Scene on the Street: Home on the Plano Range

Over the past few weeks I've written about our trip to the Dallas area in late May.  There's one Plano house that always gets my attention when we visit and this year, with my sister-in-law as a guide, I walked over and took some photos.

The Texas style house with limestone and a standing seam metal roof could be out on a ranch in the country.

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.
 

Where in Texas is this?

Landscape inspiration is something I'm always looking for when out for a walk.  This is a good one for my inspiration file.   A nice planting of native and drought tolerant perennials and succulents accented with low limestone walls. 

Ashe junipers with hesperaloe parviflora, zexmenia, Manfreda 'Macho Mocha', blackfoot daisy, yucca, lantana, nepeta, and nandina are all great selections for San Antonio.

Except this is not in San Antonio or even Central Texas.  Let's take a look at the wider shot.

Juniper as ground cover?  Juniper ground cover would burn out in a San Antonio summer so it's pretty rare.

This landscaping is on a golf course in Plano, Texas, about 300 miles north of San Antonio.  I'm pretty sure this space was planted with boring, water-guzzling annuals in past years because I don't remember noting anything special about the landscaping here before.

The drought has brought changes to landscaping in Plano and more xeric combinations like this one are popping up all over town this year as a result of water restrictions.  I think it looks far more interesting too.

Oh, and the sunset we were there to watch was nice too.

Arbor Hills Nature Preserve: The Other Plano Prairie

On a visit to Plano, Texas last spring you may remember I visited Plano Prairie Garden and with the help of my sister-in-law also made a new discovery.

Another prairie grows in Plano

The City of Plano established the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve to protect a bit of the original landscape from encroaching development.  This sign provides information on the three ecoregion you will find in the park--Blackland Prairie, Riparian Forest, and Upland Forest.  A detailed description of each is at the bottom of the website.

The day we visited was a typical north Texas summer day: hot, sunny, and windy.  Our goal was to get some exercise so these photos were taken on the fly with my smaller camera.

It was definitely windy

 
At first glance this field of bluestem grass in the Blackland Prairie looks uninteresting



A closer look reveals wildflowers like button flowers, thistle, gaillardia, and milkweed pods

Prairie grass similar to millet

Beyond the prairie we entered the cool, shady Riparian Forest zone.  Creeks with water always draw me in because our creeks only have water immediately after a rain.

Waterfalls provided a nice natural sound

I was particularly interested in the limestone cutaway along the trail.  Even though we are nearly 300 miles from home, this is very similar to my own yard with a thin layer of soil over rock.  It's amazing how roots of established plants make their way down through the rock bringing soil with them.

Then we headed to the Upland Forest area which was an even bigger surprise than the preserved prairie.  I had not pictured a forested area in the vast suburbs of north Dallas.

It's an excellent place to walk with paved and unpaved trails for walking and separate designated mountain bike trails.

In addition to trees, the Upland Forest had clearings with meadows like this one

I'm not sure this blue salvia is native here, but it looked good with the queen anne's lace.

Butterflies at work were sheltered from the winds here in the meadows

At the top of one trail is this nice picnic pavilion, there's also a nearby parking lot for those who choose not to walk up.

A few more observations along the trail included this very knobby tree.  I tried looking it up, but couldn't find any information.

A few of the blooming and fruiting plants observed here.

The summit has an observation tower overlooking the park and some of the nearby houses.

Completing our walk we headed back down to the car and looked back at the stone tower from the trail below

Along the way my sister-in-law pointed out this savanna-style prairie her children loved to visit because it looked like the Africa they knew from their favorite Lion King video.  The youngest is a sophomore in college now, but they still enjoy walking here when they are home.

It was a fun place for a good walk and to explore.

A Visit to Plano Prairie Garden

From the moment I first opened Michael's blog, PIano Prairie Garden, I was intrigued by how he turned a standard suburban front lawn into what you see here.  The beauty of his garden and his knowledge of native plants is also impressive.   Any way you look at it, there's something about a prairie garden in a Plano front yard that amazes.

As you can imagine, it's easy to spot this front yard as you turn the corner on to his street
 
 
No surprise, it's even better seeing it up close and in person.  Mr. R-O-D enjoyed this visit too as he thinks of typical lawn grass as an invasive species.  He'd much rather have a yard like this.

 
A yard full of flowers certainly stands out in the sea of typical suburban lawns, but it's also the yard with all the busy butterflies, bees, and birds in the neighborhood.

The wildlife habitat signs

 
Plenty of native plants like this Scutellaria wrightii I've been trying to coax into my garden this spring.  Here it is thriving in the hellstrip by the mailbox.

And this welcoming pathway to lead you through the flower filled front yard.
 

Michael is prepared with his plant list so he can cheerfully answer my literally hundreds of questions.

 

The stock tank of horsetail reed is here too

  
We've been visiting family in Plano for years.  Long before I began gardening seriously I was struck by the conformity of the landscaping there.  Most of the development there is 30 years old or newer and HOAs are the rule.  Michael's neighborhood doesn't have an HOA.  So much the better for those of us who enjoy this riot of native plants and flowers.

Gregg's mistflower here

Plano had water restrictions imposed last year due to the drought, so this type of landscape might be more popular in the future.

And the rarely seen backyard?  It's planted in prairie style too, although Michael plans to turn more of it into veggie gardens soon.

These tall coneflowers caught my eye

I'm definitely copying these rebar tuteurs

And these wire cages too.  Look at those onions!

The bees are definitely hard at work here.  Bee fight!

This swallowtail is resting from flower overload

Butterflies are most welcome here with milkweed and helpful sign

Many Plano neighborhoods have alleys behind the houses for the driveways and garages and Michael has planted these areas in Plano Prairie Garden style too.

The alley

The driveway

Just as we were leaving a young family out for a walk paused to enjoy the flowers.  The two boys were mesmerized by the scene as their dad pointed out butterflies and bees at work.  Dad was impressed with a yard you don't have to mow.   The oldest boy stopped in his tracks and pointed "Cactus!" he was so excited.

Yes, I agree, cactus is cool.  Perhaps he'll plant cactus in his own yard someday because of that moment.

Thank you Michael, we enjoyed meeting you and loved seeing your garden.  Well done!