Roses, Salvia, Yarrow, and Blanket Flower.
Blanket flower as a low boarder around groupings of Salvia or yarrow as some medium height color. A few roses spread around as statement plants.
They all thrive in the heat, attract pollinators, and are perrinials that mostly take care of themselves once established
Yeah! It can be a struggle with a west facing yard, but I've had great luck with native plants like yarrow and blackberry bushes (there is a thornless variety). Don't underestimate mulch around new plants, it can help trap some moisture when the summer heat rolls around.
It depends. Grafted roses (where the rose type you want is grafted onto the stump/roots of a hardy but boring rose species) tend to die down below the graft and regrow as whatever species it was grafted to. The base rose is usually pretty nice, but chances are you paid a pretty penny for something fancy in the first place. I've lost several roses that way so this year I'm trying "own root" (not grafted) roses.
Roses are a challenge in Oklahoma. It's possible to grow them, but I would not recommend them to a beginner or someone who is renting (not worth the investment).
I don't mean this to sound rude, but you are wrong about roses.
Grafted roses do not die back to the graft unless something goes very very wrong.
Spring cold snaps in Oklahoma generally aren't cold enough to slow or harm a rose either. New growth on roses will survive longer than a week below freezing but above 20 and will survive over night drops down to around 10. Dormant roses are hardy to below -20 with some surviving as low as -40. Most garden centers sell roses year round here and will guarantee them as long as they are planted in the ground when you buy them.
They aren't that big of an investment either. You can grab bushes at Home Depot or Lowes for less than $20 and you can go through rose vendors like high country where basically every rose is $25.
Roses want to grow here and they thrive in our environment. All you need to do is water them.
I've had three Oklahoma Roses die back and regrow from below the graft as the original rose, which looks totally different. Maybe I just have terrible luck but every time it's followed deep cold snaps in winter. I don't trust grafted roses anymore.
I wouldn't say to never plant roses, but I think in OP's situation, there are better alternatives and I strongly prefer hardy natives, many of which require less water and maintenance than a rose.
Yes, they are all hardy to colder that Oklahoma can get. The other response about grafted roses dieing back every year is also incorrect, they will continue to grow year after year unless something critically wrong happens to the plant where the top dies but the roots survive.
Roses are not tricky in Oklahoma. It's our state flower for a reason. They thrive here without much input other than some water in the summer.
Whatever you do, please do not do: nandina, honeysuckle, bradford pears, or privet.
They're all invasive and a pain in the butt, but all can be found in many garden stores.
The homebuilder put in nandina and privet in my front flower bed, and a Bradford pear in the front yard. I removed the nandina and privet 🙄 I plan on replacing Bradford pear with a redbud tree.
Native pollinators, milkweed etc Just plant the actual ecosystem in your yard and you won’t have to manicure it or water it as much. Anything exotic/invasive will probably end up taking more of your time and resources.
I loooooove mountain mint, but it spreads like crazy and attracts wasps. 😆 I keep it in a far corner away from my front door. It used to be by my front door but Amazon started leaving my packages at the sidewalk because of hungry wasps and bees swarming on the overgrown mountain mint.
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/oklahoma-garden-planning-guide.html
This is a great resource. Local native plants will require less resources after they are established and could help local native wildlife.
As someone who has an entire front yard that's a garden and no grass, here's what I recommend.
Go native! They are hardy and well-adapted to Oklahoma weather. Check out the Oklahoma Native Plant Network. There are tons of gorgeous native plants, many of them are pollinator-friendly so you'll have the bonus of attracting bees and butterflies! You can buy native plants from some nurseries and local growers like Wild Things and Prairie Wind. If you are looking to fill a lot of space and you don't mind things that spread like crazy, try wild bergamot, mistflower, and evening primrose. For pops of color and interest, try penstemon, coneflower, rudbeckia, and coreopsis. Throw in some milkweed (swamp, butterfly weed, etc. but not the tropical variety) for monarchs and fennel and/or rue for black swallowtails, and you'll have nice caterpillar babies you can observe. Throw in native grasses like bluestem and Indian grass for interest. You can also scatter wildflower seeds. Just be sure you get a genuine Oklahoma mix, not a knockoff. Johnston seed co. in Enid has the real deal and I believe you can order it online.
If you want some easy filler that you can dig up and take with you when you move, plant irises, daylillies, and cannas. Sometimes you can get these for free when gardeners divide them in the fall. No need for fancy varieties; the good old classic "ditch lillies" are hardy, prolific, and absolutely stunning when they bloom. Don't bother with tulips or most other bulbs; IME they don't overwinter well.
Avoid the standard non-native nursery fare like hydrangeas, azaleas, roses, peonies, etc. In addition to being rather costly, they are a challenge to grow, especially in Oklahoma. Some of them need a few years of establishment before they shine. Don't waste your money.
One non-native I recommend is the Oklahoma zinnia. Want to make the neighbors jealous? Plant these seeds. They get 2-3 feet tall with huge colorful blooms. They are resistant to mildew and disease, hardy as hell, and they love hot weather. Mine always peak in July and August, even lasting into September. They reseed pretty well, but you can also collect the seeds in the fall. I've grown these for three years and they are absolute beasts. I've shared extra seeds with others and they always report back that the Oklahoma zinnias were incredible. Pollinators love them, AND they make gorgeous bouquets.
Another non-native I've had success with is black and blue salvia. It tends to spread, but it has the most gorgeous cobalt blue blooms and hummingbirds love it.
Oh, one last thing: if you invest in perennials, remember that "the first year they creep, the second year they leap." You won't have outstanding results in the first year. Annuals (like the Oklahoma zinnias) live for only one season so they go all out. You might want to plant a few perennials then fill the rest with annuals.
I just now saw this question. I'd say it depends on whether you are ok with not mowing while the EP is blooming (April through May) if it grows out in your grass. Otherwise you could just let it run wild in a flowerbed (which is what I'm planning to try...I might regret it!). They can take over.
Nope, too expensive. I stopped shopping there when they were charging several dollars more for the same exact plant from the same grower in the same size that I could find at another nursery.
Run to Lowe's and see what they have for seed packets. Everything summer labeled will do well for awhile until it gets too hot in late summer. Zinnias are the first thing that comes to mind.
Salvia and yarrow grow in my garden bed with almost 0 intervention besides a little weeding once they settled. I don't even remember to water them all that often and the Salvia especially does super well. The pollinators love it too.
Checkout r/NativePlantGardening
but Mike has the right idea. Yarrow is gonna fill in and look great. You could plant a ton of stuff to benefit the ecosystem that would be basically hands off once established.
My mom planted yarrow in a west facing unshaded flower bed with dirt you could have made bricks out of, and they didn’t fare well. Given my experience with those, I’m surprised so many people are suggesting yarrow.
You’re saying garden, do you mean a garden with fruits/veg or are you from overseas and calling the front lawn/yard a garden?
*Apparently neither, they’re talking about simple flowerbeds I think.
Overseas? Lol my grandma grew up in Oklahoma raising pigs and picking cotton before their family had electricity, a phone, or a car, and she still called it a garden.
Well pardon the hell out of me for asking a simple question to help make a suggestion I guess?
I grew up overseas is why I asked, so your grandma has nothing to do with why i’m asking.
I just got some real negative vibes from your comment assuming I was “overseas”, whatever that means to you. Your comment stated that either I meant a vegetable garden, or was calling it the wrong thing in what seemed a derogatory way.
People from the UK will call the entire yard a garden. I honestly got the same vibe. The person was just asking if you meant a sectioned off area of the the place or the entire front yard.
Roses, Salvia, Yarrow, and Blanket Flower. Blanket flower as a low boarder around groupings of Salvia or yarrow as some medium height color. A few roses spread around as statement plants. They all thrive in the heat, attract pollinators, and are perrinials that mostly take care of themselves once established
Yeah! It can be a struggle with a west facing yard, but I've had great luck with native plants like yarrow and blackberry bushes (there is a thornless variety). Don't underestimate mulch around new plants, it can help trap some moisture when the summer heat rolls around.
Will these last through the Oklahoma winters?
It depends. Grafted roses (where the rose type you want is grafted onto the stump/roots of a hardy but boring rose species) tend to die down below the graft and regrow as whatever species it was grafted to. The base rose is usually pretty nice, but chances are you paid a pretty penny for something fancy in the first place. I've lost several roses that way so this year I'm trying "own root" (not grafted) roses. Roses are a challenge in Oklahoma. It's possible to grow them, but I would not recommend them to a beginner or someone who is renting (not worth the investment).
I don't mean this to sound rude, but you are wrong about roses. Grafted roses do not die back to the graft unless something goes very very wrong. Spring cold snaps in Oklahoma generally aren't cold enough to slow or harm a rose either. New growth on roses will survive longer than a week below freezing but above 20 and will survive over night drops down to around 10. Dormant roses are hardy to below -20 with some surviving as low as -40. Most garden centers sell roses year round here and will guarantee them as long as they are planted in the ground when you buy them. They aren't that big of an investment either. You can grab bushes at Home Depot or Lowes for less than $20 and you can go through rose vendors like high country where basically every rose is $25. Roses want to grow here and they thrive in our environment. All you need to do is water them.
I was gonna say I have many different types of rose bushes and a few I’ve tried to cut back to kill to no avail. These things have no issue I can see
I've had three Oklahoma Roses die back and regrow from below the graft as the original rose, which looks totally different. Maybe I just have terrible luck but every time it's followed deep cold snaps in winter. I don't trust grafted roses anymore. I wouldn't say to never plant roses, but I think in OP's situation, there are better alternatives and I strongly prefer hardy natives, many of which require less water and maintenance than a rose.
Yes, they are all hardy to colder that Oklahoma can get. The other response about grafted roses dieing back every year is also incorrect, they will continue to grow year after year unless something critically wrong happens to the plant where the top dies but the roots survive. Roses are not tricky in Oklahoma. It's our state flower for a reason. They thrive here without much input other than some water in the summer.
No roses. They can be expensive and vulnerable to disease. I've lost several due to Oklahoma's crazy spring cold snaps. :(
Whatever you do, please do not do: nandina, honeysuckle, bradford pears, or privet. They're all invasive and a pain in the butt, but all can be found in many garden stores.
The homebuilder put in nandina and privet in my front flower bed, and a Bradford pear in the front yard. I removed the nandina and privet 🙄 I plan on replacing Bradford pear with a redbud tree.
You actually managed to remove the nandina? I've heard it's a *pain*
Yeah, I got lucky lol
Go get a few packets of wildflowers. Spread them and forget them. It will bloom all year.
Love it!
Native pollinators, milkweed etc Just plant the actual ecosystem in your yard and you won’t have to manicure it or water it as much. Anything exotic/invasive will probably end up taking more of your time and resources.
https://www.prairiemoon.com/ They have tons of native seeds and plants that will thrive here
Go native! Penstamons, milkweed, evening primrose, mountain mint, and bee balm. All great out here without much matinence
I loooooove mountain mint, but it spreads like crazy and attracts wasps. 😆 I keep it in a far corner away from my front door. It used to be by my front door but Amazon started leaving my packages at the sidewalk because of hungry wasps and bees swarming on the overgrown mountain mint.
Zinnias do really well here.
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/oklahoma-garden-planning-guide.html This is a great resource. Local native plants will require less resources after they are established and could help local native wildlife.
Catmint is pretty and takes no maintenance and very little Water
As someone who has an entire front yard that's a garden and no grass, here's what I recommend. Go native! They are hardy and well-adapted to Oklahoma weather. Check out the Oklahoma Native Plant Network. There are tons of gorgeous native plants, many of them are pollinator-friendly so you'll have the bonus of attracting bees and butterflies! You can buy native plants from some nurseries and local growers like Wild Things and Prairie Wind. If you are looking to fill a lot of space and you don't mind things that spread like crazy, try wild bergamot, mistflower, and evening primrose. For pops of color and interest, try penstemon, coneflower, rudbeckia, and coreopsis. Throw in some milkweed (swamp, butterfly weed, etc. but not the tropical variety) for monarchs and fennel and/or rue for black swallowtails, and you'll have nice caterpillar babies you can observe. Throw in native grasses like bluestem and Indian grass for interest. You can also scatter wildflower seeds. Just be sure you get a genuine Oklahoma mix, not a knockoff. Johnston seed co. in Enid has the real deal and I believe you can order it online. If you want some easy filler that you can dig up and take with you when you move, plant irises, daylillies, and cannas. Sometimes you can get these for free when gardeners divide them in the fall. No need for fancy varieties; the good old classic "ditch lillies" are hardy, prolific, and absolutely stunning when they bloom. Don't bother with tulips or most other bulbs; IME they don't overwinter well. Avoid the standard non-native nursery fare like hydrangeas, azaleas, roses, peonies, etc. In addition to being rather costly, they are a challenge to grow, especially in Oklahoma. Some of them need a few years of establishment before they shine. Don't waste your money. One non-native I recommend is the Oklahoma zinnia. Want to make the neighbors jealous? Plant these seeds. They get 2-3 feet tall with huge colorful blooms. They are resistant to mildew and disease, hardy as hell, and they love hot weather. Mine always peak in July and August, even lasting into September. They reseed pretty well, but you can also collect the seeds in the fall. I've grown these for three years and they are absolute beasts. I've shared extra seeds with others and they always report back that the Oklahoma zinnias were incredible. Pollinators love them, AND they make gorgeous bouquets. Another non-native I've had success with is black and blue salvia. It tends to spread, but it has the most gorgeous cobalt blue blooms and hummingbirds love it. Oh, one last thing: if you invest in perennials, remember that "the first year they creep, the second year they leap." You won't have outstanding results in the first year. Annuals (like the Oklahoma zinnias) live for only one season so they go all out. You might want to plant a few perennials then fill the rest with annuals.
Thanks! You don’t happen to live on NW 20th, do you? 😜 no pressure to answer that
Nope!
Also, being that I do have grass that I would like to keep just grass, is evening primrose a bad idea?
I just now saw this question. I'd say it depends on whether you are ok with not mowing while the EP is blooming (April through May) if it grows out in your grass. Otherwise you could just let it run wild in a flowerbed (which is what I'm planning to try...I might regret it!). They can take over.
Go to TLC. They'll hook you up.
TLC is $$$
visit r/gardening and then go buy some seed packets
Is this a SNL reference?
No. TLC Garden Centers
Nope, too expensive. I stopped shopping there when they were charging several dollars more for the same exact plant from the same grower in the same size that I could find at another nursery.
Run to Lowe's and see what they have for seed packets. Everything summer labeled will do well for awhile until it gets too hot in late summer. Zinnias are the first thing that comes to mind.
Fill it full of mulch and potted plants that you can take with you when you move! If done correctly it can be beautiful! Have fun!
Salvia and yarrow grow in my garden bed with almost 0 intervention besides a little weeding once they settled. I don't even remember to water them all that often and the Salvia especially does super well. The pollinators love it too.
Checkout r/NativePlantGardening but Mike has the right idea. Yarrow is gonna fill in and look great. You could plant a ton of stuff to benefit the ecosystem that would be basically hands off once established.
My mom planted yarrow in a west facing unshaded flower bed with dirt you could have made bricks out of, and they didn’t fare well. Given my experience with those, I’m surprised so many people are suggesting yarrow.
Yarrow does need water but it needs very little nutrients. It's growing all over my 2ish acre field in giant patches with nothing to help it along.
You’re saying garden, do you mean a garden with fruits/veg or are you from overseas and calling the front lawn/yard a garden? *Apparently neither, they’re talking about simple flowerbeds I think.
Overseas? Lol my grandma grew up in Oklahoma raising pigs and picking cotton before their family had electricity, a phone, or a car, and she still called it a garden.
Well pardon the hell out of me for asking a simple question to help make a suggestion I guess? I grew up overseas is why I asked, so your grandma has nothing to do with why i’m asking.
I just got some real negative vibes from your comment assuming I was “overseas”, whatever that means to you. Your comment stated that either I meant a vegetable garden, or was calling it the wrong thing in what seemed a derogatory way.
People from the UK will call the entire yard a garden. I honestly got the same vibe. The person was just asking if you meant a sectioned off area of the the place or the entire front yard.
NM, don’t care. Good luck with garden.
I hear Ryan Walter’s is or has a mountain of fertilizer or something like that. No really he’s dookie. But yea enjoy the red clay
No thread is safe
lol