~ Gulf Coast Plants ~

Living close to the Gulf Coast can minimize the kind of plants and trees that you can grow in your yard.  Here are a few that are perfect for this environment.


Let's start with the trees.  These are a few that I picked for my yard.
(These are all random images from the web).

The Crepe Myrtle

They bloom in the summer with colorful and long-lasting flowers.  They have attractive bark and brilliant fall color.  They come in lots of colors. A year-round garden performer.

Crepe Myrtle in the Summer

Crepe Myrtle in the Fall

 

The Chinese Fringe Tree

The Chinese Fringe tree has clouds of soft white and fragrant flowers that hang from the branches in late spring and early summer. A common name here in the South is old man’s beard.

Forest Pansy Redbud

When you see the Redbud blooming, you know that Spring is here. It usually is the one of the first trees to bloom. This is a beautiful landscape tree valued for its brilliant scarlet-purple color to new foliage, maturing to maroon. Rosy-pink flowers on bare branches bridge the gap between winter and spring! Deciduous. I planted one this year and can't wait to see it bloom in the spring.

 This image shows how the redbud blooms. Beautiful.

October Glory Red Maple

The October Glory is a native red maple and has outstanding fall color. It is more heat-tolerant than other maples so it does well in this area.  It grows rather quickly, reaching 50-60 feet tall.  The red color is phenomenal.  I planted one of these in my yard as a shade tree and for beautiful fall color.

Now the plants.

The Camellia

The South is the heart of camellia country.

More than 3,000 named kinds of camellias exist, in a remarkable range of colors, forms, and sizes. They are so beautiful and are my favorite flower.

 

 

The Azaleas

The South's favorite shrubs.  You'll find them in almost all neighborhoods.  

Azaleas and Camellias enjoy the partial shade and acid based soil culture.

 

The Grasses

Gulf Muhly (or Pink Muhly) Grass. 

Love this stuff.  It is green all summer and then in the fall, magnificent!!!

It’s easy to grow and when sunlight ignites its plumes, it is dazzling with cotton candy like plumes.

Pink Muhly Grass is one of the most popular ornamental grasses. 

That's it for now, more to come.