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Nature’s Way Resources honors the contributions of our late owner, John Ferguson. “The Lazy Gardener” Brenda Beust Smith and Shelby Cassano welcome your feedback and remain grateful to the many horticulturists who share their expertise.
Published May 27, 2026
Don’t you love it when flowers instantly POP to your eyes? Mine did at hibiscus above! And even more so when realized 1. It’s in a hanging basket and 2. I not only knew the gardener, but we’re related! Tip ‘o trowel to Lisa Marie Allen-Quintero for sharing this delightful hibiscus (from Joe’s Country Store in Santa Fe, TX)!
The Greater Houston area used to have a number of hibiscus groups. Now we have two: the long-time Lone Star Hibiscus Society and Space City Hibiscus Facebook group. — but both are very active and always happy to share hibiscus growing tips on these easy-to-grow garden delights — especially for Lazy Gardeners!
Yvonne Estrada, Administrator of Space City Hibiscus Facebook group (currently seeking new members!), notes this garden variety hibiscus (pictured above) does well in heat (“…as long as you water them!”). Yvonne’s left her garden varieties outside in winter, where they die back and revive in Spring.
Still, she adds, “Exotic Hibiscus are more particular and have to be brought inside (greenhouse/garage) once the temperatures drop below 40 degrees. Once it gets above 90 degrees, they appreciate a shade cloth covering or natural shade.”
All hibiscus need well-draining pots and soil. “If you buy a pot with only one hole, you will need to make a few more, as they love water but don’t like wet feet. To get the best out of a hibiscus plant, they need a high potassium fertilizer to produce lots of vibrant blooms.
- For those gardeners who have fallen in love with hibiscus but are looking for a little more excitement and challenge, drop by one of the Space City meetings. They welcome both new and experienced hibiscus lovers. At the June Space City meeting, Yvonne will be teaching an alternate method of rooting hibiscus cuttings. (Space City Hibiscus Facebook group for more information.)
Kissing Time (left), ‘Cajun Masquerade’ (right)
‘Kissing Time,’ left (top), and yellow ‘Cajun Masquerade‘ are two delights in Yvonne’s collection that might entice you to expand your collection to include these and other “exotics”! Check their Facebook Page for more details.
What’s the difference between exotic and regular hibiscus (Lisa’s at top is a ‘regular’ which shows how exciting they can be these days!) Yvonne warns “Exotics” need more attention/protection. Regular hibiscus are pretty hardy on their own (definitely lazy gardener plants!)
Houston’s oldest group, Lone Star Hibiscus Society, meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:30p.m., from March through October at the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion at Hermann Park Garden Center. More info: martigreg@sbcglobal.net
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FIREFLIES HERE? OR ANY AT ALL? BEN PFEIFFER of firefly.org sympathizes and — after a lifetime of studying these winged delights — his goal is to educate all about their steadily increasing disappearance from our world. Ben has spoken in the past in our area to garden clubs and other groups.
Although he has no upcoming talks here, Ben has a wealth of firefly data and helpful tips on his firefly.org website. One source on YouTube: Fireflies of Texas – A Texas Firefly Field Guide by Ben Pfeiffer.
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“THE ONLY NATIVE PLANTING APP MADE JUST FOR TEXAS” — the free Wild Thumb app — has been created by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation in collaboration with Native Plant Society of Texas among others. Wild Thumb aims to take guesswork out of creating outdoor spaces that draw pollinators to your yard! (The app is still being refined development, so do share any problems you have with the creators.)
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ATTN:
— Nature’s Way Resources offers free guided tours of NWR’s extensive nursery/soil/mulch facilities for garden clubs, plant societies and other plant-oriented, organized groups. As usual, NWR’s now-expanded meeting site is free to above groups. Reservations a must for both. Great time to visit.
- GOOD NEWS FOR BUSY/LAZY GARDENERS: Curbside pickup is now available in the Nature’s Way Resources nursery, and we’re offering plant preorders for special requests. Call in your order, pick it up when it works for you, or let us try to source the plants you’re looking for on upcoming shipments. Find inventory sheet here.
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John’s Corner
NEWS FROM THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF SOIL AND PLANTS
Why Organic Mulches
by John Ferguson,
Founder of Nature’s Way Resources
This week I had a customer ask me why we recommend organic mulches over shredded tires or gravel. These have their place and will be discussed in future articles.
Why Organic Mulches:
Organic mulches offer the most benefits, often at lower cost, and improve the fertility and health of the soil.
A three inch layer of organic mulch can lower soil temperature about 25-30°F which reduces plant stress and water requirements. Bare soil can easily reach 100-135 °F which speeds evaporation and dries out the soil, stresses the plant resulting in wilting, causes insect and disease problems and in most plants eventual death.
The higher soil temperature reduces a plants roots ability to absorb moisture (even if it is there) and the higher temperature kills beneficial microbes that help feed, water and protect the plant’s roots. In addition, soil nitrogen (N) decreases as soil temperatures increase. For every 100°C increase in soil temperature, soil nitrogen (N) will decrease 2-3 times.
Studies in Austin and San Antonio Texas during the 1990’s found that lawns mulched with 1/2 inch of compost each year, saved $50-$200 per month on their water bill. See photo below.
Plants grown in organically enriched soils suffer far less disease and insect problems than plants grown with synthetic chemicals. Thus good organic mulch helps build up the soil, naturally increasing a plants pest and disease resistance.
Two studies from Ohio State University have confirmed that plants grown organically in organically enriched soil suffer far less disease and insect problems than those grown with synthetic chemicals. Therefore good organic mulch helps build up the soil, naturally increasing a plants pest and disease resistance.
USDA studies on several species of plants have found that mulched plants were often 3 times as large and produced 3 times the yield of un-mulched plants after several years.
In January of 2011 the yard on the right went organic using leaf mold compost as a mulch and the Microlife organic fertilizer. Both yards were under water restrictions during the severe drought. The photo was taken by T. Polk, owner of Mother Nature Landscapes, whom did the work.
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About Us
BRENDA BEUST SMITH
WE KNOW HER BEST AS THE LAZY GARDENER . . .
but Brenda Beust Smith is also:
- a national award-winning writer & editor
- a nationally-published writer & photographer
- a national horticultural speaker
- a former Houston Chronicle reporter
When the Chronicle discontinued Brenda’s 45-year-old Lazy Gardener” print column — started in the early ’70s as a fun side-project to reporting, it then ranked as the longestrunning, continuously-published local newspaper column in the Greater Houston area. The name, she says, is not just fun, it’s true.
Brenda’s gradual sideways step from reporter into gardening writing led first to an 18-year series of when-to-do-what Lazy Gardener Calendars, then to her Lazy Gardener’s Guide book which morphed into her Lazy Gardener’s Guide on CD, which she now emails free upon request.
Brenda became a Harris County Master Gardener and, over the years, served on theboards of many Greater Houston area horticulture organizations. She hosted local radio and TV shows, most notably a 10+-year Lazy Gardener specialty shows on HoustonPBS (Ch. 8) and her call-in “EcoGardening” show on KPFT-FM.
For over three decades, Brenda served as Assistant Production Manager of the GARDEN CLUB OF AMERICA’S “BULLETIN” magazine. Although still an active broad-based freelance writer, Brenda’s main focus now is THE LAZY GARDENER & FRIENDS HOUSTON GARDEN NEWSLETTER with John Ferguson and Pablo Hernandez of Nature’s Way Resources.
A native of New Orleans and graduate of St. Agnes Academy and the University of Houston, Brenda lives in Humble, TX, and is married to the retired Aldine High School Coach Bill Smith. They have one son, Blake.
Regarding this newsletter, Brenda is the lead writer, originator of it and the daily inspiration for it. We so appreciate the way she has made gardening such a fun way to celebrate life together for such a long time.
About her column, Brenda says: “I don’t consider myself a ‘garden writer.” I started out 50+ years ago as a very lazy “gardening reporter.” I still feel that way today. I hope my columns inspire/help newcomers, but I do not write to them. I write to very experienced gardeners who want to expand their horizons.
JOHN FERGUSON (1951-2025)
John was a native Houstonian with more than 35 years of business experience. He founded Nature’s Way Resources, a composting company known for producing high-quality compost, mulch, and soil mixes. He held an MS in Physics and Geology and was a licensed Soil Scientist in Texas.
Throughout his career, John received numerous awards in horticulture and environmental work. He represented the composting industry for many years on the Houston-Galveston Area Council for solid waste. His personal garden was featured in several horticultural books and in Better Homes and Gardens. His business was recognized by The Wall Street Journal for the quality and value of its products. He was a member of the Physics Honor Society and several professional organizations, and he co-authored Organic Management for the Professional.
John contributed articles regularly to this newsletter and oversaw its publication. We continue to share his past articles each week alongside The Lazy Gardener column to keep his passion, knowledge, and spirit alive for our readers.
SHELBY CASSANO is the communications and marketing lead for Nature’s Way Resources and the editor of The Lazy Gardener and Friends newsletter. Through her business, Leaf and Ledger, she exclusively partners with NWR to direct all marketing efforts, from campaign strategy and content planning to technical production of the newsletter. Shelby holds a B.S. in Agriculture with a concentration in Horticulture from Stephen F. Austin State University and previously managed the company’s nursery.
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Conroe, TX 77385
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