Prairie Coneflower

Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida columnifera) is a cheerful, long-blooming native Texas wildflower that produces distinctive yellow petals surrounding a tall, reddish-brown central cone. Blooming from late spring through fall, it provides an abundant nectar source for butterflies, native bees, and other pollinators while its seeds feed songbirds later in the season. Exceptionally heat- and drought-tolerant, Prairie Coneflower thrives in full sun and poor, well-drained soils, making it an excellent choice for wildflower meadows, pollinator gardens, and water-wise landscapes. Its carefree nature and extended bloom season make it one of the easiest and most rewarding Texas natives to grow.

Fragrant Mistflower/ White Boneset

Fragrant Mistflower / White Boneset (Ageratina havanensis) is a graceful native Texas perennial that produces airy clusters of fragrant white flowers from late summer through fall, just when many other garden plants are winding down. A magnet for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators, it thrives in full sun to part shade and tolerates drought once established. Its soft, billowy blooms brighten native gardens, woodland edges, and limestone landscapes, making it an outstanding choice for adding late-season beauty and wildlife value to Central Texas landscapes.

Mexican Mint Marigold

Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida) is one of the finest fall-blooming native plants for Central Texas, prized for its clouds of golden-yellow flowers and sweet anise-scented foliage. This drought-tolerant perennial thrives in full sun to part shade, attracts bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, and is generally ignored by deer. Its aromatic leaves can even be used as a culinary substitute for French tarragon, making it as useful as it is beautiful. Blooming from late summer into fall, Mexican Mint Marigold adds brilliant color to native landscapes when many other plants are fading.

Sangria Esperanza

Sangria Esperanza Tecoma ‘Sangria’ is a compact selection of Yellow Bells prized for its rich reddish-orange buds that open to deep reddish- golden-yellow trumpet-shaped flowers from late spring until frost. It thrives in full sun and handles Central Texas heat, drought, and alkaline soils with ease once established. Its colorful blooms are a favorite of hummingbirds, butterflies, and native bees, providing months of nectar when many other plants slow down during summer. More compact and densely branched than standard Yellow Bells, Sangria Esperanza fits well in smaller landscapes while delivering continuous color with minimal maintenance. It may freeze back after hard winters but reliably returns from the roots each spring.

Yellow Bells

Yellow Bells Tecoma stans is a fast-growing shrub or small tree that produces clusters of brilliant golden-yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers from late spring until frost. It thrives in full sun, tolerates heat, drought, and a variety of soils once established, making it an excellent choice for Central Texas landscapes. Its nectar-rich blooms are especially attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies, and native bees, providing color and wildlife value through the hottest months of the year. Although it may freeze back during unusually cold winters, established plants usually recover quickly from the roots. With its long bloom season, ease of care, and vibrant display, Yellow Bells is an outstanding focal point or background shrub for water-wise gardens.

Pride of Barbados

Pride of Barbados Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a spectacular tropical shrub known for its brilliant orange, red, and yellow flowers that bloom from late spring until frost. It thrives in full sun and tolerates heat, drought, and alkaline soils once established. Although it freezes to the ground during most Central Texas winters, it quickly returns in spring and often reaches 5–8 feet tall in a single growing season. It is highly attractive to butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, providing abundant nectar during the hottest months when many other plants have stopped blooming. While I generally recommend native plants whenever possible, Pride of Barbados is one of the few non-native species I consistently endorse because it is exceptionally well adapted to our climate, is not considered invasive, requires very little supplemental water once established, and offers outstanding value to pollinators and hummingbirds. For gardeners seeking dramatic summer color with relatively little maintenance, it is an excellent choice.

Chile Pequin

Chile Pequin (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum) is a hardy Texas native shrub-like perennial that produces hundreds of tiny, fiery red peppers beloved by birds but ignored by deer and most mammals. Delicate white flowers appear from late spring through summer, followed by bright red fruits that persist into fall, providing an important food source for mockingbirds, thrashers, cardinals, and many other songbirds. Thriving in dappled shade or morning sun, Chile Pequin is exceptionally heat and drought tolerant once established and makes an attractive addition to native gardens, woodland edges, and edible landscapes. The peppers are extremely hot and can be harvested for fresh or dried culinary use, adding both wildlife value and ornamental appeal to the garden.

Fall Aster

Fall Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) is one of the stars of the autumn garden, producing masses of lavender to violet, daisy-like flowers with bright yellow centers just as many other plants are finishing their bloom season. This hardy Texas native perennial forms a dense, rounded mound of aromatic foliage and thrives in the heat, drought, and limestone soils of Central Texas. Its late-season flowers are an invaluable source of nectar for native bees, butterflies, and migrating monarchs, making it one of the most important pollinator plants for fall. Easy to grow and long-lived, Fall Aster adds a spectacular splash of color to native gardens, borders, meadows, and wildlife landscapes.

Brazos (Gulf Coast) Penstemon

Brazos Penstemon (Penstemon tenuis) is an elegant Texas native perennial prized for its tall spikes of soft lavender to pale purple, tubular flowers that bloom in spring. A favorite of hummingbirds, native bees, and butterflies, it adds height and graceful movement to sunny or lightly shaded gardens while thriving in the clay and limestone soils common across Central Texas. Once established, Brazos Penstemon is both drought tolerant and easy to grow, making it an excellent choice for native plant gardens, pollinator habitats, and naturalized landscapes. Its delicate blooms and upright form pair beautifully with grasses, salvias, and other native wildflowers.

Orange Zexmenia

Orange Zexmenia (Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida) is a tough, long-blooming Texas native perennial that lights up the garden with cheerful golden-orange, daisy-like flowers from spring through fall. Adapted to the heat, drought, and limestone soils of Central Texas, it thrives in full sun and asks for very little care once established. Its bright blooms attract a wide variety of native bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, while its spreading habit makes it an excellent choice for naturalized plantings, meadows, slopes, and informal borders. Orange Zexmenia combines exceptional resilience with months of color, making it one of the most dependable native wildflowers for water-wise landscapes.

Webberville Sedge

Webberville Sedge (Carex perdentata) is a graceful, clump-forming native sedge that thrives in the shaded woodlands and limestone soils of Central Texas. Its fine-textured, arching foliage creates a soft, natural groundcover that blends beautifully beneath trees, along woodland paths, or in shaded garden beds. Highly drought tolerant once established, Webberville Sedge requires little maintenance and helps suppress weeds while providing habitat for beneficial insects and shelter for small wildlife. It is an excellent lawn alternative for dry shade and pairs well with ferns, inland sea oats, woodland phlox, and Turk’s cap for a naturalistic Texas landscape.

Woodland Sedge

Woodland Sedge Carex blanda is a graceful Texas native sedge that thrives in the dappled shade of woodlands, beneath mature trees, and in other low-light garden settings. Its fine-textured, arching green foliage forms soft, attractive clumps that provide year-round interest while helping suppress weeds and stabilize soil. Woodland Sedge is an excellent low-maintenance alternative to traditional groundcovers or turf in shaded landscapes and provides valuable habitat for beneficial insects and other small wildlife. It tolerates a variety of soils, including the limestone soils common in Central Texas, and becomes moderately drought tolerant once established.

Inland Sea Oats

Inland Sea Oats Chasmanthium latifolium is one of the finest native ornamental grasses for shaded Texas landscapes. Its graceful, arching foliage and distinctive dangling seed heads add texture and movement from summer through winter, while the seeds provide food for songbirds and cover for wildlife. Inland Sea Oats spreads slowly to form attractive colonies, making it an excellent choice beneath trees, along woodland edges, or in naturalized gardens where it thrives in shade or part sun.

Dwarf Yaupon Holly

Dwarf Yaupon Holly is a compact evergreen Texas native shrub that forms a dense, rounded mound of attractive small green leaves with very little pruning. It thrives in full sun to part shade, tolerates drought once established, and performs well in a wide variety of soils, including the limestone soils common in Central Texas. Its neat appearance makes it an excellent choice for foundation plantings, borders, low hedges, mass plantings, and formal or natural landscapes. While this dwarf cultivar rarely produces berries, it provides excellent evergreen texture and year-round structure in the garden.