Nature’s Way Resources is proud to bring you this free weekly newsletter. While we don’t run ads, generous sponsors help support this project as a public service. Their names are listed below, please consider showing your appreciation by supporting their businesses!
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 September 9, 2026
“Hummingbirds are a gardener’s favorite sign of a healthy, blooming garden.”
— Anonymous
Learning how to handle a hummingbird is one of the treats at the “Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, 299 Highway 332 W, Lake Jackson, Patty Brinkmeyer photo
by Brenda Beust Smith | The Lazy Gardener
I hope your hummingbird experiences this year are as wonderful as mine have been! It’s only taken me almost all my 83 years to suddenly lure them to our yard! Now they’re actually sheltering in one of our trees and daily enjoying our hummingbird feeders!
Don’t ask what I did right. I’m not sure. I’ve tried so many different things over the decades; the mind boggles! Very little luck, just occasional sightings that thrill, but don’t remain even overnight! Thing is: this year they’ve been here for months, flying in and out of our trees and quietly swishing around feeders filled with plain ol’ sugar water — exact same “lure” I’ve used on so many other occasions!
Fortunately for those who need more help, we have our annual upcoming
GCBO’s annual Hummingbird Extravaganza! Saturdays, Sept. 12 & Sept. 19, in Lake Jackson. Headlining these delights of nature is one possible thrill! Click link for more info!
NAME CHANGE — BUT STILL FOR THE BIRDS!
Since visiting and resident birds are such a big part of our gardens, thought you’d want to know our 52-year-old Houston Audubon Society has changed its name to “Birds Houston” (birdshouston.org/programs/birding/gallery/index.html), marking its first name change since its founding in 1969. So don’t be surprised when you hear Birds Houston when “Houston Bird Week” starts Sept. 19.
We’re lucky. “Birds Houston” now operates 18 Nature Preserves across the Greater Houston area. Click on the link; surely there’s one near you.
Do you know all the benefits of attracting birds to your garden? Besides the delight of watching them? Perhaps best of all: they’re a natural (safest & free!) “pest control,” attracting more welcome backyard wildlife like bees and butterflies while helping to get rid of destructive insects and rodents. Win-win! Hope our Spotlight Article below helps you attract hummers to, in turn, help your gardens!
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DESIGNING WITH HUMMINGBIRDS IN MIND!
by KAYLA PRINGLE
Education Assistant
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory
gcbo.org
More than just colorful visitors, hummingbirds serve as vital pollinators when gardens are designed with their needs in mind. To create a garden that truly serves their needs, think beyond generic nectar plants. Flower structure matters: tubular blooms such as Gulf Coast Penstemon (Penstemon tenuis), Turk’s Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus), and Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) align perfectly with a hummingbird’s long bill and tongue.
Stagger bloom times across early, mid, and late seasons to ensure uninterrupted nectar availability throughout migration.
Feeders remain an excellent supplement but require upkeep and cleaning. Use a simple solution of four parts water to one part sugar. Do not use any honey, sweeteners, or dyes, and clean every 2–3 days to prevent mold or fermentation.
It’s best to position feeders in shade to slow spoilage and offer multiple feeders to reduce territorial disputes.
With how small hummingbirds are, protein is often overlooked; hummingbirds rely on small insects and spiders for essential nutrients.
Avoid systemic insecticides like neonicotinoids, which can contaminate nectar, and instead encourage insect populations with native shrubs and leaf litter.
Finally, design your hummingbird microhabitat with safety and shelter in mind. Dense shrubs near feeding areas provide perches and protection from predators, while minimizing window reflections helps prevent collisions.
By combining thoughtful plant selection, responsible feeding, and a habitat that supports the entire food web, gardeners can ensure hummingbirds not only visit, but flourish season after season.
EDITOR’S NOTE: FOR MORE INFO ON THIS WONDERFUL CELEBRATION: GCBO’s annual Hummingbird Extravaganza! Gcbo.org
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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
Taking a break this week to share details for our annual
Fall Garden Festival at Nature’s Way Resources
Join us on-site at Nature’s Way Resources in Conroe on
Saturday, September 19, from 8 AM-2 PM for a day of gardening, shopping, education, live music, and family fun!
Gardening & Education
9-10 AM – Organic Bonsai Growing and Care in South Texas
Join Ashley Smith of Windward Gardens for a demonstration on growing and caring for bonsai in our South Texas climate.
12-2 PM – Live Q&A with GardenLine’s Skip Richter
Bring your gardening questions and get advice from Skip on everything from fall planting and soil to lawns, trees, shrubs, and vegetables.
Throughout the Day
- Large local vendor market
- Fall plant sales
- Soils, composts & mulches
- Complimentary wine & coffee during our Sip & Shop
- Live music
- Vendor Bingo – collect stamps from participating vendors and receive a free plant
- Kids’ scavenger hunt, free face painting + giant sandbox
Fall is one of the best planting seasons in Texas, so come get inspired, shop local, learn something new, and get your garden ready for the season ahead.
Saturday, September 19
8 AM-2 PM
Nature’s Way Resources
101 Sherbrook Circle, Conroe, TX 77304
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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 the boards of many Greater Houston area horticulture organizations. She hosted local radio and TV shows, most notably Lazy Gardener specialty fundraisers 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 Shelby Cassano 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 had 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.
NATURE’S WAY RESOURCES
101 Sherbrook Cir.
Conroe, TX 77385
Hours of Operation
Monday – Friday: 8AM to 5PM
Saturday: 8AM to 2PM
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