September 18, 2025
On hot afternoons as the sun slips low, I prowl the hellstrip along my driveway looking for bumblebees. I’m always happy to find these fuzzy, buzzy bees collecting pollen — and it’s always purple skullcap that attracts them the most.
Purple skullcap (Scutellaria wrightii) is a low-growing, neatly mounding Texas native perennial. It’s impervious to heat, tough as nails during droughty summers, and unbothered by the “watering” of passing dogs. Its woody stems will break if someone steps on it, so it’s not ideal where people are getting in and out of cars. But otherwise it’s a fantastic hellstrip plant.
The bumblebees agree.
I spent a happy 10 minutes photographing them a few days ago…
…just observing as they went about their business.
A couple days later, I found a less welcome insect on the purple skullcap. The shiny flea beetle has found my patch of purple skullcap, and I’m not happy about it. Just when you find a plant tough enough for Texas summers (and winters), here comes a pest that loves them, right? (I’m looking at you, agave weevil.)
Still, my first response is…to do nothing. I’ll see if garden predators — lizards, wasps, spiders, birds — can dent the population and keep them under control. I would never spray my skullcap with pesticides because that would harm the bumblebees and other creatures living in the garden. If damage gets bad, I may try to knock the beetles into a bowl of soapy water to kill them. Or, hard as it is, I may just let nature decide. I’ll keep you updated.
If you have experience with shiny flea beetles on your purple skullcap or other ornamental plants, let me know in the comments.
In happier news, oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) have been popping up for a week and a half. I adore these harbingers of fall.
They’re blazing in the stock-tank planter in the Circle Garden, against a silvery backdrop of whale’s tongue agave and woolly stemodia.
The sweet promise of fall
They only last a few weeks, but they always help me through the final weeks of near-100-degree temps.
Dark blue plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) is shrugging off the heat and lack of rain too. The crape myrtle above it, however, is shedding leaves like it’s a New England fall. Too soon.
Walking by a neighbor’s house the other evening, I admired her big, beautiful yellow bells (Tecoma stans) — another bumblebee favorite.
Blooms right at eye level — kapow!
Back in my own garden, I’m also keeping an eye on a beautiful green lynx spider, which has staked out a mullein bloom spike as its hunting ground. Its life cycle will end with the coming cooler weather, but in the meantime, it’s fascinating to watch such creatures in the garden habitats we create for them.
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Join me for Jill Nooney’s Garden Spark talk on October 9th
I invite you to my next Garden Spark event in Austin on October 9th. Artist, gardener, and author Jill Nooney of Bedrock Gardens will speak about her acclaimed New Hampshire garden, and I can’t wait to see her photos and get inspired by her gardening magic. You may wonder what a New England garden has to teach us here in Texas, and I’ll tell you. Like any garden created with passion and creativity, it teaches us to TRY and experiment and risk failure, and to delight in the beauty, humor, and life stories that result. Come join us!
Tickets available here. Garden Spark is open to the public, and tickets must be purchased in advance.
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Digging Deeper
My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, comes out October 14! It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon and other online book sellers. If you’d like to read it or give it as a holiday gift, please consider pre-ordering. (I’m happy to sign pre-ordered copies at my book events!) Early orders make a big difference in helping new books get noticed. More info about Gardens of Texas here — and thank you for your support!
Come see me on tour! I’m speaking in cities across Texas to celebrate the release of Gardens of Texas. Talks in October include: Planta Nativa in McAllen on 10/16; The Natural Gardener in Austin on 10/18; SFA State University’s Fall Plant Fair in Nacogdoches on 10/23; Houston Botanic Garden on 10/25; and The Arbor Gate in Tomball on 10/26. Join me to learn, be inspired, and get a signed copy of the book!
Tour 5 Austin gardens on Saturday, November 8, on the Garden Conservancy’s Open Day tour for Travis County. Tickets must be purchased online in advance, and some gardens limit attendance, so reserve your spot early. Find full details here.
Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events, so join the Garden Spark email list for notification when tickets go on sale: click this link and ask to SUBSCRIBE. Read all about the Season 9 lineup here!
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