by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
“Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.” — Jim Carrey (1962 -), Canadian-American actor and comedian BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH THINKING OF A “SKY-HIGH HORTICULTURAL...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH IT’S NOT JUST FOR BEAUTY! A lot of folks in Texas are begging us to grow more Texas-friendly wildflowers for different reasons, impacting various aspects of our lifestyles. Many share growing tips make a difference between success and...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
GARDEN TOO ‘HOT’? USE COLOR TO MAKE IT ‘SEEM COOLER’ by BRENDA BEUST SMITH “HOT” COLORS MAY BE MORE FUN, but this might be a good time to add some coolants, especially on/around patios and other areas where you sit or entertain...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
CELEBRATING POLLINATORS WHILE ENVYING THEIR HEAT TOLERANCE? by BRENDA BEUST SMITH PROLONGED EXCESSIVE HEAT is definitely on our agenda for this week (and next) which, coincidentally, is also National Pollinator Week (June 19- 25). Early heat predictions indicate our...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
Learn about Gardening while helping preserve Freedmen’s Town by BRENDA BEUST SMITH FIRST, THO, A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING. Realized last week I left off one set of my “now” flowers. See above: lantana, cosmos (great in mailbox planter) snapdragons and...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
YOUR GARDEN’S WAITING . . . HOW WILL YOU CELEBRATE? by BRENDA BEUST SMITH TUESDAY, JUNE 9, IS NATIONAL GARDENING EXERCISE DAY. To celebrate, I wandered around the yard shooting random pictures of plants in bloom (aka have a flower on them). After all, blooming...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
LISTEN ‘LOCAL’ WHEN PLANTING EDIBLES! by BRENDA BEUST SMITH FOR EXPERIENCED GARDENERS . . .especially longtime vegetable gardeners . . . there is no “SEASON” for edibles in this area. Harvesting in Greater Houston is a year-round joy, thanks to...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” — Dolly Parton THE WAY I SEE IT, DOLLY, BETTER BE PREPARED TOO! WE LEARNED HARD WAY… BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH LAST WEEK’S TREE WATERING TIPS bear repeating! The...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
EFFECTIVE WATERING, INDOOR CACTI, QUICK GROWS, AND CARNIVOROUS PLANTS! BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH SINCE THERE’S NO NEED TO WATER RIGHT NOW . . . good time to evaluate your sprinkler system (or think about adding one). We are in an El Nino year (high temps, increased...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
‘CHRISTMAS’ CACTUS GALORE? SOGGY LOW SPOTS IN YARD? BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH TALIA GREEN in New Caney is concerned about her Christmas cactus. It’s blooming now! Easy answer: Probably not a Christmas cactus. Probably an Easter cactus. They bloom now....
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
DAYLILIES CAN DELIGHT EVEN LONGER & MUSHROOMS ARE A’SPROUTIN’! BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH Fungi “celebrate” during some ideal (for them) heavy rainy seasons by shooting up spores that hopefully will only sprout in yards where folks delight in...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
HAPPY EARTH DAY! HAPPY GARDENING . . . BUT, WHERE ARE THE MONARCHS? BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH JEALOUS OF NEIGHBORS already harvesting vegetables? Don’t be. Lots of growing time ahead. Just be sure to follow the best advice for THIS area. Nowhere is a better place to...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
SEARCH FOR LANDSCAPE FRIENDLY NATIVES GETTING EASIER BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH IN THIS AGE of instant gratification gardeners aren’t exempt from the frustration of having to WAIT! Nowhere is this more evident than in the locus of planting with natives — a...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
Clivias, a very common plant … in Australian gardens … always bloom in their own time without competing with other flowers. May we all bloom in our time in the best season. ” — “WILD BOTANICAL ABSTRACT SERIES” by HSIN LIN, Melbourne...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” — His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso MAGENTA BLOOMS FOR ENERGY AND OUR NEW BENCHMARK FOR COLD BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH For its 2023 Color of the Year, Pantone...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters
“Be like the bluebird who never is blue For he knows from his upbringing what singing can do.” Cole Porter (1891-1964) American composer and songwriter EVIDENCE IS BUILDING — We ARE ‘NATURE’S BEST HOPE’ BUT WE NEED EXPERT HELP BY BRENDA...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
Don’t let overly-enthusiastic pink oxalis (clover, sorrel) turn you off all the other great ones! One leaf is for hope, and one is for faith, And one is for love, you know, And God put another in for luck, – If you search, you will find where they grow....
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!'” — ‘ROBIN WILLIAMS (1951-2014) BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH CAN’T CELEBRATE SPRING WITHOUT MUSIC! HOW MELODIOUS ARE YOUR PLANTS? PLAYING “IN”THE GARDEN is a fun...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
You are the epitome of magic Your thick stems arching up into the air at sharp angles … But your journey is always upward except when one of your stems takes a very deep bow … your leaves are long and languid, sweetly supporting bouquets you present to the eye … I am...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
TO MY SURPRISE, BRIDAL WREATH(Spiraea prunifolia) ) is readers’ most touted (to us) “late winter-pre-spring” bloomer this year. Our 4-5-year old bridal wreath (pictured here) is still an infant compared to our “decades-old pre-Harvey”...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
MORE READERS’ REPORT IMPRESSIVE WINTER’S END BLOOMERS “The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.” – Gertrude S. Wister, nationally recognized horticulturist (1905-1999) BY BRENDA...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
FROM FLOWERS IGNORE AL’S BAD NEWS … TO ORCHIDS IN SPOTLIGHT! Though cloudy skies, and northern blasts, Retard the gentle spring awhile; The sun will conqu’ror prove at last, And nature wear a vernal smile. “Waiting for Spring” by John...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
WHAT WE NEED ARE MORE PLANTS THAT LIKE END-OF-WINTER WEATHER! “May we raise children / who love the unloved things – the dandilion the / worms and spiderlings, Children who sense / the rose needs the thorn. “MAY WE RAISE CHILDREN” by NICOLETTE...
by natureswayrdev | '23 Newsletters, Uncategorized
Tips of tender green, / Leaf, or blade, or sheath; Telling of the hidden life / That breaks forth underneath, Life nursed in its grave by Death. “SPRING” by Christina Rossetti, (1830-1894) British poet/writer PREPARING FOR SPRING WITHOUT JUMPING THE GUN By...
