I'm in Michigan, so I can't help with specifics in Texas, but I was just out touring my dry, sunny, front bed up by the road, and my sedums are looking really good. They are also making the pollinators really happy right now, with gorgeous color. The color isn't there all summer, but the plants are certainly easy care and look neat year round. No supplemental water needed here, but we get pretty regular rain--not that you could tell by looking at my native plants right now. Grrrrrrr. Everything is looking pretty dry. The only two varieties of plant I'm not ready to yank out right now are the sedums, and my Verbena boniarensis. Both are far from native, and the Verbena is considered a noxious invasive. But, I grow it because it is the most reliable, long-blooming nectar plant I have ever found. I can't imagine how tough it must be to keep a garden going in Texas. Do you have any of the native grasses growing? I've seen some beautiful low, clump-forming grasses that have great movement when a breeze passes by. A different kind of beauty than flowering plants, but might be easier in the spot you describe.

Martha

Martha,

Thank you for your suggestions and recommendations.

The grassed growing in our yard is St. Augustine. which requires a lot of water. Nothing native per se in our landscaping, but I'll look up your suggestions and see what requirements they need, soil type and other. Again, thank you very much.

Since you're in Houston, your local Native Plant Society would be a good place to get locally appropriate advice. Looks like there's a meeting tomorrow; if you can swing it, that might be educational: https://npsot.org/wp/houston/

Another resource that isn't far from you is the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. Their web site is crammed full with great info for native plant gardeners country-wide, not just in Texas: https://www.wildflower.org

Good luck deciding,

Virginia

Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) cultivars are available in a range of colors and should remain largely evergreen in your zone. Grows fast, so not much advantage in buying 1 gallon over the 4" pots available at most nurseries and at big box stores in season. Our generic purples seem to grow more prostrate than other colors, but can buy named cultivars for more predictable results.

The native wood fern might work with your late afternoon shade, but unlike the holly fern, it is deciduous, though could stay semi-evergreen near Houston.