08/29/2026
We love how this simple yet elegant South Texas landscape turned out. 🌿
The Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) can brighten anyone’s day with its fiery ombré blooms of red, orange and yellow. Although it isn’t native to South Texas, it sure acts like it should be! It absolutely thrives in our 100°+ heat, loves the sun and gives us months and months of incredible color.
Pride of Barbados is native to tropical America and the Caribbean—not specifically the island of Barbados, despite its name. And one of my favorite things about this plant is that it really doesn’t need much help from humans. It produces seed pods and very happily drops its own seeds, resulting in lots and LOTS of little volunteer seedlings.
That is a blessing when you want more—or want to share them with friends—and a little bit of a curse when you don’t. 😂 Those babies still need to be pulled or relocated to adhere to the original landscape design and keep everything looking intentional and healthy.
The striking blue-gray plant mixed in is the infamous American Agave (Agave americana), another xeriscape superstar that appreciates minimal interference from humans.
And here’s the fascinating part about agaves: they spend years storing up energy for one spectacular bloom. Eventually, they send an enormous flower stalk into the sky, bloom ONE time…and then the mother plant dies. But before she goes, she has already started the next generation, leaving behind her babies—appropriately called “pups.”
Beautiful plants. Minimal water. Minimal fuss.
South Texas landscaping at its finest. 🌵☀️
