Workhorse Plants in My Garden

In order for a plant to thrive in my garden it can not be

high maintenance or faint of heart.

When the temperature reaches 100 and

above here in South Texas, these workhorses hang in there and

are very forgiving.

Kimberly Queen Fern (above)

I buy my Kimberly fern at WalMart each spring, and a healthy, large plant costs about $12.00.

Boston fern don’t like me ,

and although I like Asparagus fern, I made the mistake of

using them in flower beds where they are a prickly mess.

Bougainvillea

Are you tired of hearing me talk about my love of bougainvillea?

When they bloom, they are simply glorious,

and the hotter the sun the better.

Airplane Plant

Airplane plants don’t mind a good drenching with a water hose,

which makes them especially easy to keep. 

We also get to celebrate together when they start having

babies that can be re-planted. 

Portulaca

My fondness for Portulaca has grown over the years because of where I usually buy it-

at the flea market.

There is usually a grandmotherly aged vendor who is selling small cuttings planted in coffee cans.

I get to ask her simple questions about her plants in Spanish, and I leave there smiling.

Begonias

Begonias are deceiving. They look fragile- and to a certain degree they are-

but they will bloom with the rest of my workhorses as long as I do my part.

They thrive in partial shade, and they like to be groomed periodically.

White Plumbago

I first wrote about white Plumbago here,

where I referred to it as my form of a perennial border gardening girdle.

I enjoy it for its uniqueness (because white is hard to find in my area) and because it

thrives on neglect.

 

Do you have workhorses in your garden that you can not live without?