Monday, October 29, 2012

Natives of Texas

October is Support Your Independent Nursery Month as declared by Pam Penick at her Austin blog Digging.

This week we visit Natives of Texas nursery in Kerrville.  After our stop at Medina Garden Nursery we continued on State Highway 16 about thirty minutes to Kerrville and Natives of Texas nursery.


Natives of Texas was founded on the idea that our Texas Hill Country natives are the best plants to survive the one-two punch of drought and heat of a Texas summer and the subsequent freezing weather of our winters.  Their website shares the wonderful story of this nursery.
The small lake at the entrance was lovely to see and shows we are getting back to normal after our long drought.


The owner's Great Dane announces our arrival as we head between the houses and down to the nursery section at the end of the road.


A good selection of native plants are on display.



Emphasizing the importance of natives -- NICE


A limestone cliff across the nearby creek is quite striking.


There's a pretty garden full of blooms next to the nursery office with Asters, Mexican Bush Sage, and a red salvia.


Roughleaf dogwood planted along the fence in the nursery has beautiful texture and color with white berries


After checking out the selections below the road we walked up the hill to see more trees and nursery plants set out on the stone terraces.


There's a memorial to the founder Betty Streetman Winningham and beautiful views from the top of the hill.


The canyon wall from the top of the hill

 

Looking down over the hill from the terrace.


It's steep up here.



Throughwort or Fragrant Mistflower grows well against a post on this rocky slope



This pipevine on a wire fence sports unique blooms


Native cactus planted in a stump along the trail


 This looks like Damianita growing out of a rock opening in one of the walls




After making our selections we headed down to the house to check out the demonstration gardens.





Native and xeric plants line the drive




Beargrass over the limestone edging


Flaxleaf Bouchea was a new plant for me


The long view of this pretty, low growing flowering plant.


Natural limestone pools like this one define the Texas Hill Country for me.



The gardens surround the house and are enclosed by a rustic cedar fence and arbor.

 


This Mexican Bush Sage added pretty color to the gardens


We worked our way up the hill above the house admiring the well-marked plants along the path.

Mexican Buckeye


 Heartleaf Hibiscus


White Beautyberry under the oaks


Canyon Mock Orange


Directly behind the main house is this native favorite Madrone tree growing out of the hill side offering a closeup view of the bark and berries.









This is a quintessential Texas Hill Country setting and being there was a trip back to the beginnings of the native plant movement in Texas.

8 comments:

  1. What a beautiful place - and looks like quite the selection too. Thanks for sharing, I never knew this place existed. Happy to know about it, I can hardly wait to research that Flaxleaf Bouchea! Thanks again for the tour Shirley :)

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  2. This is almost like visiting another planet for this web-footed Pacific NW native.

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  3. Been there! (in 2004) It was one of the places visited my first time in that area and Austin that gave me a new perspective on your region. That is damianita in that rocky cliff, and the other plants are nice. Water...I forgot what that looks like.

    Interesting - a trip back to the beginnings. Hasn't really begun here, yet.

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  4. This looks like a really interesting place to go. It's now on 'The List'.

    I'm glad you're out there scouting out places for the rest of us. Thanks...

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  5. The limestone pool, cliff, rock work & unusual (to me) plants at this place are great. Sounds like you had a good time exploring.

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  6. Thanks for doing these posts. I've lived in San Antonio my whole life and I had no idea some of these off the beaten path nurseries existed.

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  7. I always look at Texas as being a leader in the the wildflower movement and am not surprised to see a nursery such as this. I checked out the website too. Very nice property. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a place I want to visit one day.

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  8. Definitely a nursery on my to see list. Glad to see they are still open. Great tour, thanks for sharing.

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