Hello! I live in the Austin, TX area and I am in the process of building a new home....which means my entire yard is a blank slate. I find the prospect daunting and also fun...I can do just about anything. Well...anything that grows in drought conditions and extreme heat, that is. Last summer we went for months, literally, with no rain. A few years before that, it rained for months on end. Typical Texas weather...unpredictable. So I need to plan something that will adapt well to dry conditions but I do not want to do tropical or cactusy type stuff. Looking forward to getting a lot of great tips from the site.
Welcome to our forums Ruthy. I hope you'll soon become addicted to visiting here as much as we all are as it's a great place to be.
Hi Ruthy, welcome to GardenStew from north Texas...Carrollton to be exact. I know what you mean about heat and drought. Yours was worse than ours but our 72 days without rain and with 100+ temps was bad enough. I lost a lot of plants. Been to Austin several times and always stop at the Iron Works BBQ for lunch at least once!!
Hi Toni! Ironworks is one of our favorite spots when we are downtown Lost a lot of plants myself last summer...and when the water restrictions turned into water bans on all outdoor watering of any kind, I lost most of my backyard grass as well. I am sure sod farms in the Austin area have been doing a booming business this year...lol.
Hey Ruthy, welcome from central Texas! My husband and I were members of the Austin chapter of Master Naturalists for several years before we moved to the farm. Contact the Capital Area Master Naturalists for information on native plants that can survive our "interesting" growing conditions. http://www.naturerocksaustin.org You have the right attitude--your yard is a blank canvas and you are the artist!
Check out http://texassuperstar.com/plants/index.html for plants that Texas A&M Agrilife recommends for our weather conditions too.
Hello Ruthy, welcome to the Stew from the chilly, wet north-western coast of Norway. I know absolutely nothing about drought tolerant plants, but I'm looking forward to your company on here. Do hop in and make yourself at home.
Hi there from the SE part of Texas... between Liberty and Beaumont. Can't wait to see what you "paint" on that blank canvas of yours! It's so much fun... this is only my second year with this flower garden.
Hi Ruthy, welcome to GardenStew from Chelmsford MA. You have come to the right place, we hope you enjoy our garden group. Welcome aboard. Jerry
Hey Ruthy and welcome from far far away and a bit more wet Romania. By the sound of it... I think you'll have to make ends meet with cacti and succulents. I wish I could grow these outside OVER HERE Only once have I heard of water ban around here. But was not that serious. People still had water in their wells. If we don't have rains for a couple weeks we already call it DROUGHT.
