Rose of Sharon, or Althea, is another reliable old-fashioned garden plant well suited for the Texas Panhandle. My favorite cultivar is Diana because of the brilliant, pure white 4-5” flowers and somewhat glossy green leaves. Diana is also one of the smaller varieties up to about 6 - 8 feet, while others can reach 10’ tall. Similar to most altheas, 'Diana' is a prolific bloomer.

Unlike, S. nemorosa ‘May Night’, I don’t mind deadheading this salvia, perhaps because of its plum color it does not require as persistent deadheading. Notice the gray-green leaves of ‘Plumosa’, versus the green leaves of ‘May Night’. The stems tend to flop, but the flower stalks continue to grow and flower upright -- very strange.

Black dalea, an autumn blooming southwest native shrub, should be used more in the home xeric landscape. Growing only to about 3 feet, black dalea spreads out with thin, wiry branches and small, green, compound leaves. The shrub becomes completely covered with tiny purple flowers as to be enshrouded in a purple cloud.

Many references are unsure of its cold hardiness to zero, and it had thrived nicely in my city garden in Amarillo. However, it does not seem to be reliably cold hardy. It's a beautiful shrub that provides stunning late fall color that is worth replanting.

Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks', arching branches similar to S. canadensis 'Golden Baby', only is low water-use and more golden in color. Fireworks goldenrod will also flower in summer and again in the fall. Makes a great splash in the summer garden.

Lindheimers muhly grass is native to the Edwards Plateau of Texas. It is cold hardy and heat tolerant, a tall, warm season bunch grass. It forms a good size ornamental specimen with upright blue green or blue gray blades and tall showy, almost spike like inflorescences in late summer. Not as large as pampas grass, it is a better native alternative. There are two muhly grasses native to the Southwest, Muhlenbergia asperifolia, scratchgrass, and M.

This native shrub should be used alot more in our area. Drought tolerant shrub. If planted in a moister area it is important to have good drainage. Attractive and pleasantly fragrant fern-like foliage. The tiny white flowers with yellow centers that appear towards the end of the branches in June should be clipped in fall to late winter for better appearance. It is said the deer do not browse fernbush. Semi evergreen, it does loose its leaves in Amarillo. Reputed to be cold hardy to -25°.

Drought tolerant perennial with white cup shaped blooms usually found growing in poor soils. I planted it in heavily amended soil, and I think it was too rich for it. It was eaten up during the heat of the summer by flea beetles. I thought the too rich soil was the cause; however, Judith Phillips in Plants For Natural Gardens, wrote about this same occurrence in native soils. Phillips hypothesized this may be a way for tufted evening primrose to escape summer’s heat. However, my plant died, rather than just going to ground.

The Crassulaceae family of plants fascinates me, and the sedums are one of its larger genera. I first saw ‘Frosty Morn” featured on a gardening program from Iowa, so I wondered whether it’d be drought tolerant. Shortly afterwards, I found it at our local nursery and planted in my xeristrip. It has never faltered. The only disfiguring occurrence is a little nipping by grasshoppers during early summer, which has never seemed to harm it, or other large leafed sedums.

Golden current makes an attractive taller shrub at the edge of a lawn or vegetable garden, positioned to catch extra irrigation water. For three stunning weeks in spring it will be covered with tiny yellow flowers. I planted two in 2008, and have yet to notice the tasty berries, red currents, for which they are known. Quite cold hardy, if placed in full sun, it'll need twice a month watering to survive, or in half or more shade, once a month watering is sufficient. Multi stem shrub with small, rounded leaves with cut edges makes an attractive barrier or hedge plant.

Rounded mounds of green leaves on multi-forked stems put forth multitudes of fragrant purple/magenta flowers from summer into autumn. Flowers open in late afternoon (perhaps around four o'clock) and close in early morning. Cold hardy and heat and drought tolerant, after freezing in the fall, the top growth breaks away. Desert four o'clock emerges in the spring from a large root. Will not transplant well once established. Southwest native perennial is usually found in somewhat shaded areas.

Mahonia repans is one of my favorite plants with four seasons of interest. Low growing and spreading evergreen shrub is native throughout the Rocky Mountains. Bright yellow berries in spring are followed by black berries in summer and reddish winter foliage. The leaves are thick, glossy and holly shaped. Creeping Oregon grape holly prefers amended, humusy soil that replicates its native habitat as an understory plant in woodlands, but is low water-use once established. It will spread to cover an area, but not invasive. Very attractive!