White

White, silvery or cream in color.

Common Name: Amaryllis Hybrid cultivar

Typically a Zone 8 plant, the Christmas holiday bulb, Amaryllis, has been successfully wintered over in Amarillo, specifically, the Wolflin area in this case. If you have a warmer, protected micro-niche, try planting your seasonal Amaryllis outdoors, and leave it there well mulched over winter. I 've winter over Amaryllis in my backyard, but it hasn't reliably bloomed. It requires a full sun location and well amended soil to soak up nutrients to be stored in the bulb.

Common Name: Yucca

Yuccas for Texas High Plains Landscapes

Common Name: Snow on the Mountain

Snow on the Mountain is a showy plant native to the plains states. Heat and drought tolerant in the Texas Panhandle. Striking variegated green and white foliage, with small white summer flowers. Can be invasive and is toxic to humans, sap of plant may cause dermatitis. Deer resistant. Control spread by deadheading.

Common Name: Showy or Pink Evening Primrose

Showy evening primrose is a plains states native, including the Texas Panhandle. Showy evening primrose blooms whitish pink in late spring, with each flower lasting a single day, opening in the morning and closing later in the day. The leaves are green narrow and lance-like and emerge from spreading rhizomes. The plant spreads prolifically by rhizomes and seeds, especially in amended and well watered soil. It is not well mannered in a mixed bed or border, I consider it invasive for the garden.

Common Name: Bear's Breeches

An old world Mediterranean plant best known for the acanthus leaf shape used as a basis in classical Greek and Roman designs. The plant itself takes 2 – 3 years growth before flowering. Attractive flowers with purple bracts on tall spikes to 4’. Frost sensitive, will die back in a late spring frost, but will come back. Adds architectural and textural interest.

Common Name: Bearded Iris, Hybrid Cultivars

Distinctive flat, thin upright leaves with flowers arising from the stem.

Common Name: Apache plume

Native woody shrub to Texas, New Mexico and west to California from 3000 to 8000 feet in elevation. It is best to plant in soil with only inorganic amendments. It becomes more floppy and flowers less when fed and watered well. This is a case of less yielding more.

Reseeds some. I've never seen this as a problem. Locate in a sunny area with full exposure to the sun for best growth and backlighting. If planted against a wall or fence it will lean towards the sun and looked tipped over.

Common Name: Rose mallow, Texas Star, scarlet rosemallow

Two southern native hibiscus suitable for the medium to high water-use garden. Large green leaves are superseeded by very large and showy flowers. H. moscheutos  is cold hardy and has some of the largest flowers, up to a foot across in red, rose and white, usually with a red eye. H. coccineus blooms scarlet 3 inch flowers -- not cold hardy but worth trying as a specimen container plant.

 

Common Name: Grayleaf Cotoneaster

Grayleaf cotoneaster is a wonderful low growing shrub for the xeric garden. Evergreen or semi-evergreen in colder winters, it provides good winter interest, along with the other seasons. Small oval shaped silver/gray leaves cover the many arching branches. Tiny white flowers appear in late spring followed by red berries in late fall and winter. Low water use once established.

Common Name: Greek yarrow

Small green gray evergreen leaves forms mounded, low growing xeric plant with small white flowers in late spring. Does not spread vigorously. Easily propagated by root cuttings. An alpine from the Balkans region.

Common Name: Crape Myrtle

Grown in the South for decades, most people think of crape myrtle as a native American plant; it is however native to China and Japan. Small tree or large shrub that is cold hardy to Zone 7.  I’ve grown the same crape myrtles for over 20 years, but they’re planted close (too close!) to my bricked house on both the northeast and northwest corners. They’ve been stem hardy, not just root hardy, and have grown up to about 10-12’. In most cases, crape myrtle will not grow into tree form in the Panhandle, but there are mature, tree size crape myrtles in Amarillo.

Common Name: Fringed sage

Lower growing Southwestern native shrub, both cold and heat tolerant. Finely cut greenish silver leaves. Flower stalks with insignificant flowers. Grows best in soils with good drainage. Will grow in heavy clay soil if grown among grasses.

Common Name: Lantana

Lantana urticoides (horrida) is a native perennial, and cold hardy for most of the state, except for areas in the Texas Panhandle. In the Panhandle, several species of Lantana are sold as summer bedding plants. Blooms prolifically summer and fall. Colors normally available are red, red and yellow, yellow, white and purple or mauve. In rare cases they may winter over. In areas south, lantana will grow into a shrub. The blue/black fruit clusters are poisonous.

Attracts butterflies.

Common Name: Crocus

Spring blooming crocus is a favorite among gardeners, heralding the end of winter. Many species of crocus can actually bloom in winter months. I've seen crocus bloom as early as mid Janurary, although February and March are more common. There are many different species of crocus, most people choose them by color, height or bloom period. Their colors range from yellow to purple, lavender, violet and white, some in combination of colors. Commonly, Crocus chrysanthus, C. venus,  and C. angustifolius. C.

Common Name: Hollyhock

Old fashion garden and English cottage garden herbaceous perennial that works well in the Southwest Cottage Garden. Hollyhocks are considered to be either a biennial or perennial. They produce copious seed but are not considered invasive or troublesome. Plant seed in the fall, or early spring.  Avoid watering the foliage if irrigating, a drip system works better that above ground sprinklers.

Common Name: Sweet pea

Sweet pea is another wonderful old fashioned, fragrant annual climber. That is, the original L. odoratus was fragrant; many varieties today have had the fragrance bred out of them to achieve more and bigger blooms and different colors. Sweet pea is versatile and will grow in a variety of water zones and soil types. I have seen it growing alone for 2 years at an abandoned home, alongside lantana. Some gardeners just toss out the seeds in fall or spring and wait to be surprised.

Common Name: Lady in black calico aster

Lady in Black aster is an improved selection over the Midwestern native, Aster lateriflorus (now Symphyotrichum lateriflorus). Dark canes with musty purple leaves provide a striking contrast in the flower beds and borders that become covered with tiny white aster flowers with pink centers. Truly stunning bee and butterfly magnet for about 3 weeks in autumn.

Common Name: Scarlet Sage, Texas Sage

Texas, or scarlet sage is a perennial to the Southern U.S. and Texas. In the Texas Panhandle, it is sold as a bedding plant, since it is not cold hardy. Some varieties will come back due to re-seeding. Many varieties are available, some are more drought tolerant than others, such as 'Forest Fire', while 'Lady in Red' requires medium water-use beds. Summer long blooming, choose your color among scarlet, red, rose, pink, coral and white. As with most sages, hummingbirds, butterflies and bees are attracted to them.

Common Name: Daffodils, Jonquils, Narcissus

Daffodils are the most notable of the spring bulbs. Reliable from year to year, daffodils can be depended upon to bloom even when faced with late season blizzards and are unpalatable to deer and squirrels. Daffodils aren't too particular about soil, but do better in amended soil, planted about 4 inches deep in October to December. Typical bloom times are February through April, depending on the variety, and there are thousands of varieties to choose from.

Common Name: Boltonia, false chamomile, false aster

Terrific taller plant for the late summer garden. Native from eastern U.S. that grows well here too in a medium water-use area. Talls stems with numerous yellow centered, small aster-like white flowers that look similar in appearance to Michaelmas daisies. Propagation by root division in spring or by seeds. Does reseed some. Other varieties are 'Snowbank' only to about 4-5' but with larger flowers, and 'Pink Beauty' with pink flowers.

Common Name: English Lavender 'Munstead'

Outstanding shrubby perennial fragrant herb for the garden! Very good soil drainage is the key to growing lavender, it does not like moist, compacted clay soil. Lavender appreciates supplemental irrigation every 2-4 weeks, if not provided naturally. Trim back in late winter or early spring by not more than a third, or just trim down last years flower stems. Triming too much off the plant will kill it.

Common Name: Calamint

Calamint, a member of the mint family, sparkles with white/pale lavender flowers in late summer into fall. Solid green foliage emits a pleasing mint fragrance. Attracts bees. Sometimes referred to as lesser calamint. Calamintha nepeta spp nepeta covers itself with light blue flowers.

Common Name: Rain Lily

It is so refreshing to see the rain lilies bloom after a long hot summer. Whenever they begin to bloom, I know the worst heat is over. Rain lilies are a delightful flower that sends up glossy green, grass-like leaves from its bulb in late spring. In mid to late summer, pure white flowers resembling a crocus open and continue through September, usually after a good summer rainfall. There are quite a few species and varieties (of various colors) of Zephrantes, however, Z. candida is the only rain lily cold hardy in Amarillo. I've grown it successfully since 2008.

Common Name: Mat Daisy, Atlas Daisy

Mat daisy is a low growing spring blooming plant. Drought tolerant. Not exactly a groundcover, as the top growth disappears during summer and reemerges as a green basal rosette in fall, getting ready to bloom again in the spring. Blooms late March to May with small white daisy-like flowers that have pink undersides. Forms a compact ground-hugging mat. Will self seed some, but never invasively.

Common Name: Black Knight Butterfly Bush

Butterfly bush is a perennial shrub that comes in many colors from white, yellow, pink, rose, to mauve and deep purple. Native to China and is available in many different hybrids, cultivars or varieties. Quite fragrant, attracts butterflies. Butterfly bush needs very good drainage, it will not tolerant wet clay soil. It will grow in poor soil with good drainage. Butterfly bush trives quite well in low water-use areas. Alternate spelling is Buddleja. Not invasive in the Texas Panhandle.Several species are native to parts of Texas and Mexico. B.

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