Gardens in the Hot and Dry

The plantings that look the best in Texas this August are ones that thrive in the hot and dry.

There were several desert willows planted around Josey Ranch Lake. Their blooms look at lot like delicate orchids. I had not seen them in the Carrollton area previously; they are popular rest stop plants along the route through New Mexico to Tucson.

There are many types of sage that thrive in high heat without a lot of water.

My favorite is the red yucca: the deeper color of the buds, the delicate flowers, the seed pods forming, and the muted green of the leaves….and they grow best under relatively adverse conditions.

The image below is a 10x magnification of the flowers.

This trend of transitioning gardens to plants that tolerate heat with less water is a positive one given the water challenges Texas is experiencing.