Mid-May garden update| backyard pollinator garden| Texas Gulf Coast Zone 9b

Our backyard gardens are growing so beautifully and changing daily. This video is a mid-month update because so much is going on at the moment. Join me as I showcase the following plants and blooms:
- Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower)
- Stoke's Aster
- Flame Acanthus
- Incense Passion Vine
- Raspberry Buzz Hot Butterfly Bush
- Little Joe Pye Weed
- Bloomify Lantana series (rose and red)
- Cassia Alata (Candlestick tree)
- Caladiums
- White-veined Dutchman's Pipevine
- Pink pentas
- Turk's Cap
- Coral Honeysuckle
Thanks to ‪@TheImpatientGardener‬ and her video working with her giant clematis when speaking about removing the bottom of a container: • The plant that nearly ... . We finally did it and I'm excited to see what our results will be.

[@GrandmaSandy]

Thanks so much for sharing another big beautiful garden tour my dear friend hugs and kiss kisses and grandma Sandy and Debbie always love a good garden tour

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

That is so nice of you! Thank you so much for your comment! 😊

[@kareninhtownmitchell9191]

Your garden looks great…I am so very thankful we didn’t lose any trees during Thursday’s crazy storm. I felt sure that wind was going to claim at least one of ours! Now, we battle the mosquitoes!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Oh boy, I'm thankful you didn't lose any trees either! Trees are always a worry in wind. We just had our 60 ft. front yard tree trimmed this spring. Mosquitos and fire ants are rampant down here at the moment.

[@boostjunkieMike]

Caladdium's look great btw👌🏾👍🏾👍🏾❤️

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Oh, thank you! I have gone from a gardener that would pass them up to now a gardener that seeks them out! 😄

[@meganramsey2228]

I've grown cassia candlestick in containers and in ground. For me, the in ground got huge and did better. I wish it would survive our winters (North Central TX), but I still love them! Save the seeds, they are easy to start from seed!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Oh boy, this is so good to know - thank you so much for your comment!!! 😊 Do you notice more yellow butterflies in your yard because of having this plant? (All the sulfur butterflies).

[@anab.5839]

I’m in central Florida, and my passion vine just started blooming as well. Your garden is beautiful 😊

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you for your comment! I don't know why I get excited when my passion vine grows quickly and flowers. I know it is doing what it is supposed to do, but it still is so much fun. Maybe it is because I find the flowers so unlike other flowers. 😄 What kinds of passion vine do you grow in central Florida?

[@HoustonKeith72]

Lovely video as always! Inspiring plant choices!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you for your comment - I appreciate your thoughts! 😊

[@elsahickman3379]

Thanks for sharing, I love your garden!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thanks for watching! I appreciate your comment. 😊

[@jennifergreene8891]

Everything looks beautiful neighbor

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! 😊 Did the recent storm cause any damage for you?

[@jennifergreene8891]

Thankfully no. I am in Lake Jackson so we just got a good soaking rain. Thank you for asking 😊

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Glad you were spared damage. The soaking rain was welcome here too. 😊

[@leon22081994]

I have seen Cassia alata both in pots and in ground, and the ones in the ground do the best here. But I'm in the tropics, so maybe it'd be best to grow yours in a pot if you want to protect it in winter. Bonus fun fact: locals use the leaves as a salve for various skin rashes

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you for your comment! That is interesting about the leaves. 😊

[@boostjunkieMike]

I love the progress, I too am starting a pollinator/bird garden. I have seeds to sow, but also want to plant elephant ears and Canna's. But not sure if I should because it seems like the seeds will over take every thing once they fully grow in. Thanks for sharing, love the channel 👌🏾😎👍🏾👍🏾🙏🏾🤲🏾🙌🏾❤️

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you for your kind words ... and I am very excited for you in that you are starting a pollinator / bird garden! You truly won't be disappointed. The cannas and elephant ears will definitely grow well and get large. I have cannas in my backyard for the first time this year and am anxiously waiting for the first blooms!

[@joydeeproy1580]

i have started mound style planting for areas where drainage is issue in winter and spring. I will find out results next year.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Be sure to let me know what the results are! 😊

[@meganramsey2228]

I've never seen sulfur caterpillars on it, yet. I do have sulfers in the garden, though.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Same with me. I have heard their caterpillars can be difficult to find. I don't look for them a lot though, but maybe I will start with this "new to me" cassia. 😄

[@tammiedunbar6166]

I'm a month behind you my garden is just starting to break dormancy. I found my first porter weed yesterday also. I'm going to start planting a lot of containers. I'm looking for pipevine. I have a paw paw tree&a spice bush as host plants. The crocosmia bulbs once established returns annually the hummingbirds love it. I sincerely enjoy your videos.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Oh, a Paw Paw tree and spice bush are wonderful host plants! 😄👍 How large do your crocosmia plants get? I think their bloom stalks are so interesting and I can see why the hummingbirds love that flower.

[@tammiedunbar6166]

Once the crocosmia bulbs grow larger in size the plant strappy long leaves also increase in size. I see the hummingbirds visiting frequently for nectar. Should I transplant my Porter Weed into a ceramic glazed pot. In order to try and save it overwinter in my growing zone because my zone 8a or 8b can drop down to hard freezes. And I want to try and preserve the plant for next year. I returned to the local nursery and purchased another Porter Weed this morning. My black&blue salvia has starting blooming yesterday. Do you ever see the zebra long wing butterfly in your garden?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Porterweed will not survive your freezes, so you absolutely can overwinter them in containers. I have mine in large containers. You also can take cuttings this summer and then overwinter smaller plants if your current plants are too large. I just love salvia, and I know your black & blue salvia is beautiful. Unfortunately I haven't had a zebra longwing yet ... but I am hopeful. 😁 I think the closer to Florida, the better chance of having them.

[@jillbruce3624]

Love the pink butterfly bush and the purple passion vine. Mine always looks so ragged as it hosts the gulf frittilary and the zebra long wing butterflies.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! 😊 You know, my passion vine looked ragged too (as I have LOTS of Gulf Fritillaries). But I planted quite a few passion vines all to grow on my trellises. Once I did that I don't see them looking poorly anymore. And one time we counted over 100 caterpillars. The density of vine has made a difference for our garden. (I did that a couple of years ago). I don't know if that would work in your location, but it sure has worked for us.

[@jillbruce3624]

@@ButterfliesNBirds Thanks, I wondered about that and may give it a try. Appreciate your advice.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

You bet! 😊

[@JosTXGarden]

Ooooh that Tithonia is huge!! And your caladiums are crazy! Aren’t pipevine swallowtails just gorgeous? And they have the CUTEST caterpillars! I love the mounding lantana! I’m sooo allergic to lantana, so I have to live vicariously through you! 🤣 I hope your fingers start healing quicker! I know how frustrating it is to have to work around an injury! Ugh! Oh, I love the bottomless pot thing! I have one out in the garden, but it’s only because I trash-picked a huge terracotta pot, and only realized it was missing 2/3 of the bottom AFTER I dragged it home! LOL. Is it Bunny Guinness who you’ve seen do the bottomless containers? I love how she uses them! Especially trees! I can’t wait to see how it goes for you!! Thank you for the beautiful tour!!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you so much for your comment! The bones in my fingers have healed, but I cannot grip well and the recovery is frustratingly slow. I have been going to physical therapy and it is helping, just not as quickly as I would like! 😂 And thank you for the bottomless pot info! So far so good with the Coral Honeysuckle vine I planted in it. We are a little nervous to try cutting the bottoms out of my ceramic pots because they are more brittle. So we haven't tried that yet.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Yes, it was Bunny Guiness! We watched her video and knew we wanted to try the bottomless containers. I have an area that doesn't drain well and with the clay soil I have had a few plants die in this area. That is why I started using large containers. But they have their own problems. The bottomless containers are just brilliant and solve a lot of issues for me! 😊

[@kelsyh3669]

Your garden is so beautiful. I'm just starting mine and getting so much inspiration! Is there anything you do to control for wasps?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! 😊 I'm so excited for you to be starting your garden. It is so much fun watching everything you plant grow, and then see what visits your garden. Your question is a good one. Even though wasps are important pollinators, I'm not a fan. If I see them trying to build a nest, I will tear the nest down. But there are so many wasps in my neighbor's yards that they easily fly over to my yard to visit.. I don't do anything to kill them and I don't have a deterrent unfortunately. They love my yard with all the caterpillars to feed their larvae.

[@marleneegan-hm7lr]

Did you get the mounding lantana at enchanted gardens?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

LOL ... you guessed correctly! 😄 I did see that the online nursery "Almost Eden" in Louisiana also has the Bloomify series in stock. Lantana is such a reliable performer for all of us in the greater Houston area, but most of the lantana growth "habits" are not mounding rather they are sprawling. This series has been so reliable for me here. Mounding, sterile, blooms until a freeze, and returns in the spring. Last year I purchased 3 different "Luscious" series lantana from Proven Winners and none of them made it.

[@davettayoung1495]

Beautiful as always Crystal 🩷🪴 Have you been seeing hummingbirds? I’ve had a few visits, but not like last year around this time. Someone told me, it’s because there are still plenty of flowers around. What do you think?

[@Pierceb2]

Have you tried Verbina Bonariensis? So many varieties of Swallowtails and many other varieties of butterflies visit it in my Northern Garden but it is a South American plant.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thanks, Renae! 😊 The hummingbirds have moved on from my yard, and I now only see my regular ruby-throated females right now.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I have not tried Verbena Bonariensis yet, but I do know it is a cottage garden favorite! The Swallowtails in my yard really like the Superbena I have (like a mounding groundcover verbena). How large does your Verbena Bonariensis get for you?