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A.  There are many great specimens available that are wonderful in small yards. It’s much preferable to suit the tree to the site, rather than planting one that will outgrow the area in a few years.

An excellent choice is Lacey oak, with gray green foliage and height to about 30 feet. For spring color, consider the anacacho orchid, or Bauhinia. It’s a multi-trunked ornamental to about 10 feet, with pinkish-white blooms. Good redbud choices include the Texas redbud and Mexican redbud. For flowering in summer, look at tough, waterwise desert willow. Its airy form won’t shade out the garden or lawn, and its pink to purple flowers attract hummingbirds.

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Firecracker Plant or Cigar Flower (Cuphea ignea)

Need a plant that will blaze right through a Texas summer like a Fourth of July firecracker? Cuphea ignea goes by the common name Firecracker Plant or Cigar Flower. Its fiery bright reddish orange 1" tubular blooms are a magnet for hummingbirds and several types of butterflies. Give this Cuphea lots of sun and moderate soil moisture for best results. When the first freeze burns the foliage back, cut the plants down to a couple of inches high and mulch it well to protect the base and roots over the winter season. The cultivar 'David Verity' is preferred by many gardeners for its dense habit and prolific blooms on 2-3 foot plants. A close cousin, Tall Cigar Plant or Candy Corn Plant (Cuphea micropetala), sports larger 2 inch orange and yellow blooms on 3-4 foot plants in late summer to fall. It is equally attractive to hummingbirds.

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• With the rains and warm weather, the weeds are growing like gangbusters! Don’t let them get away from you or you’ll end up with a bigger problem later.
• Nutgrass is setting tubers that will overwinter and come back next year. Dig deep and get the entire tuber.
• Take advantage of the moist soil to hand pull the weeds—work in small sections to make the task less tiresome. For stray pecans and hackberries, Trisha Shirey pulls them up with pliers! Works great.
• Keep that lawn mower set high! Mowing too low or actually scalping invites weed problems and stresses the lawn as we move into August.
• Most of us don’t need to water the grass anytime soon. When we do turn on the sprinklers, remember to water deeply and infrequently to encourage a deep root system and fewer fungal problems.

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