17 plants
Agarita
Berberis trifoliolata
A spiny blue-grey evergreen that bees swarm in late winter and birds nest inside for protection.
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Grown for its show-stopping clusters of electric-purple berries in fall — a feast for mockingbirds and dozens of other birds — on a graceful arching shrub..
Autumn Sage
Salvia greggii
The workhorse of the water-wise Texas garden: a small evergreen shrub that blooms nearly year-round and shrugs off heat, drought, and deer..
Coralberry
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
A modest suckering shrub for shade that comes into its own in fall, when the arching branches string themselves with clusters of coral-pink berries the birds strip by spring..
Damianita
Chrysactinia mexicana
A low evergreen cushion of fine, aromatic foliage smothered in golden daisies in spring and again in fall.
Evergreen Sumac
Rhus virens
A lush, glossy evergreen that looks far too refined for how tough it is — a superb native screen or hedge that bees work in late summer and birds fruit on in fall..
Flame Acanthus
Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii
A wispy, tough shrub that throws tubular orange-red flowers through the worst of the summer heat — exactly when hummingbirds are fueling up for migration..
Fragrant Sumac
Rhus aromatica
A low, spreading shrub that blazes orange-red in fall and holds slopes with its suckering roots.
Possumhaw Holly
Ilex decidua
Drops its leaves in fall to reveal branches packed with scarlet berries that glow through winter and feed cedar waxwings and robins in late season..
Texas Kidneywood
Eysenhardtia texana
An airy shrub that throws spikes of vanilla-scented white flowers after every rain, drawing clouds of bees and butterflies.
Texas Lantana
Lantana urticoides
The true native lantana, with orange-and-yellow clusters that never stop through summer heat.
Texas Mountain Laurel
Dermatophyllum secundiflorum
A slow-growing evergreen with glossy leaves and drooping clusters of purple flowers that smell exactly like grape soda each spring.
Texas Sage
Leucophyllum frutescens
A silver-leaved desert shrub that bursts into purple bloom after rain — earning its nickname 'barometer bush.' Thrives on neglect in the hottest, driest corners of a Texas yard..
Turk's Cap
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
The go-to native for shade that still wants color.
Wax Myrtle
Morella cerifera
A fast, dense, aromatic evergreen that makes an ideal privacy screen and fixes its own nitrogen.
White Mistflower
Ageratina havanensis
A rounded shrub that erupts in fragrant, frothy white bloom in autumn — perfectly timed for migrating Monarchs, which can cover it in numbers..
Yaupon Holly
Ilex vomitoria
An adaptable evergreen holly that takes sun or deep shade, wet or dry, and covers itself in translucent red berries that hold all winter for the birds.
Choosing shrubs for Texas
These 17 species are all native to Texas and suited to this use. Because they belong to the local climate, they'll do the job with far less water and care than the non-native alternatives usually sold for it. Open any plant for full growing details, or use the finder to narrow further by sun, size, and bloom.