by John Ferguson | '23 Newsletters
R.I.P., DEE HOWELL May 21, 1953 — December 10, 2023 Dee, retired City of Houston Superintendent of Horticulture, will be so missed. Her beautification of Houston public areas was second only to her wonderful quick wit, encyclopedic knowledge and generous sharing of...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
DON’T TELL ED POINSETTIAS AREN’T PERENNIALS IN HOUSTON! By BRENDA BEUST SMITH DECADES AGO I wrote, in my Houston Chronicle Lazy Gardener column about poinsettias — something to the effect that if you’re feeling lucky, in spring plant your fading...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
They could. Acorns are fruits that contain the SEEDS of new plants.That’s good if you want more trees. Bad if not. Especially in your compost pile. One solution: smash them. BEFORE putting them in a compost pile. Good answer — if you have just a few....
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
Whether you’re new to Houston or just new to WINTER flower/vegetable gardening here, know this — It’s a gamble, just like our summer vegetables are a gamble (freezing & 3-digit temps, floods, droughts, world-class insect populations, etc.). You name...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
SPONSORSHIP If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact us at 936-273-1200 or send an e-mail to: lazygardenerandfriends@gmail.com ABOUT US BRENDA BEUST SMITH WE KNOW HER BEST AS THE LAZY GARDENER . . . but Brenda Beust Smith is also: a national...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
As you read this, you can bet gardeners-in-the-know in ourNINE Greater Houston area counties are right now harvesting summer crops, sowing winter crop seed (or putting in plants) and/or researching the very best varieties recommended for winter for their specific...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
WE SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON PLANTS ~THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX! BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH A friend mourns plant losses from our hot, dry summer. She knows it’s too soon to put up grave markers, but hoped to see at least some green shoots. Patience! Plants go dormant out...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
Saving our Earth, one landscape at a time BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH First, how did your landscape survive the world’s(maybe) fastest cold spell? If all’s well, consider enrolling your landscape (if you haven’t already) in the Homegrown National Park, now...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
Lookin’ for marigolds for Dia de los Muertos? BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH For many gardeners (and a lot of my relatives), orange is a significant color this time of year — and not just for pumpkins. It is a treasured color of marigolds, or cempasúchil, iconic flower...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
‘All that man needs for health and healing has been provided by God in nature, the Challenge of science is to find it.’ by PARACELSUS (unknown-1541) Swiss physician, alchemist, German Renaissance ‘medical revolution’ pioneer SECRET WISH? SECRET...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
‘HOUSTON’S DIVERSE ECOLOGY’ CHALLENGE FOR GARDENERS BUT NATIVES ARE THRIVING! BY Brenda Beust Smith ECOREGION MAP OF GREATER HOUSTON. Tip o’ trowel to Houston Gardening Facebook Page, a great resource for both new and experienced gardeners. And...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
ME TOO, ANNE . . .tho our reasons certainly differ. Summers aren’t nearly as hot on Prince Edward Island and winters much colder than here. But, like Anne, we need to treasure October. Especially now that Farmers’ Almanac’s newly-posted Texas winter...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
CELEBRATING & IDENTIFYING ROSES & OTHER SURVIVORS BY Brenda Beust Smith TEMPERATURES are predicted (hopefully) to eventually move into what — in normal years — is one of our most beautiful seasons, especially for roses. Time will tell how Fall 2023...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
LEAVES IN BAYOUS, EDIBLES, HUMMER TIPS! Brenda Beust Smith DON’T LEAVE LEAVES WHERE THEY’LL WASH INTO OUR BAYOUS! by ADRIANA MALVEAUX BAYOU PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION Water Quality Monitoring & Outreach Technician Autumn is creeping up on us! After a...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
Highways to home plots — heat, drought putting natives in spotlight “The weather seems wild to us, but it’s nothing our native plants haven’t seen before.” – – JANE SEN GUPTA, Houston Chapter – Native Plant Society of Texas (QUOTE...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
XEROPHILES PICKED RIGHT PLANTS THIS SUMMER! “A cactus doesn’t live in the desert because it likes the desert; it lives there because the desert hasn’t killed it yet.” — Hope Jahren (1969-) Fulbright Award-winning American geochemist and...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
DON’T PLANT CHINESE TALLOWS! MORE BLOOMING SURVIVORS “What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance.” JANE AUSTEN (1775-1817) From a Sept., 18, 1796 letter to her sister Cassandra. By Brenda Beust Smith Make that...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
TREE LIMBS DROP? WHO KNOWS WHY? By Brenda Beust Smith “Limbs fail sometimes because of defects and unusually heavy loads of foliage, but there is another kind of failure…” So begins HOWARD GARRETT’s website section on Sudden Branch Drop,...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
“God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.” –JOHN MUIR (1838-1914) naturalist, explorer, writer, and conservationist GOOD RAINS...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
The quote above, from Janet Gillespie’s “Stories from my Sketchbook” , is one of, if not THE, most appropriate, timely quotes I’ve used in the past 10 years I’ve been privileged to write for Nature’s Way Resources.This is issue 500....
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
PLUMERIAS – PERFECT PLANTS FOR LAZY GARDENERS WHO WANT TO LOOK LIKE EXPERTS! BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH PLUMERIAS are definitely in my “Lazy Gardener Plant Hall of Fame.” Is there another exotic plant on Earth that, when it start getting cold, you can...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
DON’T DECLARE “TOO HOT FOR VEGETABLES” around the Dominican Sisters of Houston. Their community garden last year donated 1,339 lbs of vegetables & fruits to those-in-need. They expect to top that this year! Urban Harvest (Mecca for Greater...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
“In his garden, every man may be his own artist without apology or explanation.” —Louise Beebe Wilderman (1813–1871), American writer, essayist, critic “What do you mean you don’t water! I saw you watering your tomatoes!” BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
To analyze the charms of flowers is like dissecting music; it is one of those things which it is far better to enjoy, than to attempt to fully understand. Henry Theodore Tuckerman (1813–1871), American writer, essayist, critic. BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH Ah, but...
