Summer to Fall Transition Gardening in Texas

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