A guide for Texas Gardeners

The Texas
Native Yard

Guide

Texas is not a generic place. The clay soil, the limestone, the brutal summers, the deer, the springs that disappear by March — none of that shows up in the gardening advice written for somewhere else. This guide was built for here, for your specific piece of Texas.

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Texas native yard guide preview
If you garden in Texas, you know this feeling

The information is out there. What's missing is a framework for making decisions about your specific yard.

Texas gardening is its own discipline. The soil shifts from black clay to alkaline limestone within a few miles. Spring lasts six weeks if you're lucky. Summer will kill anything not properly established. The advice you find online—written for the Pacific Northwest, the UK, or some generic USDA zone—doesn't account for any of that. And the generic "Texas native" label doesn't tell you whether a plant belongs in your ecoregion, your soil type, or your specific microclimate.

Most people are stuck not because they lack motivation, but because they lack a framework built specifically for this place — one that accounts for how Texas actually works, and helps them make good decisions about their specific yard.

“Most gardening advice wasn't written for Texas. And most 'Texas native' advice wasn't written for your corner of it. That's the gap this guide fills.”

“Coming up with an overall integrated plan vs. impulse buying a plant at a time and then trying to figure out where to put it.”

Texas gardener — Central Texas

“I don't know how to mix plants and create a design. What looks good together? How do I account for space when plants are at maturity?”

Texas gardener — San Antonio

“Finding them at nurseries is a struggle — and when I decide on the ones I want, it's too hot to plant or they're out of stock.”

Texas gardener — Hill Country

“Just getting over decision paralysis. I feel like I need to do it all and right the first time.”

Texas gardener — DFW

“I want a native yard that doesn't look unkept — something curated and intentional, not a 'native mess.'”

Texas gardener — Austin
Who wrote this

Certified. Rooted in Texas. And built to translate what works here — not somewhere else.

I'm Cory Ames. I live on a half-acre in Northwest San Antonio — mature live oaks, a food forest, a pond, native beds, and a property I've been actively building and learning from.

I'm certified in Permaculture Design through Oregon State University. But more than any certification, what's shaped this guide is the time I've spent with the people who know this land most deeply: Texas nursery owners, horticulturalists, ranchers, land managers, and longtime native plant gardeners who've been quietly doing this work for decades.

What I've gotten good at is translation. Taking what those conversations, that training, and that hands-on experience actually mean — and making it usable for someone who just wants their yard to work. Not a textbook. Not a lecture. A framework you can pick up and apply to your specific piece of Texas.

I run a YouTube channel on Texas native plants with 38,000+ subscribers. This guide is the thing I wish had existed when I was getting started.

— Certified in Permaculture Design, Oregon State University
— Deep conversations with Texas nursery owners, horticulturalists, ranchers, and land managers
— 38,000+ YouTube subscribers focused on Texas native plants and ecology
— Built from what real Texas gardeners said they actually needed — not what textbooks assume they do
Cory Ames
Built for how Texas actually works

A system for making good decisions about your yard.

Texas has ten distinct ecoregions. Your yard has its own microclimates. Your summers are brutal, your springs are short, and your soil is unlike anywhere else. This framework accounts for all of it — a sequence of questions specific to this land that leads you to the right plants, in the right spots, for the right reasons.

01

Find where you live

Your ecoregion shapes everything — soil type, rainfall, what naturally wants to grow here. Texas has ten distinct ones. Knowing yours changes how you plant.

02

Read your yard

Sun, shade, drainage, slopes, heat zones. Every property has its own inner geography. This step teaches you to see it — and use it.

03

Work with water

Slow it, spread it, sink it. Designing for how water actually moves through your land is the difference between plants that survive and plants that thrive.

04

Plant with the seasons

Texas timing matters more than most people realize. When you plant is often more important than what you plant. Fall and winter are your best friends.

05

Build in communities

Plants don't exist alone in nature — they grow in communities. Learn how to group them by function, sun exposure, and season so they support each other.

06

Work your plan

A whole yard at once is how you burn out. Break it into sub-projects. Start where you already spend time. Build momentum one corner at a time.

What you get

Everything you need to stop guessing and start building a Texas native yard that actually works.

Everything here is finished and delivers the moment you buy. Three parts, nine chapters, and five companion resources built to be used outside, not just read.

Inside the guide

1
Part 1: Chapters 1-3

Know Your Land

Ecoregions, microclimates, and water — the foundation everything else builds on.

2
Part 2: Chapters 4-6

Make your plan

Setting goals, deciding where to start, and building a strategy that fits your life and your land.

3
Part 3: Chapters 7-9

Plant, establish & play the long game

Plant selection, community pairings, establishment, care, pruning, dividing, transplanting — the full practitioner's toolkit.

📘

The Texas Native Yard Guide

The 3-part comprehensive framework for understanding your land, planning your yard, and growing a native landscape that fits your specific piece of Texas.

📋

Yard assessment worksheet

A hands-on worksheet designed to help you dig into part 1 of the guide in your specific yard. Print it out and work on it over time, getting to know your land up close and personal as you go.

🗺️

Texas ecoregion quick references

A curated guide that zooms in on each of Texas's 10 ecoregions, covering their unique conditions and the plants that belong there, organized by function. Find yours, know your starting point.

📅

Texas planting calendar

When to plant, establish, prune, and rest — month to month, season by season — for the Texas climate specifically.

🦌

Gardening with Deer

Not a deer-resistant plant list. Planting only what deer refuse to eat leaves you with the same three species as overbrowsed rangeland. This sorts natives into four browse-preference classes so you know what needs protecting and what holds its own. Includes how to read your own pressure level, and why there are so many deer in the first place.

📍

Texas native nursery directory

Where to actually find these plants. Nurseries by region, plus every other route I use: seeds, Native Plant Society chapter sales, city and utility giveaways, botanical garden sales, and how to work with a grower so they start setting things aside for you. That matters most in the parts of Texas where native nurseries barely exist.

Available Now

One complete path. Built for Texas.

Nine chapters, three parts, and five companion resources. Ready to open, read, and put to work.

The guide
$47

The Texas Native Yard Guide

You get the full guide + companion resources created to help you get the most out of everything covered.
This is a decision-making system, not just a plant list.

  • The complete three-part guide — nine deep-dive, tailored-to-Texas chapters
  • The Yard Assessment Worksheet — ready to print and get you outside learning your land
  • Texas Ecoregion Quick-References — all 10 regions zoomed in, organized by planting layer
  • Gardening with Deer Guidebook — four browse classes, what to do with each, and a realistic look into deer pressure
  • Texas Planting Calendar — month by month, with regional adjustments
  • Where to Find Native Plants in Texas — nurseries, seed, sales, giveaways, and more

Get the Guide — $47
STRATEGY CALL ADD-ON
⚑ Limited to just a few spots a month

The Guide + Strategy Call

Want a second set of eyes on your yard?

Some people want to talk through their specific situation. If that's you, add a Strategy Call.

You get the complete guide and bonus resources above, exactly as described, plus 45 minutes with me. Bring your conditions, what you've tried, and what isn't working. You'll leave with a clear picture of what to do next and a recording you can go back to.

Add a strategy call — $297
Questions

Before you buy...

Is this just a plant list?

No — and that's the point. Plant lists are everywhere. What's hard is knowing which plants belong in your yard, in which spots, grouped in what way. This guide is a decision-making framework that walks you through that thinking. There are plant recommendations, but they're organized around conditions and communities — not just alphabetical names.

I'm in Austin / Houston / DFW — is this relevant to me?

Yes. The framework is built around Texas ecoregions, so it's designed to translate across the state. I'm based in San Antonio, and I know the Hill Country and Edwards Plateau deeply, but the methodology applies whether you're on the Blackland Prairie, in the Pineywoods, or anywhere in between.

When do I get it?

The completed 3-part Texas Native Yard Guide, along with all five companion resources: The Texas Native Yard Assessment Worksheet, Texas Ecoregion Quick-Reference, The Texas Planting Calendar, Gardening with Deer, and Where to Actually Find Native Plants in Texas.

What happens on the Strategy Call?

It's a 45-minute working session, just you and me. It's an optional add-on, and I cap the number of spots so the calendar stays honest. You bring your yard situation: conditions, what you've tried, what isn't working, what you want it to be. You'll leave with a clear, specific picture of what to do next. The call is recorded so you can refer back to it, and with your permission, the conversation helps inform future sections of the guide.

I'm a complete beginner — is this too advanced?

Not at all. The framework starts from first principles — ecoregion, site conditions, how water moves — and builds from there. Beginners often find it most useful precisely because they haven't yet developed habits that fight against the Texas climate.

I already have some natives and know the basics — will I still learn something?

Almost certainly. The plant community pairings and site-specific framework tend to be where more experienced gardeners find the most value — filling in the compositional gaps that most beginner resources skip over entirely.

What's your refund policy?

If you buy and feel the guide isn't delivering what was promised, email within 30 days for a full refund. No runaround.

Your piece of Texas
is waiting to come alive.

Built for Texas soil, Texas summers, and Texas gardeners who are done guessing.
Start with your land, make a plan that fits, and grow from there.

Get the Guide — $47