Gardening In Dallas, Texas With Drought Tolerant & Native Plants

A before and after of Rajesh J.'s Dallas, TX area home

A Q & A with High Country Gardens' customer Rajesh J.

How would you describe your garden?

I call it an English garden with a Texas twist. I would estimate it’s around 1000 square feet, about 80 feet long x 12-15 feet deep.

What inspired you to create it?

In the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, most people just have huge lawns—Bermuda grass or St. Augustine grass. They use sprinklers.

My water bills were a lot higher than my neighbors, so I decided to cut down on the water usage. I happened to stumble upon your website and picked up a few ideas there. Most of the plants are from High Country Gardens.

If someone wanted to create a similar transformation to their landscape, what advice would you give them?

Invest in good soil. We have clay here; people call it ‘black gumbo.’ It is highly alkaline. None of the plants would have survived if I hadn’t amended the soil. It’s a one-time investment. Follow good practices.

Learn about the plants before planting them. I lost a lot of plants that looked good in catalogs but weren’t suited for the conditions here.

If he could do it over? "I wouldn’t put in a lawn to start with," said Rajesh.

If you could do it over, is there anything you’d do differently?

I wouldn’t put in a lawn to start with. I should have just started with getting good soil and began from there. Instead of a regular sprinkler system, I would have put in a drip irrigation system at the start.

This is what I’d do in hindsight. As it was, I had to kill the grass that was there. I don’t like to use chemicals, but Bermuda grass is hard to kill, I had to use Roundup, three times. The best time to do it is when it is growing.

How long has the transformation taken you?

The first year, all my plants were from High Country Gardens; they were premium plants in 5-inch pots. I expected magic to happen, but some did not grow more than 10 inches that first year. I remember calling one of the HCG agents to ask, “What am I doing wrong?” She told me that I need to remember that perennials take some time—first they sleep, then they creep and then they leap. That’s what happened the third year—they came together. So you have to be patient.

The second year of growth, when the plants 'creep.'

The perennial garden in May with swaths of Catmint (Nepeta) in bloom.

What are your favorite plants?

Agastache is my favorite –I just like it because it is low maintenance, the hummingbirds love it, and the rabbits don’t eat it. My second favorite is penstemon. I also like salvia/sages and ornamental oreganos, because they are low maintenance and easy to grow.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your garden?

The other thing I find satisfying and interesting and look forward to are the random plants that just start happening. For instance, the Salvia farinacea that is in the middle of the photo. I did not buy it and I did not plant it.

The same goes with one of the Agastaches. It showed up last year and I let it grow. It bloomed this year. Something crossed with it, similar to the ‘Desert Sunrise’ that I planted. It is pinker and has a different smell to it, with a hint of turpentine. The rabbits don’t bother it.

What benefits have you seen by creating this garden?

The biggest benefit I see is a lot of wildlife activity. Before I did this I never saw a hummingbird. Now they hang out nine months of the year and only go home for the winter.

We’ve got birds, bees, toads, frogs, an occasional snake or two, and lots of bunnies. At first, I would plant things that would be gone the next day, so I would look for rabbit resistant plants. Everything I plant is rabbit resistant or has a fragrance or smell that rabbits don’t like.

My backyard is shaded, so I have to follow a totally different strategy there, but overall, I try to use less pesticide and more organic fertilizer and create a better environment.

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department has designated my yard as a certified backyard wildlife habitat.The program is affiliated with the National Wildlife Federation, where people can fill out paperwork, send photos in and get Texas Wildscape Certification.

To learn more visit: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/wildscapes/best_of_texas_certification.phtml)