Texas landscape sharp contrast to Northwest

I was born on the West Side of the state and grew up playing in the forests and on Puget Sound around Shelton. We found our way to the dry side of the state in 1976 following a job. So it’s safe to say I am a dyed-in-the-wool Northwesterner. The moss on my back and webs between my toes merely rehydrate in the rain.

However, I am now learning about the weather, topography and plants of another place in this great country – central Texas. The reason is simple: If I expect to help my daughter and son-in-law learn to garden long distance, I am going to have learn about humidity, heat, fire ants and plants I’ve never heard of. The kids moved to Round Rock, Texas, just north of Austin in June 2013 and quickly became homeowners. Their landscape has one tree, one crepe myrtle bush, a bed of perennials and a buffalo grass lawn. They built a vegetable garden box late last spring and promptly learned you don’t grow much in the heat of June through August.

Their first challenge after buying the house – which had been empty for two years – was to get rid of the fire ants that had taken up residence in the yard and were moving into the house. I was no help in that department. After trying to deal with them “organically” and failing, my daughter resorted to the heavy-duty stuff and they can now work in the yard with only minimal problems.

In June we made a quick trip down and started making the rounds of the nurseries to find a crepe myrtle, a large shrub with billows of pink, red and white flowers. I quickly learned there are a number of cultivars that grow in several sizes making them fairly versatile. As to how to prune, fertilize and deal with bugs, I’ll have to leave my daughter in the hands of the Williamson County Master Gardeners.

It was hard to resist diving in and planning new beds for their yard. But I behaved myself and put my hands in my pockets. I have to remember that not only do I not know what I’m doing in Texas, but the gardening styles of 20- to 30-somethings are completely different from mine.

Their lawn was a little hard to get used to. In the Northwest, our lawns go brown in the summer from lack of water. Down there, buffalo grass doesn’t turn green until it warms up in the spring and goes brown with the first frost. Granted it is drought tolerant and doesn’t grow very tall but it was a bit of a surprise when we were there for Thanksgiving.

Lastly, the hardest thing I will have to get used to is that it’s flat by Northwest standards. It was hard to tell north from south or east from west when the sun wasn’t out. Good thing they took us into the Texas Hill Country west of Austin.