all help is appreciated.

Blessings

Cross posted, Marilyn.

February is the best time for rose planting, here. We don't stay cold long enough for the ground to freeze up--usually.

OldGardener, depends on the Lantana. I have Trailing Lavender Lantana and New Gold, both of which do well even in the hottest times. But I also have a couple of other NOIDs that sulk in hot months. Tis a gamble. You do have some great information and advice.

Debra, that is good to know about the lantana - thank you so much for the information. I have typically grown 'confetti' and whatever that common purple one is and those have proven to be tough, too, - at least in this part of Cali That "new gold" is vibrant - stunning!! - and the trailing lavender has such a serene look about it. Really nice lantana choices

I'll second Debra's saying Bulbine but she forgot the link:
Stalked Bulbine (Bulbine frutescens)

Rosemary takes all of it & laughs in it's face. Give it the very worst conditions you have & it will be happy.
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)

These are the very coolest little bulbs. They like to get dry between rains or waterings & then when they get the moisture, in 2 or 3 days you will have so many lovely blooms it will knock your socks off. I call them giggle flowers b/c they always delight me & make me giggle.
http://garden.org/plants/searc...

For greenery ...... Junipers take a licking & keep on ticking:
http://garden.org/plants/searc...

I think you should try some cycads. I know a few different people who have some nice cycad gardens in Phoenix where they just had 119F, and the cycads look great. As an example, there are several south African species that experience 125 in habitat and with about 2 inches of rain the whole year. Your place can't be worse than that place. Tom

Didn't forget, didn't have it in my list, even though I uploaded a photograph. Have it there, now.

No, not worse, Tom. Thankfully.

Crepe Myrtles! They love sun & once established, can handle drought like nobody's business. They make lovely small trees. You can get cultivars that only grow to 10 or 15 or 20' depending on what you want/need. You get gorgeous blooms & they will make shade for your yard & garden. The nice thing too is that they don't take up a whole lot of space.

Have a look. Crepe Myrtles for Texas!
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu...

If it helps to have visuals, here is New Gold interplanted with the Trailing Lavender Lantana. You can see the Mexican Feather Grass at the front corners. Might look at Green Santolina, too, for your garden. Never cared for the silver foliage with those funky yellow blooms on the standard Santolina. This one is bright green and the blooms are cream/ivory, although you can't tell in the composite photo because the blooms are spent. Need to deadhead them only because I like the neater look. This second photograph is from May.


And New Gold at the end of the driveway bed. Been there four or five years. All this from just two plants, side by side, and they produce an abundance of beauty every year.

I like the look you have sent with all the great information from all the great people I have heard from I am beginning to believe that my poor flowers were designed to fail as the time of year I purchased them, next garden will have a much better chance with all the information and types of plant news I was not aware of. I do not have a lot of space so I tend to go for small non invasive plants. I have often heard to have a great flower bed is prepare and with all i am receiving I should have good beds to show off. I have not planted anything with bulbs just usually my plants I have bought have been root bound. Thanks again and to all who have taken the time to write me I appreciate all. I am a work in progress.
Blessings

It is so good to have you here. I can hardly wait to see your garden next year. I hope that you will take a lot of photos and share with us!

LOL, Sandra -- believe me when I say we - and our gardens - are ALL "a work in progress" !! There's always some kind of surprise in the garden to deal with, no matter how long you've been at it. Usually it's just when you think you have something figured out that mother nature decides to teach you a new lesson

Fortunately we have this online community to come to for help!

Many of my plants came off the Lowes clearance racks. That way, if I lost one, I didn't lose a lot of money. But I had to go through a lot of those, too, until I figured out the best way to go forward with them. It's almost all experimentation. Looking forward to hearing about your progress.

>> I have often heard to have a great flower bed is prepare

Sandra, I agree. Actually, I enjoy improving the soil more than I enjoy planting and weeding!

Giving yourself plenty of time to prepare the bed will pay off next year. The first time I heard the gardening adage
"don't plant a $5 plant in a $1 hole",
it was:
"don't plant a 25 cent plant in a 5 cent hole".

Adding bagged compost to soil now will improve it for next spring. Or better, start making compost now! The easiest way to make compost would be to spot-compost right in the future bed, or sheet-compost on top of it.

Excellent advice from Rick, and I would just add -- do everything you can to get rid of the grass and weeds* that will plague you forevermore otherwise. In particular, don't let any go to seed... there's a saying that goes something like "one year's seeds, 7 year's weeds." Which refers to the fact that those weed seeds can stay dormant for a LONG time in the soil.

*short of using any kind of herbicide that will stay in the soil, of course; not very conducive to growing a garden! Which just reminded me of the time my elderly FIL mistakenly used "Weed & Feed" to fertilize his little garden...

I think Rick had a good idea with making the soil in the holes better and more moisture retentive. I didn't read every word in every post, but did anyone mention using polymer "crystals" to incorporate in the soil and hold extra water for the roots? I used to install polymers under all the annuals I would put in my landscapes. Instead of the really expensive packets of those things, they can be bought in multi pound boxes. I used to get a ten pound box a couple of times a year. They ARE pretty amazing to work with. Tom

I haven't tried them yet (water-holding polymer "crystals"), but I've been intending to.

My heavy clay soil holds plenty of water, but I like the idea that these polymer beads expand and contract as they soak and dry out. If that means that they create small voids in the clay, I'm interested.

Like little tiny broadforks that open up the soil from the inside.
Or room temperature frost heaves.

Has anyone seen this happening?

Let me know what you think of them, Rick. Years ago, when the potting soil with the crystals first came out, I tried that potting soil but really couldn't tell much difference. Perhaps the crystals have been improved or just using more of them works better.

drdawg said:Let me know what you think of them, Rick. Years ago, when the potting soil with the crystals first came out, I tried that potting soil but really couldn't tell much difference. Perhaps the crystals have been improved or just using more of them works better.

I had the same experience... and the same thought, that maybe I just didn't use enough.

Outdoors is the only place I would use them. I think it's an "off-label" usage ... trying to create voids in heavy clay.

I should also look at the cost: how many cubic feet of compost could I buy for the price of ten pounds of "water polymers".

Sandra, take a look at Cannas, too. When I first got my house, there were dozens of them thriving in the foot-wide strip between the house and the driveway. No water, no tending, nothing. I now have some dwarfs that are just left to trundle along. They do fine. Keep in mind with everyone's plant suggestions, that you will have to water them until they are established, which could take a month, could take a year, depends on the plant.