 Est. 2008; bringing nature & gardeners together Oct 10, 2025
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NURSERY NOTES: learn all about growing saffron with Dr. Margaret Skinner at Austin Organic Gardeners meeting. 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13. Zilker Botanical Garden. AOG (Look for their fall plant sale at Zilker
Oct 18; 10 - 2 pm.) 🌿
Free class on Sunday (Oct 12) : "The Importance of Preserving Central Texas Fruit Trees." 10 - 11:30 am at Hornsby Bend. With Walker Pickens and Colleen Dieter from Central Texas Seed Savers (CTSS) Class Details 🌿
Also from CTSS, on Nov 1 a Seeding Hope Fundraiser for this noble organization takes place at Greensleeves Nursery in Pflugerville, with speakers, music, prizes and face-painting.CTSS Fundraiser 🌿
The Natural Gardener is throwing a whimsical tea party for young gardeners, with lots of sun-tea and fun with herbs. "Guests are encouraged to dress up." Tomorrow (Sat.) at 10 am. Facebook 🌿
On October 25, the Native Plant Society of Texas (Austin Chapter) holds its fall plant sale, from 10 - 2 p.m. at Dowell Ranch Preserve. NPST 🌿 TreeFolks' RootBall fundraiser is set for Oct 23, at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. RootBall 2025 🌿 ❦
MONSIEUR PLANT: Frenchman Christophe Guinet artfully upcycles tired old Nike sneakers and trainers with moss and twigs to turn them into beautiful, organic sculptures. Some of Christophe's latest work:
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ADVANCES IN SALINE AGRICULTURE: high yields of crops are now starting to be grown in salty areas - long thought to be barren. Plants such as asparagus, beets, barley and rye are all fairly tolerant of salt. Sarah Jay reports. Modern Farmer ❦
THE AUSTIN GARDEN relies on readers for support. Whether annual or monthly, all donations are welcome. At present 7 % of readers fund this newsletter. Many thanks in advance. PayPal link ❦
CENTRAL TEXAS GARDENER: After 30 years of guiding and producing all of the wonderful and inspiring stories for this hardy perennial of a program, Linda Lehmusvirta has decided it is time to retire. Wishing you a restful and happy retirement, Linda, and thank you for the inspiration, imagination, and ceaseless energy that you have brought to the local gardening scene. 💚
10 Bulb Favorites for Central Texas
by Amanda Moon
If you love flower bulbs, now is the time to plan and plant for the spring of 2026. Although we will never be able to create the rolling fields of hyacinths and tulips like the Dutch, there are still many wonderful bulbs that thrive in our mild winters and hot summers, and return bigger and better every year.
Many gardeners like to add them to their existing beds as seasonal spot color, since most of them bloom for just a short period and then enter dormancy until the following year.
The ten bulbs listed below are easy to care for. Generally, southern bulbs flourish in any well-drained soil. You can water them a little to help them bloom the best, but drought will usually not kill them.
Some just wait patiently until the first good rain and then shoot up a bloom stalk within days. After blooming, allow the leaves to die back naturally and leave them alone: they are storing up energy for next year.
1. Daffodils/Narcissus: Many of the hybrids, such as the pink
or double varieties, will return to bloom for a few years. The heir-looms – standard yellows and paperwhites – will blossom for many years with little assistance.
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2. Bearded Iris: Although a rhizome and not a true bulb, you
can’t get a better performer for central Texas gardens. They're mostly evergreen and I have yet to find one that doesn’t love our climate, whether the old-fashioned purple and whites or the fancier hybrids. Irises are highly fragrant when they bloom and are beautiful as cut flowers. Plant leaving half the rhizome exposed and with enough sun to ensure blooms.
3. Peruvian Daffodil, Spider Flower: These bulbs (above) grow into large stands of white flowers atop long, strapping foliage and can be striking accent plants as well as a small 'hedge' if happy enough. Their downfall (like many bulbs) is too much water, so make sure they are not planted in a low-lying area as some of our years are quite wet.
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4. Amaryllis: These traditional Christmas flowers are actually
warm season bulbs that are bought during the holidays to enjoy, but then can be planted outside in the spring. Amaryllis are traditionally forced (tricked into blooming outside of their natural bloom cycle) so that they flower in winter even though they normally bloom in the spring and summer in Texas. Pot them into a container and then transplant them to a morning sun bed in the spring. In addition, St Joseph's Lily is an even hardier, "pass-along" relative that is a striking red with white stripes.
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5. Spider Lilies: (aka Hurricane or Schoolhouse lilies) They
bloom after heavy rains in late summer or early fall and go dormant until the next summer. The foliage is an attractive green with a pale green central stripe. Lycoris is easy to grow and a great heirloom bulb.
6. Crinums: These lilies are an old plant that many of our grand-parents had in their gardens. The flowers are a starry bell shape and come in hues of pink and white and some are even striped. Crinums need a sunny spot to bloom and many can get quite large . . . so give them plenty of space!
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7. Muscari (grape hyacinth): These smaller plants make good
filler and bloom in the very early spring. I have some growing under the water faucet in the flowerbed for a beautiful punch of color every spring.
8. Lily of the Valley, Snowflake Leucojum aestivum: These
old-fashioned bulbs should be grown more. They are the first to bloom in the spring (late winter for us) and the white/green flowers last for some time. They can be grown in shade or sun and are very tolerant of a wide variety of soil types and moisture levels. Note: There is a larger-leaved bulbous plant also called Lily of the Valley that struggles here, so make sure the genus (Leucojum) is correct when buying.
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9. Oxblood Lilies Rhodophiala bifida: An heirloom flower
found in many old cemeteries and homesteads. The red flowers appear on naked stalks in September or October depending on rainfall. Although the flowers are fairly short lived they look stunning when you see them blooming under an oak tree en masse. Shade and neglect are not a problem for these hardy bulbs; in fact they thrive under these conditions.
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10. Species Tulips: Although hybrid (florist-type) tulips are short-lived here in Texas, we can do quite well with species tulips. They are more natural-looking and a little looser in form, but will bloom for many years in the right spot. I have mine mixed in with pots of spider lilies and amaryllis and they are quite happy. Happy gardening everyone! ❦
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