At long last! The record-shattering Texas heat dome of summer 2023 has fall-en! Of course, fall in Texas almost always means sweet relief from blazing summer heat and humidity; a breath of fresh air; a time for slowing down and reflecting. Perhaps it’s time to take a leisurely stroll through the rain-refreshed gardens at Hill Country Herb Garden, and pay a visit to one of our talented masseuses who can help you to let your accumulated stress “fall away.” Or enjoy dinner and wine at our historic restaurant, and afterwards gaze at the starry sky as you breathe deeply the aromas of native wildflowers wafting through the cool fall air. And if you feel like staying a while, don’t forget to book a stay at one of our cottages nestled cozily among the gardens.
Fall in much of Texas is somewhat of a “second spring.” Many flowering perennials cannot live to their fullest potential when nighttime temperatures are too high, and thus they don’t put on as big of a show in July and August, especially when there is a severe drought thrown in the mix. While the more northern climes are already enjoying a fabulous color display with leaves turning to orange and red, we are actually enjoying a resurgence of flowering, and have to wait a month or two longer for our leaves to turn.
With nighttime temperatures averaging between 60 and 70 degrees, we see ideal conditions for flowers to reemerge and with that, we can expect the perfect conditions for pollinators to be dancing around the gardens again. Namely, the migrating monarchs who visit us on their way back to Mexico every fall. They are especially fond of flowering perennials such as Gregg’s Mistflower, Blackfoot Daisy, Damianita, Turk’s Cap, Goldeneye, Flame Acanthus, Skullcap, Muhly Grasses, and all our different salvias. Luckily, these plants persisted through even one of the worst summers on record because, like much of our gardens at Hill Country Herb Garden, they are either native to our region or they are adapted – meaning they are native to another part of the world that is similar enough to our own climate. Native and adapted plants are better prepared for whatever extreme weather Texas can throw at them.
We have found that keeping our grounds green is best done with these native and adapted species that can withstand even severe watering restrictions. We like to spread the word about the benefits of using these plants for Texas landscaping (and really for most areas in the sunbelt), and that is why we sell these same plants at our spring plant sale from March through June! As fall also marks a time when we start planning for the next growing season, we are excited to offer even more native plant species in our 2024 plant sale, at 40 species – including several that are not commercially available
We look forward to having you visit us during our spring plant sale to learn about these special plants and take a little piece of our gardens home with you. I hope to see you here!
Keenan Hooper
Gardener
Gardener
