Visiting Plano Prairie Garden (again)

After enjoying my first visit to Michael's Plano Prairie Garden last year, I recently took a side trip to enjoy another look at this inspired home front yard prairie garden.  When Michael posted about the changes he had recently completed I knew I'd want to spend more time so I headed over there on a Saturday morning for a "guided tour".  This spring has been cooler with more rain than last year so I found the prairie blooming away and looking stunning.

Those are native winecup flowers in the foreground.
 


The beautiful blue of the salvia, which I think is Henry Duelberg, contrasting with the yellow flowers and foliage plants is quite eye-catching.

 
Besides seeing Michael's garden again, I always seem to need a good landscape break during my visits to Plano.  I've been visiting Plano for more than 20 years and have always found the highly-planned nature of this Dallas suburb to be nice, but a bit uninteresting.   Strict building standards and HOA rules in most neighborhoods celebrate conformity and sameness while encouraging expanses of lawn and rows of clipped shrubbery.  You can get a glimpse of that contrast in the background of photos like the one below.
 

When I first discovered the Plano Prairie Garden blog, I think the biggest surprise was the Plano location.  During my visit one of Michael's neighbors stopped by and was surprised that the garden would draw a visitor from far away San Antonio.  This same neighbor often enjoys visiting the garden with his grandson yet still seemed skeptical about the concept of a lawnless garden in his neighborhood.  It's worth noting that if you plan to do this, especially in a town like Plano, it should be as well done and beautifully natural as this one.

I just missed the blooming Yucca pallida, but I like the way its spikiness stands out in this garden of feathery foliage.  The silvery foliage makes it a natural for my own garden.

There's the big yellow caterpillar Michael posted about recently.  It appears to be nesting in his salvia.  Can't miss it.

  

Michael showed off the changes he made this year on his blog, but it was fun to see them in person.  The round stock tank fits well in its new location to the left of the sidewalk.  Moving the tank required moving a lot of plants and dirt, but it now looks more settled in this part of the garden than it did when it was closer to the house.

The yellow hesperaloe blooming near the tank.

The birdbath fits nicely in the space between the front windows.  Those coneflowers add striking structure alongside the path across the front.

 
Decomposed granite pathways now provide a buffer with the neighbor's yards on each side.  Michael's use of metal landscape edging for the steps is very resourceful.  I liked this idea a lot.



Sedum growing in the rearranged rocks at the end of this walkway.

Yellow and blue combinations show each at its best like this blue Scutelaria wrightii in the parkway.

 

Around in the back yard Michael has reduced the flower plantings in favor of more negative space and veggie beds.

 
He added these cattail sculptures to the stock tank.

Copper pipe trellis with sculptural birdbath fountain

A new fence since last year.  Nicotiana on the right and asparagus in the veggie garden on the left.

 More of the backyard pathways

 
Bee brush blooming

Clematis blooming in the side yard.

More of that striking blue of the salvia, this time with a bee.  The only bees I see in Plano seem to be in the prairie garden.

 One last look and I'm so glad I went back this year.

Thank you Michael and nice work on the changes.  I thoroughly enjoyed my visit again this year.