FLORA
Keeping it Green
While most of us think of the towering firs and pines and spruces of northern climes when we hear the term “evergreen,” there are many types of Texas native trees and shrubs guaranteed to keep your landscape lively all winter long. Here’s a handful to get you started.
Photo © Bruce Leander
Cenizo is a plant that keeps many of us guessing about upcoming weather due to its nickname, barometer bush. Humidity and rain cause silver-gray cenizo to erupt in masses of purply-pink flowers.
Photo by Sonja Sommerfeld / TPWD
Sotol shoots out massive bloom spikes that last all summer and into the fall. Native Americans used the plant for food and fiber; today’s agriculturalists distill it into a potent liquor.
Photo © Melody Lytle
Yaupon holly, with its red berries, lends a touch of Christmas to your landscape. Birds love the berries, and you’ll like trimming it into a topiary.
Photo © Bruce Leander
Mountain laurels are well-known in Texas for the heady scent of the droopy, purple clusters of flowers — just like grape Kool-Aid.
Photo © Melody Lytle
Don’t forget cactus! Prickly pear is often overlooked as a valued source of greenery in the winter, but it’s probably the easiest plant you’ll ever grow.
Photo © Bruce Leander
And while you’ve got your gloves on, consider agarita, which provides delicious berries each spring, though you have to be resourceful to harvest them without pain.
