Native Plant Garden in HOA: Martin & Eileen Byhower

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August 7, 2024

Native Plant Garden in HOA: Martin & Eileen Byhower

smiling man and woman on blue flagstone walkway in front of house and garden
It’s not easy starting from scratch. And when you’re new to Texas, picking the right plants multiplies the challenge. But when Martin and Eileen Byhower arrived in Sun City, Martin couldn’t wait to adapt his horticultural know-how for lawn-free gardens under shady live oak trees in deer country.
wide shot of multi-layered gardens in front of house
“I moved here from Southern California, where I was a science teacher and birding guide for about 30-odd years,” Martin told us in October 2023. “Here, I could be a kid in a candy store and start all over again with a whole new set of nature.”
white flower with four honeybees inside
Bees tuck into datura’s velvety flowers by day, while moths and bats feed at night. To carry on his habitat restoration work in Georgetown, he joined the Williamson County Native Plant Society and qualified as a Goodwater Master Naturalist. He started a website with plant and animal lists, how-to guides, and resources. Now a landscape designer, he helps fellow gardeners work with native plants and habitat for all wildlife.
large-leafed plant with magenta berries against small lavender -white flowers
He’s an expert birding guide! I’ve learned a lot from his website and social media posts. In his part shade garden, native American beautyberry attracts pollinators to spring’s flowers and birds to fall’s magenta berries. Native Drummond’s aster feeds pollinators in fall and seed-eating birds in winter.
curbside garden of succulents, small trees, perennials mulched with river stones
Creating plant diversity topped his list. “I’ve got about 150 different species of plants in my yard, blooming at different times of the year.” His sunny front curb bed features deer-resistant perennials and trees that provide seasonal color and flowering. Desert willow, flameleaf sumac, and fragrant mimosa cast dappled shade to structural succulents (including agaves, red yucca, niche cactus and cholla), and perennial lantana, salvias, datura and others.
delicate legume leaves on small tree-like shrub
Sweetly-scented puffball pink flowers cover fragrant mimosa’s thorny branches from spring to summer, always a hit with butterflies and bees.
groundcovers and sedges against blue flagstone path, stone raised bed and curved wooden bench at front door
To comply with HOA rules, especially in front, he got a permit to remove all the turf. (According to State of Texas State Bill 198, an HOA cannot prohibit or restrict a property owner from using drought resistant landscaping or water-conserving turf). Along the front walkway of blue Oklahoma sandstone, he’s arranged woolly stemodia, sedges, silver ponyfoot, and red yucca.
raised stone bed next to house against blue flagstone and curved wooden bench near front door
The raised planter includes Gregg’s mistflower, flame acanthus, and coneflowers (protected in small cages from deer). A graceful yaupon holly anchors the end, a winter favorite for migrating cedar waxwings. At the front door, he planted an esperanza, dwarf yaupon holly, and weeping yaupon. There’s also ‘Sky Pencil’ yaupon—not native—but a good one for narrow height.
smiling woman standing on blue flagstone walkway in front of plants near front door of house
Multiple elevations with hardscape and plant heights promote visual and wildlife appeal, from ground-hugging lizards to birds. “So my yard could be an example of what is possible working within the confines of an HOA,” Martin said.
long wide bed under live oak trees with native plants
Next, what to do in shade? Around the live oak trees, he planted turk’s cap, inland sea oats, sedges, American beautyberry, and frostweed. He was careful not to disturb tree roots, only planting in between them.
small white flowers
Deer resistant, fall-blooming frostweed is one of his favorites (mine, too, along with turk’s cap) for its white flowers that stand out in shade to herald migrating monarchs and all kinds of pollinators. It’s a stately plant, so I’ve placed mine at the back of a fence bed. This is also the magical “ice sculpture” plant after a deep freeze.
small fuzzy-ball white flowers visited by honeybee
Deer-resistant fragrant mistflower’s (shrubby boneset) frothy white flowers join frostweed in fall to nourish wildlife as we head into cold weather.
tiny purple and white flower on vine of heart-shaped leaves growed in metal fence with white fuzzy flowers
To my surprise, deer resist charming little native snapdragon vine.
small trees against metal fence
In back, he lined the fence with native understory trees for evergreen and seasonal interest. His strategy also thwarts deer. “Their eyes are on each side, so they need to see a landing place or they won’t jump over the fence,” Martin told us. Included: Texas redbud, possumhaw holly, sandpaper tree, goldenball leadtree, Anacacho orchid, American beautyberry, Texas persimmon, mountain laurel and roughleaf dogwood. There’s a cherry laurel at another side.
woman holding hand out to two attentive young standard poodles
The backyard’s fairly shady with its own rainwater runoff issues. Also, cutie pie young standard poodles, Retro and Moose, love to bounce (rapidly) along the paths, so groundcovers don’t last. (I’ve had large, energetic dogs, so I knew the mud bath that Eileen and Martin faced.)
paver path through shady backyard
A few weeks later, they solved the messy mud path issue with winding paver paths, as lovely as they are practical!
tall yellow-blooming sunflower against tall sprawling lavender-white asters
To protect some plants from pup detours into beds, Martin corralled them with metal cage mesh anchored with T-posts. Here’s Maximilian sunflower and Drummond’s aster.