by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
John’s Tip Of The Week By John Ferguson As gardeners know, composting at home is a wonderful opportunity to recycle nature’s food bounty back to nature and benefit ourselves. You can both lower your carbon footprint and your need to buy chemical...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
John’s Tip Of The Week By John Ferguson I was listening to Randy Lemon on Garden line radio show this past Saturday morning and a caller wanted to know, “When is the best time to apply compost?” Of course Randy gave him the correct answer which is...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
How To Use & Apply By John Ferguson For most gardeners using AACT (Actively Aerated Compost Tea) is the easiest and most common. AACT is a brewed tea and not an Extract or Leachate. Several nurseries in the greater Houston area now sell fresh made compost tea by...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
Top 10 Mistakes Gardeners Make with Compost Piles By Rob Lucey | Harris County Master Gardeners Composting is not difficult but there are a few things you need to know NOT to do to have a successful compost mixture. According to Harris County Master Gardener,...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
Mulch Corner – Part 2 By John Ferguson We were talking this week with one of our landscaping customers whom uses compost as a mulch, so let’s explore this topic. Compost makes a good mulch when applied 3 inches deep around most plants. A good compost has a...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
Mulch Corner – Part 1 By John Ferguson Last week we showed an example of using compost as a mulch on turf grass and we had a few questions so I will give provide additional information on the subject. Compost is a very high quality mulch when applied 2-4″...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
COMMEMORATING FORTY YEARS OF ROSE RUSTLING By Elisabeth Castro | Texas Rose Rustlers “ Roses are difficult to grow. ” This was a common sentiment shared by many who thought keeping roses healthy and free of disease meant a strict regimen of spraying with toxic...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
By: Susan Gail Wood | South Texas Unit of The Herb Society of America Planting Calendar Cool season annuals to plant or start from seed in October and November: dill, parsley, fennel, borage, coriander / cilantro, calendula. and nasturtium. They flower and set...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
By: Susan Gail Wood | South Texas Unit of The Herb Society of America Fall is a great time to plant herbs in the Houston area, especially since you can attend the 42nd Annual Herb Fair on November 1st at 1475 West Gray Multi Service Center from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m....
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
But Happy Here Even Without By: Gene Powers William Scheick, in ‘A Texans Guide to Clematis’, * refers to clematises requiring a winter dormancy period, including snow cover. (*Texas Gardener Magazine, Mar/Apr) Well, my two in unprotected containers on the back...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
With The Butterflies! BY Amy Barton | Houston Arboretum & Nature Center There is nothing more calming and enjoyable than walking through a colorful garden enlivened by the silent beauty of a butterfly’s delicate wings fluttering from flower to flower....
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
Some Love Our Garden, Others Don’t — But All Are Fascinating! BY MIKE HOWLETT | PETFLYTRAP.COM Gardening attracts folks mainly for three reasons: beauty, healthier food and wildlife value. But how about growing plants that turn the tables on the animal...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
CARE OF ROSES CHANGING WITH CLIMATE! By: KAREN GERLACH | HOUSTON ROSE SOCIETY houstonrose.org Weather extremes have been challenging for gardeners. This is how we cope with these challenges in our landscape. Post Freeze Care Avoid pruning until the risk of a late...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
Can I Save My Bushes, or Are They Going to Die? By: Baxter Williams | Houston Rose Society No, they shouldn’t die, but you need to re-prune them. Here are the steps: Pinch, or cut off little wilted growths. They won’t rejuvenate. Cut damaged stems, down to healthy...
by natureswayrdev | Additional Articles, Uncategorized
CAMELLIAS — QUEEN OF WINTER BLOOMERS! By: KITT BURNSIDES, FRIENDS OF MERCER BOTANIC GARDEN, Board Member & Tree & Shrub growing lead friendsofmercer.com The camellia is a tough, durable plant, but it isn’t always hardy enough to tolerate the deep chill and...
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, 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, 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, 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, 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...
