This winter we have only had one time the temperature dropped below freezing. The plants browned a bit but for the most part stayed green. We have set up a green house on the porch for our potted plants. The plants in the ground have to deal with the weather, come what may! This is a shot of our south bed. We call it our warm bed because most of the plants here flower in shades of yellow. The leaves of the Lime Sizzler™ Firebush, Hamelia patens ‘Grelmsiz’ PP26247 are yellow gold and stand out when they catch the light. And even the Saratoga Gold Yaupon holly has yellow berries. What has caught my eye this morning is the Copper Canyon daisies.  That have gone crazy and even grown through the fence. The pretty glass flower is a gift from our friend Linda. It fits perfectly into this bed.

Copper Canyon daisy, Tagetes lemmonii

I found this description on the Central Texas Gardener website. “Copper Canyon daisy is native to the Sonoran desert of Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico. This perennial shrub is very drought-tolerant and suffers if soil is kept too wet, so good drainage is important. On heavier soils, consider planting in berms amended with decomposed granite.

• Plant in full sun to part shade. Include in low-water succulent designs to complement structural plants.
• Copper Canyon daisy gets about 3-6’ feet in height and can spread just as far.
• Its narrow, pungent leaves deter deer (usually!).
• Blooming mainly in late summer through fall, it can also flower in late spring. Its small, golden yellow flowers attract bees and butterflies.

In most winters, top growth will die back after the first frost. Shear back to the ground in late winter/early spring. If it blooms in spring, trim it lightly in early summer to reinvigorate the plant and encourage summer foliage and fall blooms.”We have never had them grow so big. They froze to the ground last winter. It is such a treat to be greeted with the sunny daisy like flowers. As I continued on to the west bed, a hodgepodge of perennials and annuals, I found two Monarch caterpillars. I think it is a bit late for them. We really need to cut back the Tropical milkweed but it keeps blooming and there have been a steady stream of pollinators coming through the garden this winter. We are careful to source our Asclepias curassavica from sources that don’t spray it with harmful chemicals. This milkweed is from the genus, Asclepias. It is native to the American tropics.

Continuing on north I noticed that the Purple Tubeflower Iochroma has a few clusters of flowers. Rare to see it so well into winter. On closer inspection I noticed the bee. Pretty good shot for a mobile phone (Samsung 7 Edge)The bees are happy!And right next door is Ember’s Wish™ Salvia. This sage has been blooming since last spring.  It is a bright beacon for the bees and is often covered in them. It is a real treat to have so much color in the middle of winters. Last year we were looking out at brown. We have a few small deciduous trees which really show off their structure in winter. He is our Ginkgo Biloba ‘Weeping Wonder” under-planted with Texas Bluebonnets. Finishing my trip with the north bed. Where only the Euphorbia, Diamond Frost® and Oxalis Triangularis, Purple Shamrock are blooming. This bed has mostly purple flowers.  will be lovely in spring. The plant that looks like clumps of grass is Hypoxis hirsute, commonly called Goldstar, hairy Star grass, Yellow Star grass. It will have yellow flowers. Will post when it is in bloom. Happy Gardening from Laurin and Shawn at Ravenscourt Gardens.