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Little Miss loves native plants

Many of our native plants have their own special quirks. Meet some of our favorite fill-in-the-blank floras.

There’s a recent social media trend that uses the covers of a children’s book series to draw attention to distinctive (or not-so distinctive) personality traits.

Since many of our native plants have their own special quirks, I thought it’d be fun to jump on the Little Miss bandwagon to feature some of our favorites.

Little Miss Insta Influencer – Bluebonnet

Officially named the Texas state flower, she’s given herself license to be the center of attention. Every moment with her is a photo op and her social media is very carefully curated to exhibit an enchanting life. Behind the scenes she’s a bit high maintenance and requires specific sandy soils to grow. You won’t be able to tell that from her photos online, though.

Texas bluebonnet flowers.

Little Miss Uses Pink as a Personality Trait – Texas redbud

She thinks she’s that girl. And to some degree, she’s right. When you see your first redbud in bloom you have to stop for a few moments to figure out if it’s fake or if that tree is actually cloaked in pretty pink blooms. She’s especially extra since she blooms in the tails of winter when everything else is dreary and gray.

Mexican redbud flowers.

Little Miss PSL – Fall aster

She’ll arrive to all fall events in her knee-high leather booties, skinny jeans, light knit sweater, and plaid infinity scarf — clutching a venti pumpkin spice latte. Our PSL girlie is identifiable, consistent, and social, bringing bright fall colors every year without fail.

Little Miss Drinks Black Coffee – Horseherb

She shows up, does her job, does it well, and then calls it a day. Horseherb is a proper girl boss, hold the pyramid scheme. Well-dressed but not flashy and very dependable, showing up in fall and spring as a blanket of lush green leaves and small yellow flowers. Many people don’t notice her working long days as a pollinator, so you’ll have to look carefully to really appreciate the work she does.

Little Miss Overshare – Crossvine

We all have that one friend who just babbles everything that surfaces in their mind, sometimes filtered for situation but usually not. If that friend were a plant, she would be crossvine. She’ll spread all over your yard and grow wherever she wants. You may even have to tell her to be quiet to keep her at bay.

Little Miss Doesn’t Answer Texts – Morning glory

We all have that friend who is impossible to reach. You see her here and there, but good luck getting her to answer calls, texts, emails, or any other form of communication. She isn’t rude, rather a beautiful and ephemeral dreamer with her head in the clouds. You’ll spot her sporadically doing her thing but capturing her is a whole other battle.

Morning glory flowers and leaves.

Picture of Sarah Gorton
Sarah Gorton
Sarah Gorton is a former Planner with the SAWS Conservation department. She is passionate about bats and native plants, with a particular fondness for horseherb! Sarah has completed certifications through Texas Master Naturalist and Native Plant Society. When she wasn't working on her research on the use of native grasses for uptaking pollutants at UTSA, she could be found making stained glass or hanging out with her two Chihuahuas.
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