Texas Natives: The Beauty & Benefits of Native Gardening

Texas Native Plants

Home » Plants » Texas Natives

Texas Native Plants

It’s no secret that we love Texas native plants at Buchanan’s. In fact, they’ve been our passion since 1986.

Texas Natives are much more than a beautiful addition to your landscape. They are an investment in our local ecosystem, especially when the habitat is heavily damaged. Native plants also help keep soil in a healthy balance by reducing erosion and aiding in drainage. Offering benefits like these, native plant ecosystem benefits are far greater than expected.

On top of their ecosystem benefits, Texas native plants are often brightly colored, with red, orange, yellow, and purple flowers. These plants are excellent choices for the garden because their foliage is among the top choices for ornamental beauty in our region.

Native of the Week

Common Name: Mexican Hat

Botanical Name: (Ratibida columnifera)

A popular native perennial wildflower that performs well in meadows and pollinator and drought tolerant gardens. A great nectar source for bees, butterflies. Their seedheads are enjoyed by small birds. Recognized by pollination ecologists for attracting large numbers of native bees.

Flower petals range from dark red and yellow, all red, and all yellow. The richly colored blooms are atop pale-green feathery foliage. Enjoy blooms from May through October!

Plant in full sun, does well in various soil types including clay, dry, loamy, moist, sandy, and well-draining!

Fun Fact: Tea from leaves and stalks used to be used to treat stomach aches while the leaves and stems when boiled were used as a wash for snake bites and poison ivy!

Reseeds well or can collect seeds from seedheads in late spring-summer.

Going Native

Incorporate Texas Natives into Your Landscape!

Native plants. The term has different meanings for different gardeners. There are Texas natives, US natives and those plants that act like natives. All in all, what most of us want in our garden are low maintenance plants that are attractive and functional. Plants that are not invasive and are a benefit to wildlife.

When you plant a garden, it is not just for you – it is a habitat for all living things around you. So, with that in mind, here is our top 10 native plants for Houston that do just that. Many are heat and drought tolerant – cheerfully returning year after year in your garden.

Check out our ‘Tree & Shrub Planting Guide’ here.

Grasses for Erosion Control

Native Solutions!

Looking help control eroding areas of your landscape from the Texas elements? We recommend planting native grasses such as Little Bluestem, Gulf Coast Muhly, Side Oats Grama, Switchgrass, Indiangrass. Their deep fibrous root systems help to stabilize the soil while also allowing rainwater to properly soak into the ground rather than running off which in turn mitigates flooding.

Native grasses are crucial to both our state and national ecosystem. They are vital for prairie restoration and conservation as well as supporting our local pollinators and wildlife.

Native Host Plants

Don’t Forget Our Garden Pals!

What is a host plant? A host plant is a specific plant that an organism, such as a caterpillar or insect, relies on for food, shelter, or reproduction throughout a stage of its life cycle.

Don’t forget to incorporate these native host plants for local butterflies and moths! Shop Datura, Gray Goldenrod, Buttonbush, Liatris, Butterfly Gaura and more. These plants attract various butterflies and moths like the White-lined Sphinx Moth, Skippers, Hawkmoths, and Swallowtails.

Check out our ‘Moonlight Garden’ page here.

Native Milkweed

Support Monarch Butterflies!

Go native with your Milkweed this season and snag varieties including Asclepias incarnata, Asclepias tuberosa, and Asclepias perennis! Help offset the loss of monarch breeding habits and promote migration by planting native Milkweed.

Available in 4″ Containers and 1gal. (Call for recent availability)

See more Texas natives here.

Watch our ‘Native Plants and Organic Gardening’ video here.

High-Nectar Plants - Brazos Penstemon Blooms with bee

High-Nectar Natives

Show Texas Pollinators Some Love!

The nursery is loaded with amazing native options to choose from including native Milkweed, Autumn Sneezeweed, Lemon Beebalm, Giant Mississippi Penstemon, and Yellow Ironweed. These plants not only attract a variety of pollinators, but some also host specific butterflies and are of special value to native bees.

Learn about ‘Buzz Pollination’ here.

Wildflower Seeds

It’s Time to Scatter Your Wildflower Seeds!

It’s time to plant your wildflower seeds! Now through November is a great time to start many Texas native wildflowers from seed. Some of our favorites include Liatris, American Basketflower, Mexican Hat, Bluebonnets, Pitcher Sage, and more!

Watch our ‘Seed Starting’ video here.

Evening Blooms

For the Moonlight Pollinators!

Daytime isn’t the only time you and pollinators can enjoy your garden! We recommend incorporating plants that also cater to nighttime pollinators, such as bats and moths! Choose from plants including Datura wrightii, Red Yucca, Nodding Yucca, Fragrant Mistflower, Evening Primrose, Texas Olive, Texas Tuberose, and more!

Texas Natives Can be Herbs Too!

Pollinators and wildlife are not the only ones who can enjoy Texas natives! Did you know that there are some Texas native plants that you can incorporate into your dishes and drinks? A few of our favorites include Lemon Bee Balm, Narrowleaf Mountain Mint, Mexican Oregano, and more!

See more perennials here.

Native Fruit

Incorporate Texas Natives into Your Food Forest!

Wanting to shake up your food forest? Consider incorporating some of these fruiting Texas native plants like Prickly Pear, Barbados Cherry, Flameleaf Sumac, and so much more!

Colorful Natives

Who Said a Native Garden Can’t Be Colorful?

Incorporate Texas natives into your garden and enjoy low maintenance blooms year after year.

Colorful native blooms you can enjoy now include Turk’s Cap, Gregg’s Mistflower, Fall Obedient, Esperanza, Fall Asters and more. Not only will you get to enjoy them but so will local wildlife and native pollinators.

See more Texas native plants here.

Learn ‘How to Create a Pollinator Garden’ here.