Spring is here and I am ready to garden. I am also doing the #OneRoomChallenge as a guest and have picked my porch and back yard for the challenge

Organic Gardening

Let me start this post off by telling you about my love for organic gardening. I have practiced organic gardening for the last 30 years. There is, in my opinion, never a reason to use chemicals and manufactured pesticides. There is an organic solution for everything.

This was ingrained in me 22 years ago when my beautiful indoor/outdoor cat started getting sick and losing weight. I took him to the vet who insisted on giving him an IV with fluids to which she always added antibiotics (he got the fluids back but it did not help his stomach issues) Nobody could tell me what was wrong with him. I finally had him tested by a Naturopath who told me that he had been poisoned by yard chemicals. My neighbors had a chemical company come out every week and treat their yard. After he died I vowed never to have an outdoor cat again and for sure never to use chemicals ever. I never got another cat.

Plant things that are beneficial

My second philosophy is to never waste water. I don’t water my lawn – we only have one because we live in Stepford-On-Steroids where it is mandatory to have a lawn and be like your neighbor (we are not)

My favorite plants are plants that do not require a lot of water or is just so fabulous that I can water once a week. I also love plants that feed birds, bees and butterflies. I usually have a water fountain somewhere to feed critters.

My challenge

I signed up as a guest on the One Room Challenge starting on April 1st and have to have a fabulous result for the reveal! The challenge is for Designers to redo a room in their own homes. The challenge lasts for 6 weeks and the reveals are all done on the same day. I chose my back porch and a part of my yard. My yard is mostly in part shade or dappled sunlight because of the three big Live Oak trees in the yard. I am not a big lover of Live Oaks because even though they are evergreen they are messy. I need to also add that I will never be the one to take out a tree unless the roots are disturbing something or it just makes my house too dark.

Fortunately I learned a lot about fun shade loving plants when I redid the yard for a client in Galveston Texas a few years ago. I know everybody loves Azaleas (not me). They look OK when they are blooming in the spring but then there is blah for the rest of the year. I do love beautiful camellias but there are also so many other plants to consider. The other go-to plants are Ferns and Hostas but that is all too simple for me.

Here is the fave list:

Giant Ligularia

This plant loves shade/part shade. It is evergreen in our area and blooms in the fall. I love the large round leaves and fact that this plant stays green all year where I live. In colder climates it can grow as a perennial (meaning it dies back in the winter but comes back in the spring. It can stand some subzero temperatures so for me here in Texas it is a hardy plant. It will look wilted in full sun when it requires water.

Persian Shield

Persian shield only grows about 12 to 14 inches high. In warmers climates it is an evergreen and in other climates it is a perennial. This plant is also showing in the above top image of the Giant Ligularia

Barleria (Philippine Violet)

Barleria can grow up to 36 inches high in part sun/dappled shade. It has dark leaves and a beautiful purple or blue flower. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds love it.

Firespike (Red, Purple or Pink)

Firespike is a perennial which acts as an evergreen in mild climates. It blooms all year round. The flowers come in red or pink. In my experience it can grow up to 6 feet tall and the same in width.

These plants are loved by hummingbirds and butterflies alike. These plants can tolerate light freeze but.

Cardamom Scented Ginger (Alpinia Nutans)

I love Cardamom Scented Ginger for its wonderful fragrance. This is also one of the smaller ginger plants, yet its foliage makes a beautiful backdrop for any other flowering plants. The leaves are edible and when crushed they smell delicious! This plant is grown for its leaves and not for its root. This ginger can grown in full sun to part shade.

Well that’s all folks. I hope you enjoyed discovering some new plants!