Today I am out in the garden and excited to be finally planting my Alyssum Oriental Nights. Come with me as I walk you through my planting process here in North Texas.
I’ll also be planting potatoes in my 15-foot raised bed and explaining the metal chicken wire I’ve installed on top to stop common Texas vermin—raccoons, possums, skunks, and a new unknown interloper I’m still trying to identify.
And a little garden joy moment: I mention the Spanish lavender and rosemary planted in my front yard because of the wonderful smells they provide when I come home from work. Sometimes it’s the small sensory gifts that make a garden feel like home.
Timestamps:
0:00-0:40 Introduction to Spring Planting in North Texas
0:40-1:16 Planting Alyssum ‘Oriental Nights’
1:16-2:29 Garden Tips: Dealing with Squirrels and Pecans
2:29-5:36 Why Alyssum is a Great Choice: Scent, Heat & Drought Tolerance
5:36-7:30 Alyssum Planting: No Need for Spacing or Thinning
7:30-9:02 Companion Planting Considerations
9:02-11:54 Protecting Potatoes from Pests with a Wire Cage
11:54-13:58 Atwoods Find: 99-Cent Sequoia
Strawberry Starts
13:58-15:47 Encouraging Gardeners & Closing remarks
🌱 PLANT PROFILES
💜 Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas)
Tender perennial often grown as an annual in North Texas. Zones 8a-9b. Full sun essential. 16-24 inches tall, spreading 14-20 inches. Blooms early spring through autumn with unique “rabbit ear” flowers. CRITICAL: Excellent drainage absolutely essential. Will rot in heavy clay. Amend heavily with expanded shale, pea gravel, or decomposed granite. Plant in raised beds or mounds. Drought tolerant once established. Water sparingly; let soil dry completely between waterings. Avoid overhead sprinklers. Very little fertilizer needed.
🌿 Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Woody perennial evergreen shrub. Hardy in North Texas when planted correctly. Full sun essential. Height varies by cultivar—from 2 feet (prostrate) to 4-6 feet (upright). Aromatic needle-like leaves used for seasoning; flowers edible. Requires well-drained soil; amend heavy clay with organic matter. Little to moderate watering; too much water causes poor growth. Allow soil to dry between waterings. Feed lightly and infrequently.
🌸 Alyssum ‘Oriental Nights’ (Lobularia maritima)
Perennial in zones 5-9, grown as cool-season annual in North Texas. Full sun to partial shade; afternoon shade extends summer bloom. 2-4 inches tall, spreading 6-12 inches. Deep purple flowers with sweet honey-like fragrance. Plant early spring after last frost or fall for winter/spring blooms. Well-drained soil, pH 6.0-7.0. Drought tolerant once established. Very low maintenance; trim if leggy. Excellent as edging, ground cover, containers, or “living mulch” under vegetables.
🥬 Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
Cool-season annual heirloom from 1800s. Full sun to partial shade; appreciates afternoon shade in warmth. Very fast: 40-50 days seed to harvest. Plant late February through March. Fall planting September-October. Well-drained fertile soil with consistent moisture, pH 5.0-7.0. Plant 1/4 inch deep, thin to 8-12 inches apart. Cut-and-come-again harvest method.
🍓 Sequoia Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa ‘Sequoia’)
Perennial in zones 4-9, grown as cool-season annual in Texas. Exceptionally large, sweet dark red berries. One of the sweetest home garden varieties. Spring-bearing; in Texas best managed for April-May harvest. Vigorous growth, produces runners readily. Low winter chilling requirement. Highly recommended for Texas gardens. Plant October for spring harvest, or late winter/early spring. Space 12-18 inches apart. Well-drained sandy loam preferred; amend heavy clay. Full sun 6-8+ hours. Keep consistently moist; water daily first two weeks. Balanced fertilizer at planting, then nitrogen every 3 weeks. Prefers pH 6.2-6.5
❓ Q&A WITH GRAY @BotanicalInterests
Got questions about your garden, or anything you see in this video? Drop them in the comments. I read them and will circle back.
🛒 SEED & SUPPLY LINKS
Seeds and Supplies:
https://www.botanicalinterests.com/URBANGARDENGRAY
Enjoy life, enjoy family, enjoy your garden!
— Graylen Brown
Urban Gardening with Gray
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❤ Website: Urbangardeningwithgray.com
Enjoy life, enjoy family, enjoy your garden!
#AlyssumOrientalNights #Potatoes #RaisedBedGardening #DiCiccoBroccoli #BlackSeededSimpson #SequoiaStrawberries #SpanishLavender #Rosemary #NorthTexasGardening #Zone8b #TexasGardener #UrbanGardening #ContainerGardening #urbangardeningwithgray
8 Comments
New subscriber here. I found you via Epic Gardening’s channel. I’m in the Irving area, and I’m so glad to have found a North Texas gardener… someone that actually knows what false spring is here. It was 80 today, but doesn’t mean it could dip to 40 tomorrow. It won’t happen unless I take the heavy comforter off though. 😂
Really loving your channel, please take this as the compliment it’s intended as, you have a fantastic Easy Reader vibe I’m loving! I hope you’re old enough to get that reference. 😀
Happy growing my friend❤❤
If you love purple, check out the purple prince zinnia!
Howdy Gray! Those Native smaller hardshell Pecans are the tastiest! I'd love to have that tree in my yard instead of the allelopathic Black Walnut.
Pet pig finds them buried deep by the squirrels.
Planted Alyssum yesterday and learned there are both Annual and Perennial varieties. Germinated the tiny seeds on moist paper towel, removed groups of seeds on pieces of the paper and planted intact. Already sprouting through fine vermiculite on top next day.
Thanks for all you do!
Your neighbor in
DFW here.
Love Alyssum. Looks great, smells good and attracts beneficial insects. Here in the Netherlands, it self seeds so i have it every year all over the place, which is fine.
I’m an hour and a half south of dallas
We love alyssum too! We also had a false spring out here in Southern California– it got up to 90 last week! We are back down to the 60's now. I sent you a picture of the vegetable garden and purple alyssum we have growing in the front yard. The peas are about 2" high now, and the bush beans are just starting to appear. I have one giant carrot which we let flower.
Im in central texas and left a Alysum in a pot out all winter and to my surprise its still alive and already starting to flower.Blew my mind.There awesome flowers