Beeplant aka Horsemint, aka Monarda citriodora, Monarda punctata, thelasperma, Bitterweed, cowpen daisy, Ipomopsis rubra, dysodia. I like the Skeleton plant (Lygodesmia texana), Blanket flower, showy palaxifolia.. I could go on forever. There are books full of them. My garden would not be complete with out my Ipomopsis.

I listed above the annuals but the perennials that I like are Dalea area, Dalea purpurea, Penstemon cobaea, Liatris muncronata,blackfoot daisy, 4 nerve daisy.

Thank you so much for the information! I do have lpomopsis rubra (standing cypress) in that same bed, but only two plants have volunteered this spring. I will be very mindful to allow them time to go to seed. I have four nerve daisy also and really like it very much, particularly since it blooms for months on end. I love blackfoot daisy,but have had little luck propagating it and it only lives for a year or two. I will be researching all of your suggestions...you have such a wonderful collection of natives. I especially like the cowpen daisy, but where can I find the seed, or would I be able to find the plants in nurseries?

Molly

I think the standing cypress likes a loose sandy soil to germinate. I always have oodles of them but my friend who Cactus gardener who lives on clay, I think, asks for babies from me. I think some gravelly sandy mulch helps on the germination. I throw some water over the area lightly in september /october and early spring when the temps are around 80-70 if there have been no rains to aid in germination. I will collect some seed from the cow pen daisy when it seeds this summer. Remind me. I find a good wildflower book is a great resource and the willingness to stop on the roadside with baggies and a camera. Blackfoot daises live long for me and germinate everywhere. Native American Seed is a good resource for seed.

Nice list of options.

Would Texas lantana (lantana urticoides) or
hybrids work in your area? They usually freeze to the ground in Dallas
and emerge late, so would be out of the way while the bluebonnets were
growing.

Wine cup (Callirhoe involucrata) seems to cover about 8 square feet over the growing season, but doesn't spread by rooting at nodes. We let it sprawl through shrubs and other plants, then cut it back to the tuber/rosette in late summer or fall. Though only works where the rabbits can't get at it.

Engleman daisy (Engelmannia peristenia) is a tough clay-tolerating native perennial that is easy to start from seed and will flower in full sun through dappled shade. It maintains a large rosette over the winter, so might not fit well with your emerging bluebonnets.

Scarlet sage (Salvia coccinea) is one that volunteers freely among our ratibida. Our generic/wild variety only returns occasionally from roots in Dallas clay, but self-seeded starts flower in first year like annuals. Nice thing is that it can be left alone or cut fairly short and will continue flowering even fuller until first freeze. They are fairly drought tolerant, but a bit like resurrection plant in the way they curl and droop to preserve moisture, so seem to need more water here than others to always look good, especially when freestanding in sun.

I do want to mention that I know nothing about growing anything in Dallas clay. I have some red clay out this way and the monarda and blanket flower, skeleton plant, and even the antelope horn milkweed grows in it.

Some great suggestions. I do have a lantana horrida and several lantana hybrids in various flower beds and I do like them very much, but I think I am more inclined to sow some self-seeding annuals there, or herbaceous perennials that are not very aggressive. The winecup sounds good, although I do have rabbits and deer munching away in this area. I will look up the Engleman Daisy. Thank you, Bostedo.

OK, I found that my local nursery has Texas Green Eyes (Berlandiera texana). Will this make a good companion and/or successor to my bluebonnet blooms? The bluebonnets are in a well-draining, sunny bed

Molly

YES< It should bloom for awhile during the summer. It is a perennial, me thinks. I wish they had it in my nursery.

Yes, it's a perennial. Mine hasn't bloomed yet this year, but should be when it gets a bit hotter. Mara, I can bring one to the swap in S.A. this fall if you're going.

Yumm, Pant pant. I tried growing them from seed from a patch out by us and I took a vacation that first summer and that is all they wrote. The road crews tore up my population that I collected from. I never got the remaining seeds to sprout. I hope to be at the swap if my salvias take.

Thanks for the responses on the Texas Green Eyes! Flowerpowertx, for how long does your Green Eyes bloom?

Molly

Yesterday, we took a drive in the Bellville, Sealy area and I found several beautiful types of wildflowers in bloom. Three of them were particularly interesting to me. The first one has narrow, widely spaced leaves and delicate lavender blooms,the second has pretty yellow flowers presented in sprays, and the third had larger, yellow flowers on an upright stem, with large leaves. Can any of you provide an ID on these?

Thanks, Molly

Second plant:

Third plant...no flowers photographed on this one, but they are daisy type,large yellow blooms on tall stalks.

#1 ) penstemon cobaea or penstemon, or penstemon laxiflora

#2 Englemann daisy.

That is good news, because those are two plants that were recommended by you and bostedo! Although I don't have a picture of the bloom on the third plant, here is another picture of the foliage and the spent buds...hope this helps to ID this one!

Molly

Berlandiera texana, Texas Green-eyes, can bloom from May to October. It's tall (can get 3 feet or more), so it's better in an area where it has some sun and enough space. It can easily reseed also. Tough plant.