In the past, homeowners often placed straight lines of shrubs around their house and did not venture out into the yard to create landscape areas. Today, many people find curved areas filled with landscape plants appealing and have extended the area covered with shrubs and trees into what was previously the domain of turf grass. Adding border plants creates an outline of a landscape area and places spots of contrasting color or texture to separate the area from grass.
Sun Loving Border Plants for North Texas
Blue Princess Verbena is an easy to care for perennial that attracts butterflies to your yard. The mature plant is 12 inches tall with a profusion of lavender blue flowers from early spring through late fall. It should be planted in spring from transplants. It prefers well drained soil and the beds should be protected with mulch to retain moisture. Cutting or deadheading the dried flowers will promote lush later blooming.
Dwarf Fountain Grass remains a perennial in North Texas. It grows about two feet tall and is topped with fuzzy cream or pink colored tufts in the summer. The plant does not spread much beyond its nursery size and can be planted at two-foot intervals or intermingled with other low-growing plants. This ornamental grass tolerates heat and does not require a great deal of supplemental water, especially in mulched beds. Propagate dwarf fountain grass by division in the early spring before it begins greening.
Mexican Heather is a small leafed plant with lovely light purple, white or pink blooms. It tolerates the slightly alkaline North Texas soils and continues blooming through fall. The plant survives mild winters— coming back in the spring. However, it may struggle if the winter temperatures fall below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Mexican heather is compact growing about 12 inches tall. It should be pruned regularly to maintain blooming.
Shade Tolerant Border Plants for North Texas
Liriope is an excellent border grass. Traditionally green, new cultivars include variegated varieties. Liriope grows about six-inches tall with purple flowers in the summer. Select Liriope muscari, which is a clumping variety or be prepared to edge and remove runners.
New Wonder Fan Flower is a Texas Superstar® tender perennial plant with fan-shaped lilac flowers from spring through fall. In colder winters, this plant is an annual and is planted from seedlings each spring. It grows 6 to 8 inches tall and can be container grown.
Petunias are an annual flowering plant that grows 6 to 8 inches tall. Petunias come in so many colors from white through dark purple that any North Texas landscaper can find a color that complements her yard. There are single petal petunias and Grandiflora hybrids with beautiful double flowers. The Laura Bush petunia is an outstanding choice for border plants with its deep violet flowers and tolerant nature. This variety may reseed for several years.
North Texas has many perennial and annual plants that work well as border plants. Some plants tolerate or even need shade while others want full sun. Selecting the right border plants not only beautifies an area, but also helps reduce water usage.
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