Tropical Texana

Turk's Cap grows wild in Houston, Texas Long ago I fell in love with tropical plants. As a child, I would watch Tarzan movies and any show with mysterious jungles and steamy rainforests. A...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-tropical-garden-at-end-of-summer.html

Draining the Opuntia Pot There are several ways to lose plants along the Texas coast. As a tropical gardener, FROSTS & FREEZES top the catastrophe list. DROUGHT is second on the list fo...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/09/when-garden-stands-in-water.html

It's been a difficult week. I live at the "x".  Since Thursday, we've had 33 inches from Hurricane Harvey. A few areas have had even more!  This will soon be the worst rain event in...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/08/report-from-gardener-dealing-with.html

A sampling of crapemyrtle blooms in my neighborhood If I could pick one plant that I ignore and seldom even notice it would be our huge crapemyrtle in the front garden. It has kept ...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-joy-of-crapemyrtles.html

The old adage, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again" is one every gardener lives by. For me, the living proof is none other than Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata). Blue aga...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/08/heavenly-plumbago-in-texas-summer-garden.html

Down here in The South, Mother Nature brews up the perfect mix of heat, sunshine, humidity, and rainfall. Add to this the overheated and exhausted GARDENER, and you have the recipe for  ...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/07/weed-wars.html

I learned how to trim hedges long ago when I was only 10 years old. We lived on a ranch and one of the gardeners took a special interest in teaching me his secrets. Now, 50 years later, I ke...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-shear-joy-of-trimming-hedges.html

If you REALLY want to grow lavender plants (Lavendula) in Houston, you will need a therapist to help you through this difficult decision. Besides that, you will need to accept the fact tha...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/07/growing-lavender-in-texas.html

The new varieties of zinnias grow well all summer long here in Houston. Not that long ago zinnias were problematic due to our constant battle with powdery mildew. Fortunately, the newer va...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/07/zinnias-are-great-choice.html

Checking back in after a long hiatus. David/:0) Tropical Texana Garden Houston, Texas

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2017/07/july-summer-garden.html

For the most part, neighbors plant & mow the same types of grass. They don't often care where their yard stops and the other begins. But what if you don't have the same ideas about gardening? ...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/07/preventing-yard-wars-boundary-ideas.html

STALWART: a loyal, reliable, hard-working supporter in a common cause ***** None of the flowers below would cause passerby bicycle riders to fall off in utter amazement. But when it comes ...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/07/july-stalwarts-other-flower-blooms-in.html

Happy GBBD from our garden in Houston, Texas. As the saying goes, if God gives you lemons, make lemonade. And if He gives you sunshine (after 30 years of gardening in the shade), then grow ...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/07/july-gbbd-its-sunflower-time.html

It has a light fragrance like honeysuckle.  The leaves are thick and waxy and have this shape and configuration. It grows like a small shrub. It has some hardiness to freezes, but ...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/07/uncle-so-can-anyone-out-there-tell-me.html

My wife and I suddenly have lots more sun in our yard and garden. MY first thought was, "Yippee...more agaves and a bigger cottage garden." HER first thought was, "Yippee...now we can have a...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-little-secret.html

My garden friend over at Red House Garden just posted about all of her wildlife friends that she encounters while gardening. I thought it was such a great idea that I've decided to do the same....

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/07/never-alone-in-garden.html

I guess after 4 years of writing a garden blog called Tropical TEXANA, it seems appropriate that I should finally add some Texana art to the premises. Besides gardening, I love to paint ...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/07/tropical-texana-turns-4-how-to-make-art.html

At first I thought it was just matter of moving the plant to a sunnier spot. No matter what, Ruellia nudiflora refused to bloom. So I did some research: FULL ARTICLE: http://www.aca...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/07/insulted-by-common-flower.html

I don't like roses.  But with the added hours of sunshine, my final excuse for not growing them has vanished. My wife is all smiles. As I take these pictures, my irritation over their ...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/06/ive-allowed-beautiful-temptress-into-my.html

I don't want to show this to anyone in McKinney Texas. McKinney bills itself as the Crape Myrtle City. http://crapemyrtletrails.org/ And Paris, Texas has an annual Crape Myrtle Queen. I sh...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/06/wow-horticultural-horror-movie-set-at.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6j4TGqVl5g If you can figure out how to listen to the music while you read this, then more power to ya! Last Autumn, THE HOME BUILDER next door decided th...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/06/im-singing-this-song-to-my-garden.html

It's summer! And after 12 consecutive years of teaching summer school, I've decided to take a break, stay at home and actually garden during the summer. Here's a combined Garden Blogger's Bl...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/06/june-2014-gbbd-foliage-follow-up.html

My photos are always free here at Tropical Texana.  So...if you want to borrow one and send it to a struggling gardener, please be my guest. *** So....without further ado (drum roll pleas...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/06/garden-humor-my-new-line-of-sympathy.html

I often wonder what would happen if I replaced all my lawn with gravel. For starters, I know my wife would kill me. But also I know my front yard would be a lot more interesting. It always...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/06/life-in-gravel-garden.html

After 30 years of shade, my garden is suddenly filled with sunshine. I've almost forgotten what can grow in full sun. But my memory is quickly returning. I am eager to find some native grasses t...

http://tropicaltexana.blogspot.com/2014/05/native-ornamental-grasses-for-southern.html