Fiesta may only come once a year, but you can enjoy the bold, beautiful colors of the festive event year-round right in your own landscape!
For those of us who’ve been in San Antonio long enough to enjoy at least one Fiesta, we know it means bright and colorful piñatas, dresses, decorations and food. It also means hot weather is just around the corner.
One of my favorites for bright colors is the Pride of Barbados. The small green leaves with vibrant red, orange and yellow flowers are sure to brighten any landscape. I have three of these scattered in my landscape to brighten otherwise dull areas. An added bonus: butterflies and hummingbirds love them!
Another of my favorites is the Earthkind rose. The one I’ve chosen for my landscape is the Knockout rose. It’s a prolific bloomer — even in winter — and disease-free. You can choose from shades of pink to shades of red. They love the hot weather and are evergreen to boot!
For shady areas, the plant of choice for me is Turk’s cap. It comes in red and pink varieties and is a hummingbird favorite, as well as an easy-growing native addition to the landscape. Both tough and drought-tolerant, it blooms continuously in warm weather.
Plumbago is another selection sure to please. Butterflies love the delicate blue flowers that plumbago produces and I like them, too, because they add a different color palette to the landscape. Heat-tolerance is the name of the game with this one as well. It might drop leaves during extreme freezes.
Remember the vibrant colors you see downtown during Fiesta and how you can incorporate some of them into your own landscape to enjoy year-round.
