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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 March 4, 2026
by Brenda Beust Smith | The Lazy Gardener
NOTE: STARTING with embarrassing correction and then . . . an important warning!
- Last week mistakenly listed the wrong date: Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Garden’s huge 2026 MARCH MART WILL be Fri.-Sat., Mar. 20-21, 2026. Online Plant Preview (best place to start!) opened March 1. Happy 48th Anniversary, March Mart!!!
- WARNING! Texas Dept. of Agriculture reports already 1000+ unordered/unsolicited seed mail deliveries (often labeled jewelry from China) have been reported in Texas. Fears are they “pose risks of invasive species/pests“! Do not open, plant, or discard seeds (may contain harmful pathogens). Keep in original packaging and report immediately to Texas Department of Agriculture at 1-800-TELL-TDA (or your local USDA APHIS office). NOTE: If you have already planted them, carefully remove plants (and soil) and immediately contact the TDA or your local agricultural extension agent.
NOW, SOME GREAT INFO SHARED BY OUR FELLOW (LOCAL!!) GARDENERS!
pictured, Persian Shield
RETHINKING SHADE GARDENING
IN HOUSTON
by SUMA MUDAN
In Houston’s Zone 9A, shade gardening is rarely a simple low-light equation. It is a dynamic interaction among high summer heat indices, warm nighttime temperatures, persistent humidity, and significant root competition — particularly beneath mature live oaks. Successful shade design in our region requires plant selection and cultural practices calibrated specifically for Gulf Coast conditions.
Emerging plant palettes and refined design strategies suited to experienced as well as mid-level gardeners will greatly improve success with structural foliage plants such as acanthus (bear’s breeches) for vertical architectural presence; dancing lady gingers and peacock gingers for adaptable tropical understory interest; and hardy calatheas for patterned foliage that tolerates filtered light.
Persian shield (Pictured) contributes durable, high-saturation foliage color, while crinums offer bloom potential in bright open shade. Camellias provide evergreen mass and winter floral display, strengthening year-round framework.
Beyond plant selection, updated establishment methods for tree-dominated landscapes — rather than trenching or heavy soil disturbance — current best practice emphasizes compost top-dressing, minimal root disruption, smaller plug installation, and targeted drip irrigation during establishment only.
Attention to microclimates — including seasonal canopy shifts, reflected heat from masonry, and dry shade zones — significantly improves performance and longevity.
Why do certain temperate-climate shade standards decline in Houston? With fungal pressure, insufficient chill hours, and chronic heat stress, the goal becomes not merely survival but sustained vigor and design integrity.
Finally: ecological layering — canopy, understory, shrub, herbaceous, and groundcover strata — is a framework for creating resilient, visually complex shade gardens with reduced long-term maintenance inputs.
Houston shade gardens can move beyond filler plantings such as calladiums and coleus, toward intentional, performance-driven design. A regionally grounded discussion of advanced plant material, microclimate management, and practical techniques will elevate shade gardening in Southeast Texas.
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GETTING THOSE STUBBORN
BLUEBONNETS TO BLOOM!
TIPS FROM BRENDA TORTORICE
Love the responses to earlier home-growing bluebonnet advice! Hope everyone is successful. Remember tho, our centuries-old advice on these is to plant in the fall, not in spring! Still, good luck and hope the personal successes with bluebonnets in Brenda Tortorice’s Rosharon, TX, garden will help you too!
This is Brenda T’s 6th year of bluebonnets in her front landscape. She started with 3 plants from Enchanted Forest nursery in Richmond, planted with “puny” results. None returned, but undaunted, Brenda bought 6 new ones and changed her tactics. Let’s hear it straight from Brenda T!
“Once the seed pods dried out, before they burst open, I’d harvest pods in an open pan and store in the garage.”
Bluebonnets sprouting
“Come September, I used my rolling pin to crush open the pods and separate the seeds from pods. I scraped back an inch of soil in the bed and scattered those seeds. Push the soil back over and gently water. Then let nature take over.”
She added mulch in October to the bed, covering the bluebonnet seeds too. Towards the middle of November, seedlings popped up!
“Each year, I did that and never bought another plant again. Seeds do end up in other areas of the landscape bed, and when they’re a decent size, I move them to join their other family members!”
Her bluebonnets are “at the end of a raised landscape bed, exposed to full sun, surrounded on 2 sides by concrete sidewalk/driveway, 3rd side is the exterior stone wall of garage, and yaupon shrubs, foxtail ferns, and agapanthus planted in the rest of the bed.
I let the plants die in place and let the seed pods dry up. Then I take scissors and cut the plants at dirt level and set my seed pods aside.”
Single bloom (left) is from 2/4/26, only bloom on the plants. Curled leaves on ends of some plants are from cold snap we had. Minimal freeze damage. Right photo is from 2/23/26, 3 weeks later. Blooms are busting out!
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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
Subject: What Is A Healthy Soil?
Over the next 3 weeks, we will be exploring what healthy soil is, how to build and maintain it, and more. Please read on to enjoy the writings and teachings of our late founder, John Ferguson.
Click below to learn more about all of the different types of mulch in detail.
Explore our article library to learn more information about various mulches and other topics.
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 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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