Southwest Perennials

05/13/2026

Take note and protect your home. Nobody in town wanted this except the city council. Now this 830 acre facility will be built at the end of my parents street, about 200 yards from their house, my childhood home.

The tension between preserving a slower, quieter way of life and embracing a high-tech future with promises of economic prosperity was on full display Monday night during a City Council meeting about 20 miles south of Dallas.

Red Oak council members voted 4-1 for rezoning nearly 830 acres from agricultural district to planned development for a “high tech industrial park,” which city officials said would be “conducive to data center uses.”

“We are not opposed to data centers,” Red Oak resident Cindi Stephenson said to City Council members during public comment. “We’re opposed to the city putting them in our neighborhoods and our homesteads. … None of you have them in your backyard. Why should they be in my backyard?" https://bit.ly/4nu8eQw

05/07/2026

I tried for like a year to get google to change our address and phone number. They had me jumping through hoops, trying to make a 90 second video of the front of our business, then having to drive down the driveway, show that I had keys to unlock a building and show them the inside of the building with invoices.

That's what it took to change the address. They would not change the phone number. That took another year. It's finally correct.

05/01/2026

I don’t post a lot of my trials and experiments on our business page, but I’m constantly looking for the next plant that can be commercially grown for the broader market. Let’s normalize native plants in the retail market.

04/25/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FhQ3DsxnQ/?mibextid

NATIVE PLANT DAY: Speaker Highlight 🌿Kim Wootton, Garden Educator Extraordinaire!

Join us Saturday, May 16 from 10 A.M. – 3 P.M. at Rooted In for a full day of native plant education, expert speakers, local organizations, and plenty of inspiration for your own landscape!

Whether you're just getting started with native plants or already deep in the weeds, this is a great chance to learn from some incredible local experts, ask questions, connect with fellow plant people, PLUS you're welcome to shop native plants, seeds, and hard-to-find selections.

We’ll also have educational booths from:
• Native Plant Society of Texas
• Texas Master Naturalists
• Denton County Master Gardeners
• Monarch Watch

🌱 FULL SPEAKER SCHEDULE 🌱
https://rootedin.com/event/native-plant-celebration-free/

📍 In the Farmhouse Classroom | Come & Go Throughout the Day

10:15 – 10:45 AM

Kim Wootton
Lessons from the Landscape: Real-World Advice for Going Native

Transforming a landscape with native plants doesn’t happen overnight—and it rarely goes exactly as planned. In this candid, experience-driven session, Kim shares what works, what doesn’t, and what she wishes she had known from the start. Learn how to approach your own landscape with confidence, avoid common pitfalls, and make thoughtful decisions that lead to long-term success with native plants.

Q&A: 10:45 – 10:55

11:05 – 11:50 AM

Carol Clark
Planting for Monarchs and Other Pollinators

Learn why Texas is pivotal to the Monarchs’ success, and which native plants offer the most benefits when you are planting to support Monarchs and other pollinators. We’ll also touch on best timing for maintenance practices like mowing and pruning.

Q&A: 11:50 – 12:00

12:05 – 12:35 PM

Patrick Dickinson
From Wild to Refined: Designing Beautiful Native Landscapes

Ready to ditch the boring and design with purpose? This session explores how to use native plants to create vibrant, low-maintenance landscapes that support pollinators, wildlife, and your local ecosystem. You’ll learn practical ways to choose the right plants and design spaces that feel alive, dynamic, and uniquely connected to your region—proving that native landscapes can be every bit as polished and beautiful as they are functional.

Q&A: 12:35 – 12:45

12:55 – 1:25 PM

Jane Duke
Managing Soil as an Ecosystem

Want your native plants to use less water and handle stress better? The answer starts in the soil ecosystem, where biology helps retain moisture and support plant health. Drawing from her work as a Soil Food Web and microscopy analyst, Jane will share simple, practical ways to build living soil so your landscape becomes more resilient with less effort.

Q&A: 1:25 – 1:35

1:50 – 2:20 PM

Rich Jaynes
Weaving Native Grasses into the Home Landscape

Discover how native grasses can transform a typical yard into a dynamic, living landscape full of movement, texture, and life. Drawing from his own backyard prairie, Rich will share why grasses are one of the most important—and most overlooked—plants in our ecosystems, along with practical ways to incorporate them into your landscape. From inspiration to basic design principles and plant selection, this session will leave you seeing grasses in a whole new way.

Q&A: 2:20 – 2:30

Free event • Open to the public • Questions encouraged!

Come spend the day with us learning how beautiful, functional, and resilient native landscapes can be. :-)

Rooted In
12804 Pelzel Road
Pilot Point, TX

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EDjL5mSUn/

04/25/2026

Happy Texas Wildflower Day!

04/22/2026

We are excited to join Texas Woman's University in celebrating Texas Wildflower Day as we advocate for native plants, pollinator conservation, and a more sustainable future on April 24–25. This year’s theme is “Beyond the Blooms: Protecting Pollinators, Preserving Our Future.”

See the symposium program and REGISTER HERE: https://twu.edu/butterfly-garden/texas-wildflower-day/.

You can attend in person at TWU or via Zoom!

04/22/2026

Read the appendix. There will be a significant price increase this year. I don’t like it, but I don’t get a choice. Otherwise, we go the way of the corn and rice farmers.

This data-driven report from Dr. Charlie Hall goes beyond standard economic measures to reflect the real-world inputs growers purchase every day.