Happy Friday GPODers!
We’re wrapping up our week of diverse garden spaces with Lisa Adam in Texas. Lisa lives very close to the southernmost point of Texas, and shared photos of her garden in Weslaco last fall (Check out that post here: Lisa’s Wildlife Haven Near the Southernmost Point of Texas), but today she’s sharing a recent visit to a really cool ecotourism center that highlights and educates on the the ecosystems native to this unique region.
My name is Lisa Adam and I live in Weslaco, Texas. (I previously submitted photos from my retirement cottage.) Today, I’m taking readers to the South Texas Ecotourism Center (STEC). Located in Laguna Vista, Texas, STEC is on route to the popular beach destination, South Padre Island. STEC promotes exploration of the region’s nature through gardens, interpretive exhibits and sculpture, bird blinds, and a boardwalk overlook. Today I’ll focus on some of its iconic plants. It’s zone 10 in this region, so excuse the cloudy skies, which we appreciate as a relief from the sun.
The low-slung STEC building is a modern take on the traditional dog-trot, with an open passageway between two wings. In front of the building is a modernistic garden featuring deep rows of massed plants, mostly native. Visible in the photo are rows of yellow-blooming retama tree (Parkinsonia aculeata, Zones 8–11), century plant (Agave americana, Zones 8–10), non-native blue plumbago (Plumbago auriculata, Zones 9–11), triangle cactus (Acanthocereus tetragonus, Zones 9–11), and non-native aloe vera.
Another view of the retama and century plants.
Deep rows of tough native grasses line the heat-radiating road frontage. Here, a delicate Texas vervain (Verbena halei, Zones 7–10) stands out against the grass.
Past the open passage of the building, visitors walk through multiple garden areas that model several different ecosystems of the region: thorn forest, savanna, and coastal prairie. Beyond those is a boardwalk that looks out over Bahia Grande, Texas’ largest wetland restoration project and part of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.
Cacti feature prominently at STEC since they grow in nearly every eco-region in South Texas.
Tasajillo (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, Zones 9–11) is a shrub-like cactus. It’s also called Christmas cholla or Christmas cactus, because the red fruit sometimes persist until the holiday season if they are not all eaten by birds.
Texas prickly pear cacti (Opuntia lindheimeri, Zones 8–11) usually bloom in yellow, but occasionally in orange or red. Their wide-open blossoms give easy access to nectar and pollen for native bees.
Coral bean (Erythrina herbacea, Zones 8–11) is a tall shrub, not a cactus, but it is also thorny, as well as poisonous! But its fantastic blooms make it a hummingbird magnet and a desirable ornamental in the area.
These nubby buds on the tepeguaje, or lead tree (Leucaena pulverulenta, Zones 8–11), will turn into creamy-yellow puffballs in a few days. Locally, tepeguaje is considered a good “nurse tree.” The trees grows fast, and their intricately compounded leaves provide much-needed shade for younger or smaller plants below them.
I believe the grass in this photo is Gulf cordgrass (Sporobolus spartinae, Zones 8–11). The neatly bermed edge makes clear this is a cultivated space. Behind the grass are honey mesquite trees (Prosopis glandulosa, Zones 7–11) and Spanish dagger (Yucca treculeana, Zones 7–10).
An artificial peninsula by a pond mimics the area’s lomas, which are ancient clay dunes covered with grass and scrubland. At far left in the photo, you can glimpse the coastal wetlands of Bahia Grande in the distance. Their restoration has reduced dust-caused asthma in the region, boosted the region’s fishing and shrimping industry, and provided much needed habitat for endangered species.
Thank you so much for sharing this incredible plant destination with us, Lisa! I can’t think of a better place to give us an insight into the incredible plant palette of your region, and your selection of highlights was a delight.
Have you visited any public gardens this season? Last week I made a trip to New York Botanic Garden that I will be sharing highlights from in the coming weeks, but I would love to see where you’ve enjoyed some special spring displays. Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
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