Bye Bye Butterfly Bush…and HELLO….
This plant, Lo & Behold® ‘Purple Haze’ – Butterfly Bush, drove me nuts. I found this dwarf variety to be leggy and so I pruned it…then it did this. I thought I would give it a whirl in my purple front garden, but as far as I am concerned, I let it hold this place way longer than it deserved. Had I planted it en masse or in a border maybe I would feel differently. It was too boring…and just not doing anything for me in this location anyway – perhaps I should have relocated it, but I was beyond over this plant. You should LOVE your plants in your garden….so…bye bye butterfly bush.
And hello…
Yucca Rigida!
I love this blue yucca. It will give the structure that I wanted for this bed, and ultimately the height I was looking for. Eventually this moderate grower will climb to 12 ft tall, and as it does, it will be visible on the other side of the wall as well, which was my goal. The other aspect I love is that it is SHARP so good luck hopping the wall if you are an intruder. Any deterrent is always a good idea to implement. I do try and be proactive in my plantings and keep those things in mind. Proactive plantings – gotta love pretty AND functional.
At Rigida’s feet I have planted a living mulch of blue spruce sedum and foxtail ferns. Excuse the opuntia – I am “holding” them here until I decide where I want them.
This little bed has been changed a few times now, hopefully I got it right this time! Cheers to planting what you LOVE and not settling. If you don’t love it, change it.
- Posted in: Before and After ♦ Front Garden - year 1
- Tagged: texas organic garden, texas xeric garden, texas xeriscape, xeric, xericstyle, xeriscape, yucca, yucca rigida
Xericstyle 
That is an epic switch of plants! you are so right about the structure and height of the yucca rigida. I’m soo happy for you! rigida is one of my favourite yuccas! Mine is still in recovery mode from being drowned last winter in the nursery pot… but I’m hoping it stages a quick recovery.
Hey, thanks so much Louis! And TOO FUNNY…I totally rescued mine from the EXACT same fate. Rigida is doing much better in her new spot and has a little new growth (yay). The old foliage is looking dicey – we shall see. She has lots of drainage here and appears to like it. – xericstyle
That will look much better against the wall. Butterfly bush doesn’t seem to like our heat and soil so I don’t plant them anymore either.
Thanks Shirley! I am really happy with the change. – xericstyle
I’m with you, don’t keep plants that you don’t like or don’t work well for you. your garden is looking amazing. Christina
Thanks so much Christina – your garden is looking great as always :) -xericstyle
Agreed – to the compost pile or neighbor with non-performing plants. The Yucca rigida is a nice choice, and here in Abq, they get trunks in 3-4 years at most, and aren’t too slow.
(but did you give that Y. rigida enough room from the wall, Ms. Xstyle??)
Thanks David….and probably not …EEK! I was hoping that it would be a wee bit cramped but not reach its full diameter until it got 4 plus feet high …the wall is 4’ish feet. What do you think? -xericstyle
P.S. It does look closer in the picture than it actually is. I think I have approx. 2 feet…
2 feet is barely OK, but 3-4′ on-center from the wall is better. That way it’s not crowded, though the ones I see getting more than one head (many) do so over 5′ tall. That wall looks taller than 4′, the photo makes it look almost 6’…4′ allows you to keep it closer.
Gonna get the tape measure ;) – hey, what is moving a plant one more time to get it right, eh?! I appreciate it David! :) – xericstyle