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Nature’s Way Resources owner John Ferguson, “The Lazy Gardener” Brenda Beust Smith, and Shelby Cassano welcome your feedback and are so grateful to the many horticulturists who contribute their expertise

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BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH (aka The Lazy Gardener) 

IT’S OFFICIALLY WORLDWIDE HUMMINGBIRD AWARENESS TIME. Both the World’s International and our National HUMMINGBIRD DAYS started Saturday. Wondering why your gardens aren’t already attracting (one of) Nature’s most-delightful wonders? 

Don’t take their absence personally. Migrating hummers are on their way here, and we have many here year-round. But even migraters might end up staying if they find good food and nesting sites.

Chances are, however, most will continue southward by late October or early November. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the most common species in our area, and they typically migrate south by mid-October or later, depending when temperatures start their somewhat unpredictable migration to winter grounds in Mexico or Central America.

If you’re gardening (even in part) to attract birds, mark your calendar: Houston Audubon Society’s annual BIRDWEEK starts Sat., Sept. 20. Numerous events are planned to help you learn more. So, plenty of time to make your yard more inviting! Most important: don’t miss the Sept.13 & Sept. 20, 2025,  Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza at the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, 299 Hwy. 332 W in Lake Jackson.

In our Spotlight Article below, KAYLA PRINGLE, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory Education Assistant,   gives us great advice in her Spotlight Article article below to help you to get started or expand your garden’s guest list (including hummers). First: here’s a Hummingbird Garden design* with more plants than you will probably have room use to help get you started. 

(*from my Lazy Gardener’s Guide — PDF version, free. Text request to lazygardenerbrenda@gmail.com).

BEFORE WE GET TO KAYLA’S GREAT HUMMER TIPS, DIANN L. has a query: “Our gorgeous Rising Sun Redbud is very healthy and happy except it started putting on red buds along the stems. What the heck?! Wrong season unless I missed a lot of the year. Any idea what’s up?”

What’s “normal” is for this wonderful tree’s pink/reddish-purple to bloom before the leaves appear in Spring. But Mother Nature marches to her own drummer, registers subtle weather changes (we probably couldn’t even if we wanted to) and adjusts her babes’ growth patterns in safest way for them to proceed! We’ve had strange weather lately (to put it mildly) causing many plants to deviate from norms. Since you can’t do anything about it, just sit back, enjoy, and hope you get repeat delights in spring. Let us know if you do!

WHATEVER YOU DO, always double-check online or with local experts any significant “cost to you!” AI gardening advice. So frustrating when these “sources lump us in with, say, El Paso, Tyler, or Brownwood. If you’ve been here anytime at all, you know how different our respective weather can be! Following inappropriate advice can = dead plants. AI’s one-answer-for-all may be fine for other areas, but not us. 

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WANT HUMMERS? CREATE A GARDEN

THAT TRULY SERVES THEIR NEEDS!

by KAYLA PRINGLE 

Education Assistant

Gulf Coast Bird Observatory

www.gcbo.org/

More than just colorful visitors, hummingbirds serve as vital pollinators when gardens are designed with their needs in mind. To create a garden that truly serves their needs, think beyond generic nectar plants. Flower structure matters: tubular blooms such as Gulf Coast Penstemon (Penstemon tenuis), Turk’s Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus), and Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) align perfectly with a hummingbird’s long bill and tongue. Stagger bloom times across early, mid, and late seasons to ensure uninterrupted nectar availability throughout migration.

Feeders remain an excellent supplement but require upkeep and cleaning. Use a simple solution of four parts water to one-part sugar. Do not use any honey, sweeteners, or dyes, and clean every 2–3 days to prevent mold or fermentation. It’s best to position feeders in shade to slow spoilage and offer multiple feeders to reduce territorial disputes.

With how small hummingbirds are, protein is often overlooked; hummingbirds rely on small insects and spiders for essential nutrients. Avoid systemic insecticides like neonicotinoids, which can contaminate nectar, and instead encourage insect populations with native shrubs and leaf litter.

Finally, design your hummingbird microhabitat with safety and shelter in mind. Dense shrubs near feeding areas provide perches and protection from predators, while minimizing window reflections helps prevent collisions. By combining thoughtful plant selection, responsible feeding, and a habitat that supports the entire food web, gardeners can ensure hummingbirds not only visit, but flourish season after season. 

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EDITOR’S NOTE: FOR MORE GREAT TIPS, drop by the Sept. 13 & 20 Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza, 8am-noon. nature booths, native plant sale, kids activities, etc. Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, 299 Highway 332, W. Lake Jackson, TX . $5 Children 12 & under free.

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Fall: Most Productive Season for 

Growing Vegetables in Greater Houston

by ANGELA CHANDLER

THE GARDEN ACADEMY

The Garden Fall gardening stands out as the most productive season in the Houston area because it offers some unique advantages not available in our other seasons, things like milder temperatures, more consistent moisture, reduced plant stress and lower pest & disease pressure. But one of the most distinct advantages is the variety of food crops that will grow over this season.

Houston’s summer heat can be sweltering. The “feels like” temperature is often much higher than the thermometer indicates. This is hard on our gardens, for certain, but it is also very hard on gardeners. The difference between daytime highs and evening lows can be quite small, giving plants little relief, even at night. These extremes stress plants, stunting growth and causing premature bolting. The milder temperatures and cooler evenings alleviate these stresses and encourage steadier, healthier growth.

Many common pests thrive in the heat & humidity of summer. Their threat diminishes as temperatures drop. Fungal diseases become less prevalent, lowering the need for frequent chemical intervention. Fall often brings more frequent rain, but even without rain, there is less evaporation after irrigation. The soil remains warm enough for germination of many seeds but is not baked as we often find during the summer. 

One of the best things about fall gardening here is that with timing and a little good luck we can often get in a second crop of some favorite warm season crops like squash, cucumbers, and beans. At the same time, we can start the first planting of our cool season crops like cabbage, broccoli, spinach, and greens of all kinds. These are best started indoors starting in mid-August for planting out in September. Root crops soon follow, and we can often harvest something every week from now through spring.

Fall tomatoes are an all-time favorite with many Houston area gardeners and our local nurseries respond with a healthy variety to choose from. We often harvest tomatoes all the way to Christmas by keeping some row cover on hand for the few really cold nights.

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Subject: Mid Quality Mulches – Part 2

Many mulches can be useful or bad depending on how they are used. Also, many different types of mulches are called by the same “common name”.

Cedar Mulches 

Many users around the state report that they have had good results with cedar mulches, while others report extreme failures and problems. This is because there are a lot of variations in the types of cedar mulch one finds in the garden centers. A couple patterns that have been observed are mulches made from species with the common name of “Junipers“ (Juniperus ashei, Juniperus deppeana, etc.) versus species commonly called “Cedars“ such as the Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), Southern Red Cedar (Juniperus silicicola), and Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). The first group tends to grow on alkaline calcareous soils, while the second group is often found growing on more acidic soils. Most reports of the cedar mulches made from “Junipers” have been positive, and most reports of cedar mulches made from “Cedars” have been negative. Juniper mulch is primarily decomposed by fungus species that produce weak organic acids that help make nutrients available in alkaline soils.

The claim to fame for cedar mulch one often hears is that it repels insects. While this is true, it also repels butterflies and beneficial insects.  This effect only happens with fresh ground cedar. After a few weeks, the oils evaporate or break down, and one is left with raw wood that has a very high carbon: nitrogen ratio that robs nitrogen from your plants.  This is why one often sees yellowing on plants when cedar is used as a mulch. Used in this manner, it becomes a poor choice.

A second issue with using Cedar mulches is the type of processing they have had. This could be fresh ground cedar from land clearing operations to de-oiled cedar flakes from industry. When de-oiled cedar flakes from industry are used, they can weigh as little as 190 lbs./cy since they have been cooked at temperatures of 225°F or more to remove the oils and have almost zero moisture when they leave the mill. The low weight is good for bagging, handling, and shipping purposes. After cooking, the cedar flakes can absorb water after application and weigh over 1,600 lbs./cy wet. De-oiled flakes are very low in nutrients and may cause nitrogen deficiencies in the soil and other mineral tie-up problems, as it has a very high carbon:nitrogen ratio, often over 500:1 (remember healthy soil is only 30:1).

Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) is very rot-resistant. While this characteristic makes it good for lumber, the chemicals, such as resins and oils, which act as preservatives, are not good for plants. These chemicals resist attacks by insects and microorganisms (e.g. fungi), hence also render the wood toxic for soil or composting microorganisms.

Note: Cedar from younger trees has less of these chemicals than older trees, which contain more heartwood and have accumulated more of these compounds.

Note: Reports are showing that cedar mulch is toxic to chickens and other bird species and should not be used as a bedding material.

Note: One good use for fresh ground cedar mulch is on the floor in greenhouse production.  There, the oils repel pest insects and reduce the need for pesticides.

Redwood Mulches

Redwood mulches are available in this area in two forms, bark (shredded or nuggets) and shredded wood.  Redwood mulches became popular since they are slow to decompose, lasting 6-7 years in some cases, they are naturally fire resistant, and the shredded wood has a natural reddish color. Redwood also has natural insect-repelling and rot-resistant qualities, and it resists termite and ant infestations and lasts longer than other wood mulches

Redwood mulches come from 3 genera, which are: Sequoia and Sequoiadendron of California and Oregon in the United States, and Metasequoia from China.  These are very tall trees that have lived for thousands of years; however, they have become endangered due to logging, habitat destruction, and air pollution.

Barks and uncomposted sawdust from redwood, cedar, Douglas fir, larch, eucalyptus, and spruce trees are considered toxic to many plants. Any bark that is high in tannic acids and phenols is potentially harmful unless thoroughly composted and leached. 

In addition to the natural chemicals, like all mulch that is improperly handled, redwood mulch sometimes contains toxic substances that can also kill plants. This usually occurs when large piles of mulch sit in landscaping yards and don’t get oxygen. To avoid this problem, buy mulch that has been allowed to weather and air out. Smell the mulch before you buy it. If it has a foul odor like vinegar or silage, buy a different product or lay it out on a concrete surface for a few days before you put it in your garden. Once the odor goes away, the mulch is safe to use. 

Like all bark and wood mulches, it has a very high C:N ratio.  It does not cause as many nitrogen tie-up problems as other mulch types since it is slow to decompose.  Like all single species of mulches, it does not support as wide a diversity of beneficial microbes as other types of mulches.  Also, the same chemicals that make it slow to decompose kill a lot of the good microbes that plants need. 

It is not a sustainable product, and its usage leads to habitat destruction.  There is also a cost in transporting redwood mulch from the Pacific coast to our area, and the transportation generates a lot of unnecessary carbon dioxide emissions. The bottom line is that it is very expensive and is not a good choice for Houston and the Gulf Coast.

A positive use of redwood mulch may be in a decorative bed where only a thin layer is used.

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