Various Things in the Front Yard

I planted this 'Desperado' Texas sage and 'Moonshine' yarrow in 2019. This is a spot that catches a LOT of water when it rains but also gets extremely dry and hot (reflected heat off the brick and sidewalk) in the summer. These have both done well here!

The front porch cats have been hard on the sage and have broken off a number of its limbs, but I was still surprised to discover how much it has grown when I looked back at pictures of the original planting.

Original planting in 2019...

And today...

'Desperado' Texas sage and
'Moonshine' yarrow

'Moonshine' yarrow

Front porch kitty makes an appearance!

Texas sage gets LOADED with purple blooms before it rains. It's considered a bit of a "weather barometer" for this reason!

'Desperado' Texas sage with front porch kitty

 

I started out with 3 'Moonshine' yarrow. After two years of growing in this spot, I dug them up this spring and divided them out and got 7 more plants! Two I planted here in the front yard (the front porch cats like to lie between the yarrow and the sage like it's a little cubbyhole for them) and the rest I moved into the rock garden in the back yard. They were really easy to divide up, and the interwebz tells me that yarrow benefit from being divided every 2-4 years.

'Moonshine' yarrow in the rock garden
with Mexican feather grass, spineless
prickly pear, and hardy ice plant

This 'Emerald Gaity' euonymous has been planted here for 20 years. It's tough and beautiful! Tolerates heat, cold, wet, dry, etc. Stays compact and tight, requiring little to no maintenance and terrific in a spot where you need something that stays compact, such as in front of this low window.

'Emerald Gaity' euonymous

'Emerald Gaity' euonymous foliage close-up

Autumn sage is a popular Texas xeriscape plant. This variety is 'Lipstick' and has been in this spot for probably around 10 years. It tolerates blazing summertime heat (it's positioned between a sidewalk and a west-facing brick wall), drought, and occasional wet spells. It requires very little maintenance but will really benefit from a periodic light pruning back to help shape it and encourage new growth.

'Lipstick' Autumn Sage