September 18, 2025
As the sun slides low on a hot afternoon, I wander along my driveway through the strips of hell looking for bumblebees. I’m always happy to find these vague and bustling bees collecting pollen. And it’s always the purple skull that attracts it the most.
Purple Skull Cap (Scutellaria wrightii) is a perennial from Texas, with a low-growing, neatly mounded. Warming is impermeable, as sturdy as nails during summer, and not bothered by “watering” dogs passing by. That woody stem will break if someone step on it, so it’s not ideal where people come and go from the car. But otherwise it’s a great hell strip plant.
The bumblebee agrees.
I spent 10 minutes filming them a few days ago what was happy…
…I just watch them get into their business.
A few days later I found an less welcome insect in my purple skull. Shiny flea beetle found a patch of my purple skull and I am not happy about it. When you find plants that are harsh enough for Texas Summers (and winter), here’s where the pests that love them come, right? (I’m looking at you, Agave weevil.)
Still, my first response is… do nothing. See if garden predators (lizards, hornets, spiders, birds) can dent the population and control them. You will not spray pesticides on your skull as it will harm bumblebees and other creatures living in your garden. If the damage is bad, you can kill the beetle by knocking it into a bowl of soapy water. Or, that alone might make me decide naturally. I will continue to update you.
If you have experience with shiny flea beetles on purple skulls and other decorative plants, let us know in the comments.
In happy news, Oxblood Lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) has appeared for a week and a half. I adore these autumn harbingers.
They are burning in stock tank planters in circle gardens, contrary to the silver background of whale-toned agave and wool Stemodia.
The sweet promise of autumn
They only last a few weeks, but they always help me throughout the last week of a temp at nearly 100 degrees.
Dark Blue Plumbago auriculata also shrugged the heat and lack of rain. But the crepe myrtle above it abandons its leaves like autumn in New England. Too early.
The other night, walking by my neighbor’s house, I admired her big, beautiful yellow bells (Tecoma Stans).
Blooms at the level of the eye – Kapo!
Back in my own garden, I also pay attention to the beautiful green Linkscoo that has eaten away the bloom spikes of Marurain as a hunting ground. Its lifecycle ends with cool weather going forward, but it is fascinating to see such creatures in the garden habitats we make for them.
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Join the Garden Spark Talk at Gilnoony on October 9th
We are invited to our next Garden Spark event held in Austin on October 9th. Artist, gardener and author Jill Noony of Bedrock Gardens talks about her acclaimed New Hampshire Garden. I can’t wait to see her photos and be inspired by the magic of her gardening. You might think that New England gardens must teach us here in Texas. Like other gardens made of passion and creativity, it teaches us to try and experiment with failure, try to fail at risk, and please the resulting beauty, humor and life stories. Please come and participate!
You can find the ticket here. Garden Spark is open to the public and tickets must be purchased in advance.
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Dig deeper
My new book, Gardens in Texas: A vision of resilience from Lone Star State, is coming on October 14th! You can now pre-order on Amazon and other online book sellers. If you read it or want to give it as a holiday gift, consider pre-ordering. (I’m glad I signed a pre-order copy at my book event!) Early ordering makes a huge difference in helping new books get attention. For more information about Texas Gardens, click here – Thank you for your support.
Come and see me on the tour! I’m talking to a city in Texas to celebrate the release of Texas Gardens. The October talks include Planta Nativa in McAllen on 16th October. Austin’s natural gardener on 10/18. SFA State University Fall Factory Fair was held at Naco Doches on October 23rd. Houston Botanical Gardens on 10/25. Tomball Arbor Gate on 10/26. Join me, learn, inspire and touch on signed copies of books!
Tour 5 Austin Garden on Saturday, November 8th, on an open day tour of the Garden Conservancy in Travis County. Tickets must be purchased online in advance, and some gardens will restrict attendance, so book spots early. For more information, please click here.
Learn about gardening and design at Garden Sparks! I organize face-to-face talks in Austin several times a year, inspire designers, landscape architects, authors and gardeners to inspire and inspire designers, landscape architects. These are limited attendance events, so join the Garden Spark Meailas list for notifications when tickets are sold. Click this link to ask you to subscribe. Click here to see the lineup for Season 9!
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