June 7, 2023
Native Plant Backyard from Scratch in HOA: Kathleen Scott
“If we wish butterflies and bees and hummingbirds and birds, we now have to present them a spot to breathe and a spot to eat and a spot to shelter,” Kathleen Scott informed us once we headed to her New Braunfels backyard in November 2022.
An skilled gardener, Kathleen’s a Comal County Grasp Gardener and serves on the board of the New Braunfels Native Plant Society. Nonetheless, she began anew when she and husband Denny closed on their just-built home in November 2020.
Their challenges: HOA garden necessities of 75% entrance yard and 50% yard. Deer reside right here, too, so Kathleen selected deer resistant vegetation in entrance. In entrance and the fenced again, they glad the HOA by ringing the yard in borders and curving beds.
We’ve recognized one another for years through social media and emails, however didn’t meet in individual till final fall when she hosted Sara Dykman, creator of Bicycling with Butterflies: 10,201 Miles with Monarchs, and provided her backyard as an interview location. Watch Sara’s highly effective story! 
Her backyard—solely a yr outdated—so superbly illustrates planting for the long run that we returned per week later. They began planting in October 2021, primarily from 4” pots and seeds, layering vines, shrubby bushes, understory bushes, perennials, purple yuccas, bunch grasses, and floor covers. A couple of shade bushes, too. All the pieces’s very younger and establishing roots, however pint-sized possumhaw holly, kidneywood, goldenball leadtree, sennas and extra promise a richly numerous habitat towards the pure protect past. Right here’s Kathleen’s work in progress plant listing! 
The Bermuda grass sod was so new that they ripped it out in sections. Then they sprayed vitamins, layered compost, cardboard and mulch. Lastly, after six months, they began planting in October 2021.
Proper off the bat, the younger vegetation headed into onerous freezes, intense summer season warmth and drought simply as their roots have been getting established. However native vegetation can take the punches!
Nonetheless, Kathleen celebrated when she and Denny put in drip irrigation in Might 2021. With a bit of additional moisture, Maximilian sunflower and goldenrod really went excessive (as they will do in moist years), a golden autumnal feast for butterflies, bees, and goldfinches.
On our visits, clouds and even drizzle scattered what had been tons of of butterflies—together with migrating Monarchs—however a number of hung round for us.
One other of their favourite vegetation: white mistflower, additionally known as shrubby boneset (Ageratina havanensis).
Within the house-side stone raised mattress, its aromatic flowers drew crowds of bees, butterflies, and different pollinators. Pink tropical sage (Salvia coccinea) can also be a success with butterflies and hummingbirds. Fall obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) nicely fits butterflies and hummingbirds, although by November, it was winding down. However this perennial is so aggressive that Kathleen confines its power to inventory tanks.
Kathleen deliberate for successive blooming and numerous vegetation to draw birds, hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and different pollinators. On this nook, Lindheimer’s morning glory bloomed whereas woolly ironweed was exchanging flowers for seed heads. Tiny inexperienced milkweeds (Asclepius viridis) promise Monarchs a bunch plant sooner or later.
Nearer shot of Lindheimer’s morning glory (Ipomoea lindheimeri).
She makes use of tarragon-flavored Mexican mint marigold’s leaves in recipes, whereas pollinators head for its golden-yellow flowers. Gregg’s mistflower can flower in spring/summer season (like it’s now in our gardens), however particularly shines in fall.
In good years, it’s positively blanketed with fluttering Queen butterflies.
In late spring by means of summer season, biennial (blooming each two years) standing cypress is bound to carry hummingbirds into your backyard.
Final November, Kathleen’s have been in rosette stage, however now that they’re in bloom, hummingbirds are rejoicing.
Layers are necessary, and the bottom is certainly one of them. Within the facet strip, evergreen Texas frogfruit blooms spring by means of summer season as a butterfly host plant and nectar for tiny bees and different pollinators.
Snake herb can bloom from spring to fall, sporting tiny lavender flowers, nevertheless it was a shock to see winecup in November.
Within the gate’s nook mattress, hummingbirds and butterflies head to turk’s cap and tropical sage (Salvia coccinea). Simply out of view, native coralbean guarantees hummingbirds in late spring to early summer season. Yellow cowpen daisies entice butterflies to its nectar late spring to fall.
Tropical sages, each purple and white, naturally populated Kathleen’s backyard.
Hummingbirds and butterflies, like Gulf fritillary, dip into blossoms, whereas goldfinches eagerly pluck its seeds.
To foster a number of butterfly generations, Kathleen contains host vegetation particular to every species, like ardour vine for Gulf fritillary. Hatching caterpillars chomped by means of hers, however the plant can be again, and maybe the butterflies we noticed began life on the arbor of hope.
Watch her story!
Thanks for stopping by! Linda
