Martin Byhower 7/26/26 Martin Byhower 7/26/26

Mexican Oregano

Mexican Oregano (Poliomintha longiflora) is an outstanding evergreen Texas native shrub prized for its fragrant foliage, abundant lavender flowers, and exceptional value to pollinators. Blooming from spring through fall, it attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and native bees while thriving in full sun and well-drained soils. Its aromatic leaves can be harvested fresh or dried for culinary use, offering a flavor similar to oregano with hints of citrus and mint. Heat, drought, and deer resistant once established, Mexican Oregano is one of the most dependable and attractive shrubs for Central Texas landscapes.

Martin Byhower 7/24/26 Martin Byhower 7/24/26

Blue Agave/ Century Plant

Blue Agave

Agave americana ‘Mediopicta’

Blue Agave is a bold, architectural succulent prized for its broad blue-gray leaves that form a dramatic, symmetrical rosette. Its striking color and sculptural form make it an outstanding focal point in xeriscapes, rock gardens, and Southwestern landscapes. Once established, Blue Agave is exceptionally drought tolerant and thrives in full sun with excellent drainage. Mature plants eventually produce a spectacular flowering stalk before completing their life cycle, while offsets continue the colony.

Martin Byhower 7/24/26 Martin Byhower 7/24/26

Texas Green Sotol

Dasylirion texanum

Texas Green Sotol is a rugged, evergreen native of Central and South Texas that forms a bold, symmetrical rosette of narrow green leaves. Its architectural shape provides year-round interest and serves as a striking focal point in rock gardens, xeriscapes, and native landscapes. Mature plants may produce an impressive flowering stalk that rises well above the foliage, attracting bees and other pollinators. Exceptionally heat and drought tolerant, Texas Green Sotol thrives in full sun and well-drained soils with very little maintenance.

Martin Byhower 7/24/26 Martin Byhower 7/24/26

Blue Twist-Leaf Yucca

Blue Twist Yucca
Yucca ‘Blue Twist’ (Y. rupicola × Y. pallida)

Blue Twist Yucca is a striking hybrid that combines the graceful, twisting foliage of Yucca rupicola with the powdery blue coloration of Yucca pallida. It forms a compact, evergreen rosette of soft, blue-gray leaves that add year-round texture and color to the landscape. In late spring, tall flower stalks emerge with creamy white, bell-shaped blooms that attract pollinators. Exceptionally heat and drought tolerant once established, Blue Twist is an outstanding choice for xeriscapes, rock gardens, and water-wise gardens with well-drained soils.

Martin Byhower 7/19/26 Martin Byhower 7/19/26

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.

Martin Byhower 7/19/26 Martin Byhower 7/19/26

Texas Prickly Pear

Texas Prickly Pear
Opuntia engelmannii
Texas Prickly Pear is an iconic native cactus that adds bold texture, year-round interest, and outstanding drought tolerance to Central Texas landscapes. Its broad blue-green pads are topped in spring with large, cheerful yellow flowers that often develop orange centers as they mature, followed by colorful reddish-purple fruits that provide food for birds and other wildlife. Thriving in full sun and well-drained soils, Texas Prickly Pear is an excellent choice for rock gardens, xeriscapes, wildlife gardens, and natural landscapes where its striking form creates a dramatic focal point.

Martin Byhower 7/19/26 Martin Byhower 7/19/26

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.

Martin Byhower 7/19/26 Martin Byhower 7/19/26

Silver Ponyfoot

Silver Ponyfoot is a beautiful low-growing native Texas groundcover prized for its soft, silvery foliage that cascades gracefully over walls, containers, and garden edges. It thrives in full sun to part shade, tolerates heat and drought once established, and provides an attractive contrast to flowering perennials and shrubs. Its trailing habit makes it an excellent choice for rock gardens, dry landscapes, hanging baskets, and erosion control on slopes.

Martin Byhower 7/16/26 Martin Byhower 7/16/26

Damianita

Damianita ( Chrysactinia mexicana) is one of the brightest little native shrubs for Central Texas landscapes. This compact evergreen forms a tidy mound covered with cheerful golden-yellow daisy-like flowers from spring through fall, often blooming after rains. Its fine, aromatic foliage stays attractive year-round, and once established it thrives in hot, dry conditions with very little maintenance. Damianita is an excellent choice for rock gardens, borders, pathways, and pollinator gardens where its long bloom season provides nectar for native bees and butterflies. It performs best in full sun and well-drained limestone soils and is highly deer resistant.

Martin Byhower 7/14/26 Martin Byhower 7/14/26

Escarpment Live Oak

Escarpment Live Oak (Quercus fusiformis)

Escarpment Live Oak is one of the most dependable and iconic native shade trees of Central Texas. Evergreen and exceptionally long-lived, it provides dense, cooling shade throughout the year while thriving in the rocky limestone soils and hot, dry climate of the Edwards Plateau. Its broad, graceful canopy creates an inviting landscape feature, and its acorns provide an important food source for birds, deer, squirrels, and other wildlife. Highly tolerant of drought, heat, wind, and urban conditions, Escarpment Live Oak requires little maintenance once established. Its beauty, resilience, and year-round foliage make it one of the finest long-term shade trees for Georgetown and the surrounding Hill Country.

Martin Byhower 6/21/26 Martin Byhower 6/21/26

Texas Mountain Laurel

Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) is one of the most treasured native small trees in Texas, prized for its glossy evergreen foliage and spectacular clusters of fragrant purple flowers. Blooming in early spring, the blossoms fill the air with a sweet grape-like fragrance and attract bees and other pollinators. Its dense, dark green canopy provides year-round beauty and makes an excellent focal point in the landscape.

Texas Mountain Laurel thrives in full sun to part shade and is highly adapted to the heat, drought, and alkaline soils of Central Texas. Slow growing but exceptionally long-lived, it requires little maintenance once established and is one of the finest native trees for residential landscapes.

Martin Byhower 6/20/26 Martin Byhower 6/20/26

Agarita

Agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata) is a tough, evergreen native shrub prized for its holly-like foliage, fragrant yellow flowers, and bright red berries. Blooming in late winter and early spring, it provides an important nectar source for early pollinators, while the tart berries are enjoyed by birds and other wildlife.

Agarita thrives in full sun to part shade and is exceptionally drought tolerant once established. Its dense, thorny branches make it an excellent choice for wildlife cover, natural hedges, security plantings, and low-maintenance landscapes adapted to Central Texas conditions.

Martin Byhower 6/19/26 Martin Byhower 6/19/26

Red Yucca

Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) is one of the most reliable and widely used native plants for Central Texas landscapes. Its graceful, arching flower stalks produce coral-red blooms from spring through fall, attracting hummingbirds and other pollinators for months at a time. Unfortunately deer eat the blooms, so caging during blooming is recommended if you want to feed hummingbirds. The evergreen, grass-like foliage provides year-round structure and beauty while thriving in heat, drought, and poor soils.

Red Yucca performs best in full sun and requires very little maintenance once established. Its exceptional drought tolerance, deer resistance, and long bloom period make it an outstanding choice for water-wise gardens, rock gardens, and wildlife-friendly landscapes.

Martin Byhower 6/18/26 Martin Byhower 6/18/26

Yaupon Holly

Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) is one of the most versatile and valuable native shrubs or small trees for Central Texas landscapes. Its dense evergreen foliage provides year-round beauty, nesting cover, and shelter for birds, while female plants produce bright red berries that are an important winter food source for many species. Yaupon Holly thrives in sun or shade, tolerates drought once established, and can be used as a screening plant, hedge, accent shrub, or small tree.

Martin Byhower 6/17/26 Martin Byhower 6/17/26

Damianita

Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana) is one of the most dependable small native shrubs for Central Texas gardens. Its cheerful yellow flowers appear over a long season, while its aromatic evergreen foliage remains attractive year-round. Damianita thrives in heat, drought, and limestone soils and is highly attractive to bees and butterflies.

Martin Byhower 6/17/26 Martin Byhower 6/17/26

Texas Sage

Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) is one of the most dependable evergreen native shrubs for Central Texas landscapes. It tolerates heat, drought, and reflected sun while producing lavender-purple flowers after periods of humidity and rain. Deer resistant and often used near utility boxes.