stopper with a profusion of blooms and evergreen leaves that keep the interest on it all year round.
While there are a variety of colors in the cultivar such as pink, cream, purples and red, I loved this deep purple variety because it is so rich and colorful that it seems to glows in the dark.
Deep Purple Color that Lasts.
Purple Is a majestic color that evokes luxury, mystery, pride, creativity and a little magic. Its regal appearance is stunning planted in mass or as a single addition to the landscape.
Mirage Salvia Greggi is a mounding shrub that grows to about 18” tall x 2 ‘ wide. The deep purple blooms are consistently blooming from early spring to the first freeze.
Just like its parent plant, this evergreen shrub makes an excellent border plant among deciduous or other evergreen plants for maximum impact throughout the year.
Purple Flowers that Attract Wildlife
The color purple attracts a multitude of pollinators and the tubular shape is also attractive to hummingbirds and purple happens to be one of our bee’s favorite colors!
Requiring little to no maintenance once established, this super drought tolerant and deer resistant super star is an excellent xeriscape plant that loves full sun. They go fast at the local nurseries so it you see them, grab them because they are popular for good reason.
If you’d like more information on xeriscape plant selections for central Texas, contact me for a Landscape Consultation or Design.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape and Design
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Blackfoot Daisy
Native Plants for Easy Care
Blackfoot Daisy is a Texas native plant that is mounding in nature and growing to maturity at about 1’ t x 2’ w. It makes an excellent border plant for any xeriscape garden in hardiness zones 4-11.
Deer Resistant and Drought Tolerant
If you’re in an area where deer are the majority, you definitely need to look for deer resistant plants so you’re not planting a buffet. That’s not to say deer won’t eat anything when hungry, but it will at least give you a fighting chance. In the current state of national water shortages it’s ever more important to plant water conserving landscapes. Drought tolerant plants are a great way to save the planet, and also to accommodate the average annual rainfall for the Central Texas area. Remember, Xeriscape means “dry landscape”, not rocks and cactus.
Prolific Blooms
In landscape design, an important feature is the flowering aspects of the garden and we much choose plants that will require as little care and water as possible, and these plants also need to be disease resistant which native plants are.
Native plants can be more attractive to native bees and pollinators than their adapted counterparts. In fact, some adapted plants may not have the necessary flower design for certain species to get the necessary nutrients, where native plants most certainly will.
Planting a landscape with abundant flowers and interesting shapes and colors can bring in a diverse amount of wildlife for you to enjoy and both the shapes and colors of the flowers will dictate who will be feasting upon them.
Fragrance in a landscape is also a an important factor for both the insects and ourselves. This mounding perennial has a honey scent that is fabulous when planted in mass.
Evergreen Plants add Interest all Year
Evergreen plants are must in landscape design because the last thing you want to end up with is an empty landscape in the winter. By thoughtfully mixing evergreen and deciduous plants and trees you can create seasonal interest all year, so be sure to choose from as many evergreen varieties as you can find for your sunlight requirements. Blackfoot Daisy is a sun loving plant but does very well in light shade and needs well drained soil to thrive.
cut back after the winter if it gets too leggy or over grown, then let this ow maintenance planted its thing for the rest of the year while you sit back and enjoy the view.
if you’re looking for a thoughtful Landscape Design or Educational Consultation to find more beautiful plant and tree options for your drought tolerant landscape, contact me at lisalapaso@gmail.com.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Landscape Patio Design for Living
Patios are an Extension of our Living Area
Landscapes are most beautiful and effective when there is a space to enjoy the view. Patios that are designed to be a living area are one of the best assets of a home’s landscape, next to its trees. A well designed patio space is an ideal way to use the outdoors as an extension to your home and entertainment space.
Random Patio Stone
Limestone patio, river rock sidewalk
Patio aesthetics and construct can be created any number of interesting ways and we will cover them in no particular order. Above, this patio was extended beyond the original builders patio by placing limestone over the concrete and adding on square footage and curves to make it a custom design. Using native limestone is a great way to use sustainable materials as well as matching the stone used on the face of the home.
This pattern (above and below) is random and allows for error, but when completed by someone with talent, you would never know. This look is highly sought after in a cottage garden, English garden, or casual Hill Country Landscape.
Above, these owners used saw cut limestone block borders, saw cut limestone patio stone, and local river rock to create a unique design in the center of their space for both feature and functionality. The outcome is a beautiful space to sit with a unique perspective of the landscape.
Wood and Composite Decks
Above, this client built a custom deck built with multiple levels and entrances to the deck, home and attached landscape. While it is a beautiful work of art, it will require a lot more maintenance and eventually replacement whereas stone and concrete, when applied correctly, should last a lifetime.
Contemporary Design
Below, we used pavers for a dramatic impact in the landscape. This stunning, contemporary design was intended to capture the view as well as complement the value of the home. This multilevel approach gives a unique vantage point for every season.
This design above is a beautiful example of pavers installed by a consummate professional. Pavers are not for a novice unless you can masterfully cut, set and execute fine detail. Not only does the layout matter, but the process must be followed to the letter. anything less will result in a disastrous final product.
Lueder Stone Patio, Steps, and Raised Beds
Below, my client was looking for a way to add value to the home while solving the issue of the awkward gap between the house and sidewalk, and the sidewalk drop off to the front yard. Before it was a safety hazard and now it is a special place to plant flowers and gather to greet passing neighbors.
Stone patio, sidewalk and raised beds
In the space below, we used Travertine tile with saw cut Lueder Stone and Corten Metal. This stunning combination is a masterpiece when installed professionally and will only increase the value of the home as well as its use and low maintenance beauty. Anytime that tile is selected as a surface for an outdoor area, it is particularly important to be sure that the tile is texture to avoid slipping accidents, which are very common with a slick surface material
Outdoor Tile and Corten Metal
Corten metal planters with travertine patio and Lueder step stones.
The patio below is another example of an existing builders patio with a much larger addition of patio stone and steps that lead you into the landscape. We also added an adjacent pond that bring birds and native wildlife to the patio area for shared enjoyment. Add a purgola, fireplace or water feature and you have an outdoor living area that is suitable all year.
Design for Small Spaces
Even a small space can be transformed to a patio or meditation space and seating area. By adding large stones for seating, or simple patio chairs and a table, you can create a space to “get away from it all”, or just to be one with nature, if only for a moment.
Simple rock seating for reading, yoga or meditation.
By including some stepping stones and a seating area to the existing landscape you can create a small, intimate patio setting for enjoyment of the space while being enveloped by it.
No matter your budget there is a solution for creating a space you take in some fresh air and sunshine. Landscape design is much more than plants, it is about inviting the opportunity to extend our living area and to sit with nature and its healing energy. Rather it’s to create a small medication space, a simple bench and a birdbath, a swing or hammock area, or an elaborate patio design, be sure to include multiple opportunities to sit and enjoy the view.
If you’d like help coming up with a design or concept to extend your living area, contact me for a consultation and let’s see what we can create for your new patio and living space.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
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Engelmann’s Daisy (engelmannia paristenia)
Engelmann’s Daisy is a native Texas plant that everyone should take a second look at. With its beautiful bright yellow Daisy flowers and bright green uniquely shaped leaves, it’s a stand alone plant or beautiful planted in mass.
Native Plants Feed Native Bee’s and Wildlife
Choosing native plants is so important when planning a landscape design. They are essential to the success of local bees and wildlife. This stunner is also a profuse bloomer from spring to fall. This is especially important as native plants are adapted to the local climate, annual rainfall and soil conditions. Native plants also provide nectar, pollen, and seeds that serve as food for our native butterflies, birds and insects.
Native plants need less water than many adapted plants and they are accustomed to the soil without amendments or the needs for fertilizers. Many also have root systems that help pull water deep into the soil. Engelmann’s Daisy is a great example of this as it is often used as erosion control on sloped land because of its particularly deep taproot.
Yellow is the Color of Happiness
A bright and energetic color that plays well with a myriad of other colors is a welcome addition to the landscape. The constant blooms and interesting foliage are abundant from spring to fall, then the plant loses its long stems and stay evergreen at the bottom throughout the winter months. Growing to 2’ wide and 2.5-3’ tall, it is a perfect xeriscape plant and works well with adapted plants in compost amended beds. This is a great choice for hardiness zones 5-10.
If you’re in the Austin or surrounding area and would like more suggestions on native and adapted plants or landscape design, contact me for an educational landscape consultation.
Happy Gardening!
Lisa LaPaso
”Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”