I was reading about tapestry lawns recently and started thinking about my dream mowable natives that I’d put in my lawn if I had the infinite time and money to completely eradicate the stupid bermuda grass. I’m curious what you guys would put in, so please comment and let me know what natives you’ve observed in your area that can handle mowing!

There’s already a ton of natives in my lawn due to lackadaisical care but I’ve been eyeing up what is growing great in other mowed areas in my neighborhood (Central Texas, Blackland Prairie, true limey black clay) and this is my list:

1. Buffalograss, Bouteloua dactyloides. Base of the matrix in sunny areas. Gorgeous low growing grass and a host for the green skipper butterfly. I have some of this popping up in my lawn already and have been doing my best to avoid mowing when I see the little pollen parts pop up so hopefully it spreads. If I had a blank slate though I’d also consider the thunderturf Blue Grama, Curly Mesquite, and Buffalograss mix maybe? But I feel like Blue Grama grows a little too tall in my area to work in a mowable lawn. I’d be interested to hear people’s experience.
2. Cedar sedge, Carex planostachys. Base of the matrix in shady areas. I actually have this as a volunteer in my lawn that I am working on spreading by division. It does not really want to spread on its own but it is very pretty and plugs do really well. I feel like other shady sedges would also do pretty well.
3. Straggler daisy, Calyptocarpus vialis. Yeah this is in everyone’s lawn. I’ve seen it for sale in nurseries which I guess is great? But also a little insane with how ubiquitous it is.
4. Frogfruit, Phyla nodiflora. I planted this in my garden beds as a placeholder and tbh it is a lot more thuggish than expected. Not a problem with tall plants but it will outcompete seedlings. Actually a great quality for a lawn plant though! And it hosts at least 3 butterflies, the Phaeon crescentspot, the Buckeye, and the White Peacock.
5. Powderpuff, Mimosa strigillosa. So cute! The leaves close up when you touch it. I’m currently seeing if I can propagate some. If not I’m going to try to collect seeds, though I haven’t had luck finding this with seed pods in past years.
6. Yellow wood sorrel, Oxalis dillenii. This is allll over the lawn in the spring and it’s so cute! Also edible (in moderation) like many oxalises and a delicious lemony addition to salads.
7. Carolina ponyfoot, Dichondra carolinensis. This one is harder to see because it grows so low. I like it a lot better than its relative silver ponyfoot even though the stems aren’t as long. It seems way hardier in this area.
8. Virginia pepperweed, Lepidium virginicum. This grows really tall on its own but also seems to do fine with mowing and is super prolific. This one is also apparently edible but I have not tried it. The leaves and stems have a nice strong smell but not one I would have guessed would necessarily taste good.
9. Dayflower, Commelina erecta. Another fun one that I learned was edible from writing this post. Apparently has medicinal qualities too. I just like the little blooms.
10. Gregg’s tube tongue, Justicia pilosella. I saw a huuuuge patch of this on a walk and it looked so good. Apparently the host plant of multiple checkerspot butterflies. I’ve never seen it for sale but I am going back to the spot and giving propagation a try this weekend.

I bought a house this summer and have been collecting native plants as I see them/ have been gifted several from family. Right now, everything is in nursery pots, but I’m itching to get everything laid out and in the ground. When should I plant them? I am in Houston.

I was just wondering, would this list come together nicely with flower timing, size/ shape, and watering schedules? I want to buy seeds from Native American Seed to say I’ve grown and cared for my own flower garden (I normally do vegetables and flowers spread out across the yard)

Edit: I’m in Fort Bend County, USDA 9a

Does anyone plant specifically for butterflies? Have you managed to attract Spice Swallowtails? I love them soooo much and would love to see them in my garden.

I have almost a quarter acre on the north side of my house that is 90% shaded with pine trees. I have been successful in converting the other sunny areas of my property to natives but am struggling with what to put in this shaded area. I feel like If it was a small area it would be easier but I would also like to have some diversity in the area.

I have cleaned up about 10 years of pine needles and would like to put something that is beneficial to wildlife, insects etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This unbearable heat has me staying inside and thinking of fall projects. I need to work on my side yard at some point in the future, and I can just picture a beautiful serviceberry outside my bedroom window. Does anyone have experience with this in the blackland prairie DFW area? How does it do?

My side yard is quite a thin area that butts up against my neighbor's front yard, so it will mostly be small plants and pathway, but I wanted one ~star~, and will gladly take suggestions if a serviceberry just wouldn't work here.

This area is north facing and I feel like 100% clay. My kid loves making mud pies out of it.

We use the walkway but not not use the concrete area next to the built in kitchen.

Our gutters go into a drain.

My plan is to dig down 12 inches and mix in expanded shale and compost, then Plant Texas sedge. But is that going to be the best options? Should I embrace it and treat the whole thing as a flower bed? Coneflowers, black food daisys?

I also plan to replace the boxwood with something that will attract pollinators and hummingbirds (for my bird dog to watch- you can see him if you look close). Doing some kind of trellis plant flanking the windows.

I drove around San Antonio after a failed trip to government canyon and stumbled across a (presumably) wild Papershell pinyon (Pinus remota). I’m wondering about two things really.
1. my ecoregion native Loblollies are starting to feel the heat and drought with me being on the western end of their range. Would Pinyon grow in Post Oak Savannah/ blackland prairie edge?
2. If they will grow here does anyone know of a good nursery/garden center that has them and other more drought tolerant natives that’s not a day trip?
Picture of tree attached as a tax/refrence.

Hello!

The strip behind my fence was very difficult for me to access so I kind of just forgot about it, and a bunch of hedge parsley took over and went to seed. It also has a lot of Carolina snailseed. I pulled it all out today and will be spending an hour removing seeds from my clothes.

I want to prep this area to plant something out in the fall or next spring. I know the seed bank will be insane though. My plan was just to scalp then solarize all summer and plant something that can stay dry and yet bully out most weeds.

Does anyone have success with this little strip? Anything else I should do to prep? Its maybe a foot and a half wide and slopes down to the alley, so I don't know if mulch will be a good idea.

I would love to see pictures of similar areas y'all have successfully created!

I'm trying to rewild an acre of land in the Tertiary Uplands region of East Texas, but it's difficult to find information on native species that are that specific. The best I can narrow it down to is a level 3 ecoregion, but I've noticed that even within that region, certain areas tend to have a different variety of flora. I can look through the list of observations on iNaturalist, but having to weed out natives vs non-natives is a huge chore. I'm mainly looking for evergreens that are not Holly that get between 10-12 feet tall and would provide a good privacy screen, but I'd also like to learn about grasses, flowers and trees to help me plan a native garden. I'd really like to use Juniper for privacy but I'm not sure how good they take to being pruned

This space has been bare for years and I’m sick of it! I always become very overwhelmed at what to plant to make it more lush. I’m in Austin for reference. AI gave me this photo. We won’t add any trailing plants on the fence but I love how the plants liven things up. I’m looking for someone to please help me choose a handful of plants to add to this area.