By Gail Dugelby. Spring is a good time to ponder how your landscape will weather the summer. Then you can add glimmers of gardening gladness in the fall. Spring is a glorious time of year. Trees are leafing out, some even bloom — hello, Texas mountain laurel, Texas redbud and Mexican buckeye! Plants are waking up, resprouting and growing. Mornings are cool and the afternoons ever so pleasant.

All of this has us itching to get back to gardening. But before you rush to your local native-plant friendly nursery to replant your beds, please consider these details:

Summer — with all its heat and dryness — is coming.

We are in the 6th year of drought.

In 2023, San Antonio experienced 75 days of 100 or 100+ degrees. In 2024, we had 27 days of 100 or 100+ degrees.

Plants that struggled through those summers will struggle again in 2025.

First and foremost, we all need to be in the water conservation boat. Water is our communal natural resource and the Edwards aquifer remains at record low levels. The less water we use outside, the better the water levels will be for our indoor water needs. Follow the watering rules to conserve water and avoid violations.

Secondly, it’s probably best not to plant anything new this spring. Instead, use this time to clean up beds, decide what changes you’d like to see, and make plans to reduce your grass footprint. Then, spend summer watching how things in your yard (and your neighbors’ yards) are faring. That way you can choose the plants that did well in summer for your fall planting adventure and get them in the ground come October and November.

When you choose species that make it through our summers and live to bloom again, you will have them longer. As a conservation consultant who meets with SAWS customers all year long to assist with irrigation conservation, I see what is and isn’t thriving in summer. I also see what did or didn’t survive winter freezes. I hear your stories of struggle, and I feel your pain. That’s why I’m encouraging you to plan now and plant in fall.

To help you out, I’ve compiled my dozen best weather winners for your consideration. They’re chosen for their survival skills and very low water needs. Watch these species between now and fall and be amazed. When you plant them in autumn, they’ll be with you for years to come.

Turk’s cap – This tough and beautiful native has earned its place as my No. 1. I’ve watched it survive Winter Storm Uri and the summer of ‘23 with no trouble whatsoever. It requires very little water when in shade or mixed shade, and in sunnier areas just a drink here and there in summer. Trim the bare stalks back in February to create full, lush plants in spring, summer and fall.

Scarlet sage (aka tropical sage) – Another superstar in shade and mixed shade, it easily repopulates with dropped seeds. Avoid sunny areas as it will look wilty in triple digit heat. Comes back year after year to brighten your yard and attract pollinators.

Mealy blue sage – There are many gorgeous blue salvia and sage varieties — indigo spires, black and blue, Mexican bush, mystic spires — but none out-compete this Hill Country native. And I’ve tried many! The one that returns without fail after winter releases its cold grip is good ol’ mealy blue. I don’t want to buy perennials over and over. So, I stick with the one that’s Texas Tough!

Virginia creeper – The little vine that could, this hardy native springs back to life each year. It likes to spread and climb, creating a lush green garden wall wherever it goes. Bonus: It turns a lovely shade of red in fall before dropping its leaves in winter.

Mistflower (Gregg, shrubby blue, white) – Two words: Butterfly magnets! All three of these mistflowers will bring on the butterflies. In mild winters, you may want to prune back to avoid legginess in spring. In cold winters, Gregg and shrubby blue will die back to the ground, but they always come back when spring arrives. P.S. I never water my shrubby blue mistflower ever.

Lantana (Texas or ‘New Gold’) – Texas lantana is the definition of Texas tough, and it grows taller than its ‘New Gold’ cousin. But it can take all the heat and sun our summers bring too much of. Expect fewer blooms when triple digits hit. That’s just plant common sense survival kicking in. Trim dead stalks after a cold winter in late February.

Autumn sage – This plant is unstoppable. Autumn sage might appear to top die in cold winters, but I’ve seen the leaves last through freezes. It can start blooming in February and doesn’t stop until you’re buying your Christmas tree! A true workhorse, trim it back in late winter, again in June and again in early September.

Inland sea oats – My favorite ornamental grass. Spread some seeds, watch it grow, drop more seeds, and continue to fill your shady, garden bed with the prettiest green, wide, dainty nodding seed heads. In fall the seeds will turn a rusty brown. Another amazing plant I don’t water. If planted in sunnier areas, it will want a drink in summer.

Flame acanthus – Warning, this is a highly successful plant. Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies with its red-orange tubular flowers. It may start out small, but it will get much more wide than tall. And it easily starts new flame acanthus plants. If you have a decent size space in need of a great survivalist loved by pollinators, flame acanthus is ready to help! I don’t water mine.

These last three plants are what I call the “trifecta of summer.” They laugh off the heat and sun. Drive around in August and Nos. 10 and 11 are blooming like crazy while No. 12 is waiting for the unexpected shower to explode with purple blooms!

Esperanza – Esperanza is a South and West Texas native, but as our summers have intensified, she’s becoming the star of San Antonio summers. She’s tall — about 10-15 feet — so put her in the sun next to a fence or house and let her grow. If she gets leggy, trim her back in late winter. Hard freezes will have her die back to the ground. But she’ll be back. She’s dependably drought and heat proof.

Pride of Barbados – Another neighborly native that’s loving our hotter drier summers. With those stand-out orange and red flowers and 6-8 feet tall, she’s a showoff. And a pollinator magnet, drought proof rockstar, and reliable returner once winter retreats. She thinks our summers are the best time of year!

Texas sage (Cenizo) – This plant should indeed be the state shrub of Texas. Instead, it’s the nonnative crape myrtle (rolling eyes). Cenizo is the quiet, sun-worshipping, heat-loving, evergreen Texas native that quietly waits for our infrequent rain showers. Then, like fireworks, it explodes with varying shades of purple flowers. Resist every urge to water it! It likes it nice and dry, until the skies let loose with rain.

Gail Dugelby is a SAWS conservation consultant with deep roots in San Antonio and the Hill Country. She spent her youth climbing trees, playing in the Guadalupe River, and exploring the outdoors. This drives her passion for nature and our diverse environment, especially our most precious natural resource — water. Given the choice, she would be outside all the time.