Hi and welcome mtbiker

Your requirements are not confusing at all. In fact, it's pretty much what we discuss here. Basically, peonies and rhodies won't work this far south. Your soil may be too alkaline also. I'm in San Antonio, so don't know for sure. There are several members in your area who may weigh in on that.

I have attached plantmaven's photos, she is in San Antonio. Her beautiful garden will give you an idea of what you can grow here.

The database at the wildflower center in Austin is a great search tool.

Some of my favorites that are easy to grow in this climate, (though not all native)

Esperanza
Lantana
Plumbago
Salvias
Ornamental grasses
Ruellia

Here is a link that might be useful: Plantmaven's garden

Welcome to the area, MtBiker! GrowGreen.org is an invaluable resource for finding out about gardening in our area. They have a list of native and well adapted plants posted on their website (downloadable and searchable) as well as published in a free booklet available at a lot of local nurseries. I highly recommend you pick up a copy as it's chock full of the information you need to pick the right plant for the right spot. The list/book gives water needs, height and width info, deer resistance, whether it's native and what part of the state it's native to, and much more. If you find a lot of things you like in there but have trouble finding them at nurseries closer to you, come to the Natural Gardener, an organic nursery on the western edge of Austin. They carry just about every single plant in the Grow Green guide and have most of them growing in demonstration beds throughout the nursery so you can see them in person.

I second rock_oak_deer regarding salvias. Mexican feathergrass is a gorgeous small grass that is golden all summer. Plumbago & lantana are great, but can get pretty big. Dwarf Katie Ruellia is a nice filler that stays low and blooms all summer. (The full-size Ruellia is very invasive, so if you try that make sure you've got the right kind.)

Lavenders are wonderful but only if you have full sun & excellent drainage. They form perfectly round globes that make a nice contrast to sprawling type perennials.

Rosemary is also excellent in this climate, the prostrate type is good draped over a wall. Russian sage is another possibility if your soil drains well.

A couple of nice spring blooming re-seeders are poppies & larkspur. Seed of both these should be sown in the fall.

Happy gardening!

Hi mtbiker, I live in Bastrop county and I cannot grow rhodies but thery are in Bastrop and Lee county, which is real close, so it could just be the color of my thumb

I don't know anyone around that grow peonies but if you want them, try them anyway, maybe just one or two to see how they do

Esperanza, Salvias are great suggestions, they bloom from late winter to the first frost if we get one
Plumbago blooms continuously, flame acanthus bloomed all season this year, gaura, bulbine
I'm sure there is more, send me an email and tell me where you live and when it cools down, we can get together and you can have lots of babies in my gardens, okay?
jolana

Thank you everyone for all the your help. I need lots of it, ask my husband :)

I live in Bastrop amongst pine trees. I am so open to any ideas, I am truly a brown thumb, I somehow killed two Latanas (some type of bug/disease got into them in the original front bed).

I went to HD today to get some ideas of plants and they advised me on the following (full sun)...Chinese Fringe Flower, Gardenias, Nandenas, Mock Orange, Mexican Heather, Pintas, Vincas (excuse the spellings), and some bulbs that will be coming in the following weeks. She suggested I put some evergreen type planting in the back to hide the foundation and border type plants in the lower bed. Since smaller beds no huge plants or ones to cover much of the bedroom window (apprx 2' from ground).

In my picture where the rock pile is, I plan on making a 3 level planter fountain, she also suggested to make a small 2 foot 'L' shaped treilles for the corner to give it some pop (Jasmine).

Here is a link that might be useful: Front flower bed

Hi MtBiker, welcome to the Lost Pines of Texas. I so love this side of Bastrop as opposed to the west side.
Three suggestions before ever asking anyone from HD advice again.
Kimas Tejas Nursery east of Bastrop a couple of miles on Hwy 71, Bastrop Gardens west of Bastrop about 10 miles on Old Hwy 71 and the local County Extension Agent.
I have a couple copies of the book put out buy the Austin Grow Green program if you want to borrow one but even that may not totally help because it is for Austin and there are 4 or 5 different geographic regions there.
Send me an email and we can figure out a place to meet and I will lend you the book if you desire.
lkmbka@aol.com
Another suggestion: drive around your neighborhood and see what is growing, especially in this weather. If the lawn is green too they may have a HUGE water bill.
Also, the flower beds that the city put in at the intersection of 21/95 has the lantana and salvia combination mentioned earlier.
Mike

I like that flowerbed, MtBiker. The rockwork is nice. And don't feel bad about the lantanas ~ this drought is stressing everything out and leaving them susceptible to any kind of attack. On one of the backroads near me that winds through undeveloped land, there are large swaths of dead trees. It's horrible.

I wouldn't grow nandinas. They're not really drought tolerant. Same thing with the fringe flower in the sun ~ they can grow in it, but they'll need extra water. Mexican heather is not reliably hardy, so it might die out in a bad winter. And the pentas and vincas are annuals, so you'll need to replant that area next year. I wouldn't use them for large areas designated for them alone ~ instead, I'd use them to fill in empty spots between the perennials while those take their time to fill in.

Mike, the Grow Green guide isn't just for Austin. It's put out for Austin and surrounding areas by the Texas Agrilife Extension Service as well as the City of Austin.

Given your location, you're soils are something of an anomaly for central TX in that they're acidic rather than alkaline. Therefore, you an actually grow things like Camellias, Gardenias and Azaleas if you so choose.

Be forewarned, however, that despite having the right soils, they can still be high maintenance.

I recommend Mexican oregano ( polimintha longiflora) Great drought resistance, great longlasting color in a non watered bed, Salvia regla, salvia chiquita, salvia gregii, salvia farenacia augusta duelberg and S. Far. Henry Duelberg. Hell, ALL the maxican salvias. We will be having a Plant swap in Buda (IH35) come october. Come. We will fill up that bed in a hurry. You can state your wants and see if anyone has them.

Another book that is a real keeper is Sally Wasowski's Native Texas Plants; landscaping region by region. It's my bible. Another incredible nursery besides Natural gardener is Barton Springs Nursery in West Lake. Also Lady Bird Johnson will be doing their Biannual sale. They have a species list available on the site. Austin are has so much that is available.

Here is a link that might be useful: LBJ wildflower sale

Everyone has been so helpful. I have so much info to go on and research more about where it could fit and if it can based on the type of soil I have.

As I understand, it is going to somewhat harder to grpw things because of the acidic and clay based soils we have here. Like Mike said, it is not the norm for Austin or Texas for that matter.

Thank you for the offer on the swap, but I have nothing to swap. Well I somehow didn't kill my Asparagus fern which was in that same sun drenched bed, go figure (as I have been told).

I hope to have a game plan in the next few days and have a finished picture to provide.

Thank you ALL again.

You're sure welcome. :) And remember ~ don't feel bad if a few of your plants die. You're not stretching yourself as a gardener if you're not killing a few plants.

I think your soil may be a little more acidic than the other side of Bastrop. I live a little further east of you, right on the edge where the pines end.

Azaleas might do good in your area although they require a bit more water and I believe like acidic.

I'm assuming you've amended your beds though so they are a little more neutral.

I have Texas Sage, Lorapetulum (sp?), Rose Creek Abelia, Mexican Bush Sage, Esperanza, Red Siren Crape Myrtles, Plumbago, society garlic, and several other plants. Everything I plant is deer resistant as I don't feel like fighting them and so far so good.