Keeping up with the Joneses, Eco-Style

by guest writer Veronica Armstrong

So, we live in Texas and come August it's hotter than a pile of red ants eatin' a habanero pepper. Most "pretty" species of plants die out by mid July, they just can't take that Southern sun. We plant accordingly. Choosing only native plants and ones that will come back every year without reseeding or replanting is right up my cheap-skate alley. Besides, I hate to see plants die, it makes my soul sad. Knowing they are just dormant and will return next year warms my heart right up.

Here is a list of not only beautiful plants but very hardy to dry environments: Echinacea purpurea (Purple cone flower)- also good to make tea from the seeds, Callirhoe involucuata (wine cups), Lantana, Oenothera Speciosa (pink primrose), Verbena, Salvia Farinacea (Mealy Blue Sage). All of these return year after year and with a vengeance.

We also save coins by using rain barrels to water all of these flowery spectacles. The rain barrels are placed under our rain gutters and catch those rare and precious drops of water all year round. I even use that water to water all my indoor plants.

We feed our flowers some good vitamins every 6 months out of our compost. I was a bit hesitant gettin' a compost because I thought it would smell to high-heaven (enraging the neighbors to call "the association" on me for being one of them-thar hippy-folk) but it only smells like dirt. I say a healthy "howdy" to all my wormy-grubby friends in the compost when I throw in egg shells and bits of plant/veggie scraps. Then I give 'em a ride in the giant spin machine, bringing all the good stuff to the top.

It's amazing how little garbage we produce now. With recycling paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, cans, and throwing all our scraps in the compost, we only make one bag of garbage a week between the four of us. Nice! Take care erbody, happy gardening and y'all come back now, ya hear!