What Does Winter Landscaping Look Like in the Texas Hill Country? ~ 102

In past weeks we have examined natural plants and flowers that are colorful, adding brightness to our yards and gardens during the winter months in the San Antonio, Kerrville and surrounding areas. There are ornamental and ground cover grasses that keep our landscapes beautiful during colder months as well. Burroughs Landscaping is in the know on the best choices for each part of your lawn and gardens. Some suggestions are:

• Nimblewill - Stays green throughout winter and has a soft, beautiful texture.
• Seep Muhly - Drought resistant, growing in clumps 6 - 8 inches high with soft seed heads that grow up to 2 feet tall.
• Lindheimer Muhly - Pretty and popular, this grass may need a little extra water.
• Canyon Muhly -  This grass is a hybrid between Seep Muhly and Lindheimer Muhly
• Pine Muhly - This ornamental, drought-resistant grass retains green foliage all winter without trimming.
• Switchgrass - Requires some extra watering and grows well in large pots, adorning patios, gardens and walkways.
• Mexican Feather Grass - Retains green foliage and may turn gold with a lot of exposure. The fine texture blows gracefully in a breeze.
• Grant Sacaton - Popular in West Texas, this drought-resistant grass requires no extra water and sports tall plumes in January.
• Gulf Muhly - Retains green foliage and may require some extra water, but plumes outstretched blowing in the wind are graceful and beautiful.
• Pampas Grass - Spectacular plumes in the winter grow large enough to be used as a screen.
• Cedar Sedge - Slow growing, this grass flourishes well under cedar or oak trees for an evergreen lawn that you do not have to mow very often, if at all.

The knowledgeable team at Burroughs Landscaping enjoys working with you for the perfect plan for your landscape. Their friendly group will guide you in the process of determining which plants and grasses will work best for your wants and needs. Winter is the perfect time to evaluate your yard and gardens and get ready for spring!

Burroughs Landscaping offers outstanding service and innovative ideas with landscaping tailored to Xeriscaping in Hill Country Texas. The experienced team enjoys landscaping in Kerrville, Hunt, Ingram, Fredericksburg, Boerne, Bandera, Comfort, San Antonio and Mountain Home. Burroughs works with home owners, builders and general contractors and considers the location, topography, aesthetics and aspirations of each client.

What Does Winter Landscaping Look Like In the Texas Hill Country? ~ 101

Just because it is wintertime in the San Antonio, Kerrville and surrounding areas does not mean gloomy, colorless days. Burroughs Landscaping enjoys brightening homes and businesses' yards that will be inviting all winter long. Let's look a few of the plants and flowers that are natural to our beautiful area of the state, and are great choices to make your yard look amazing year round.

• Ashe Juniper - Male trees produce pollen in cones that begin to drop in January. Female trees produce dark purple berries that are important for wildlife, serving as food for birds, deer and squirrels. Younger branches have patches of silvery bark. As the branches age, the bark will begin to peel, as well as squirrels tearing pieces off strips to use in nests.
• Varieties of Daisies - Stay green all year, blooming as early as January and into the spring with white and yellow buds.
• Widows Tears - Evergreen foliage, growing taller in the spring with blue flowers.
• Texas Aster - In the spring grow taller and bloom in different shades of purple and pink.
• Salvia - Bloom in the spring with vibrant red flowers.
• Prairie Golden Rod - Evergreen foliage that grows close to the ground and produces yellow flowers.
• Winter Jasmine - Blooms with exotic yellow blossoms in winter.
• Winter Honeysuckles - Flowers with an amazing fragrance in winter.
• Golden Groundsel - Is a year-round, full, beautiful ground cover that blooms yellow daisies in spring.
• Mealy Blue Sage - Native to the Texas Hill Country and if the dead growth is removed, it will stay green at the base throughout winter.
• Prairie Sage - Native herb and ground cover that requires no extra watering and is deer resistant.
• Salvia Greggii - An evergreen that is popular as it retains flowers throughout winter.
• Thyme - Deer resistant, growing to 8" tall and one foot across, it can be used for seasoning.
• Gray Shrub Sage - A tiny bush that is deer resistant and produces vivid blue flowers in summer.
• Lavender - A  beautiful, low growing evergreen that is deer resistant and can last up to 20 years or longer.
• Narcissus - A fragrant, fascinating plant that shows off yellow blooms beginning in January through the end of February.
• Rosemary - Can stand upright or trail over walls, spreading with age and producing vivid blue flowers.
• Heartleaf Skullcap - Bright, pretty-shaped, evergreen ground cover with elongated stems in growing season.

With the many choices of natural plants and flowers available, our landscapes will be bright and full of color throughout the winter months. Contact Burroughs Landscaping for more information on bringing your outdoor living area to life this winter.

Burroughs Landscaping offers outstanding service and innovative ideas with landscaping tailored to Xeriscaping in Hill Country Texas. The experienced team enjoys landscaping in Kerrville, Hunt, Ingram, Fredericksburg, Boerne, Bandera, Comfort, San Antonio and Mountain Home. Burroughs works with home owners, builders and general contractors and considers the location, topography, aesthetics and aspirations of each client.

Colorful Leaves Everywhere but on the Trees?

Are you blessed with many colorful leaves littering your lawn this beautiful fall season? 

For those of us in Texas Hill Country who love our trees, even though leaves are essential, they can be frustrating as they fall faster than we can decide the best method of disposing of them. Essential nutrients such as magnesium, potassium and nitrogen are supplied by leaves. Leaves supply food and energy to macro and micro organisms through the soil. 

There are some options to consider that will make the most of those pesky leaves blowing around our lawns:

• Raking the leaves and disposing in a compost bin creates organic fertilizer. Add small amounts of fertilizer and moisture to speed up decomposition. This choice reduces adding to landfills.

• Raking leaves and disposing in receptacle is an option to straighten your lawn and walks. If you don't have a compost pile, this is one way to allow your grass to breathe through the winter months.

• Leave your mower out a bit longer and mow the leaves. This option leaves nutrients for your trees and lawn, and can even prevent weed growth through the winter. Depending on the kinds of trees on your property and size of leaves, mow at least once each week to keep fallen leaf population under control. 

If you choose to eliminate leaves yourself, any of the above options is good exercise for the fall months. And what better time to be outside than during cooler weather. Enjoy the break from out hot summer months. Also, Burroughs Landscaping enjoys bringing your property to life in the fall, ridding your lawn of leaves and updating your outdoor living space.  

Share your ideas for disposing of leaves and other fall tips for your lawn!

Burroughs Landscaping offers outstanding service and innovative ideas with landscaping tailored to Xeriscaping in Hill Country Texas. The experienced team enjoys landscaping in Kerrville, Hunt, Ingram, Fredericksburg, Boerne, Bandera, Comfort, San Antonio and Mountain Home. Burroughs works with home owners, builders and general contractors and considers the location, topography, aesthetics and aspirations of each client.