- Bringing lasting green to your Texas landscape doesn't require that you install a thirsty lawn. With the addition of some Texas evergreens, your space can remain green all year. These evergreens are a refreshing sight when the Lone Star State's summer heat has the rest of your garden reeling or when your deciduous shrubs and trees are wearing their skeletal winter look. Many Texas evergreens have fragrant, colorful spring or summer flowers and bright, wildlife-attracting berries.
- An early springtime showstopper, Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora) works as a small tree or shrub. Normally growing to be between 10 and 15 feet high, it has dense branches of compound, glossy dark green leaves. Between February and March, fragrance from its heavy clusters of lavender-blue, pea-like flowers fill the air. Their scent is reminiscent of grape flavoring. Brown seedpods follow the flowers. Their bright red seeds, while attractive, contain a nicotine-related, highly toxic substance. Texas mountain laurel handles drought and heat without flinching. It grows in a a wide range of well-drained soils, but performs best in alkaline (soil pH above 7.2) locations. It likes full sun to partial shade, notes the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
- A low, mounding evergreen shrub of the aster family, damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana) forms fragrant mounds of dense, deep green foliage. Microscopic scent glands cover the needle-like leaves' undersides. The 1- to 2-foot plants' branches produce single, bright yellow flowers, according to the Texas A&M Native Plants Database website. The daisy-like blooms appear from April until September. Drought-tolerant damianita is a good choice for slope erosion control. It loves full sun, thrives in infertile soil and tolerates winter temperatures as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Another drought-tolerant shrub, evergreen agarita (Berberis trifoliolata) has spined, holly-like foliage. Fragrant, yellow early spring flowers and bright red, edible summer berries complement the grayish-green leaves. The berries, favorites of birds and wildlife, also make tasty jelly or wine. Like damianita, agarita is at home in full sun and poor, alkaline rocky soils but will adapt to most well-drained locations. Its dense habit and spiny leaves make the plant useful as a barrier hedge. Standing up to 6 feet high and wide, it's hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Creeping barberry (Mahonia repens) thrives in the shaded canyons and coniferous forests of the Trans-Pecos Guadalupe Mountains. Seldom exceeding 10 inches in height, it lacks the heat and drought resistance of many Texas evergreens. Where it does perform, however, creeping barberry makes a striking ground cover. It has succeeded in some Dallas landscapes, according to the Texas A&M Native Plant Database website.
Creeping barberry has glossy, holly-shaped leaves in soft shades of red and green. Its yellow spring flowers give way to purple summer berries. Away from its natural mountain habitat, creeping barberry needs a partially sunny to shady location with compost-amended, alkaline soil and additional water. It handles sub-zero temperatures with ease.
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