Nature’s Way Resources is proud to produce & email you this free weekly newsletter. We have no ads, but sponsors do graciously help support this project as a public service. Please note their names below & show your gratitude for this free service by patronizing their businesses! To become a sponsor, call (936) 273-1200
Nature’s Way Resources owner John Ferguson, “The Lazy Gardener” Brenda Beust Smith and Pablo Hernandez welcome your feedback and are so grateful to the many horticulturists who contribute their expertise
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“Whatever solutions there are for floods,
they need to be bipartisan”
— Rodney Frelinghuysen, former American politician
PRAYING FOR MORE SURVIVORS
BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH
John, Pablo and I are — as am sure as we all are — horrified and devastated by the flooding deaths and damage in Kerrville and other river-flooded west/central parts of Texas.
I truly did try to write a ‘flower/gardening’ column for this week. But just couldn’t focus on that — not with (at last check) over 109 confirmed deaths (including 30 children), and over 160 people still missing across six of our counties. Dozens more are missing.
All I can think of are the horrible losses and suffering and the years my family (and probably many of yours) spent — a good part of my youth summers — camping out in dozens of different sites along these rivers. It’s a tragedy beyond comprehension.
Where did all that water come? One report: https://abcnews.go.com/US/factors-contributed-extreme-texas-flooding/story?id=123531903
Now all we can do is help in any way we can and Houston Public Television is one of many sources who are guiding us with various ways to help. HPT’s Here’s How You Can Help” list (link below) is one of the best I could find. I know it’s a long link but wanted to get it to you right away. Whatever you do, please do something to help.
Donation sites are starting all over town. houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/local/2025/07/06/525756/how-to-donate-volunteer-to-help-texas-hill-county-flood-victims/?utm_source=rss-local-article&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=hpm-rss-link
ATTN. GARDEN/PLANT GROUPS — 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!
- SUBMITTING CALENDAR EVENTS?: For next upcoming newsletter, submit in exact format (see top of calendar below. Reformatting = delay)
HAVE A COLUMN SUGGESTION OR CALENDAR SUBMISSION?
ADDRESS DIRECTLY TO ME AT LAZYGARDENERBRENDA@GMAIL.COM
(USE “REPLY” for general newsletter suggestions and John’s column.
John’s Corner
NEWS FROM THE WONDERFUL WORLD
OF SOIL AND PLANTS
Subject:
John’s article will be back next week.
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
John is a native Houstonian and has over 35 years of business experience. He owns Nature’s Way Resources, a composting company that specializes in high quality compost, mulch, and soil mixes. He holds a MS degree in Physics and Geology and is a licensed Soil Scientist in Texas.
John has won many awards in horticulture and environmental issues. For years he represented the composting industry on the Houston-Galveston Area Council for solid waste. His personal garden has been featured in several horticultural books and “Better Homes and Gardens” magazine. His business has been recognized in the Wall Street Journal for the quality and value of their products. He is a member of the Physics Honor Society and many other professional societies. John is the co-author of the book Organic Management for the Professional.
For this newsletter, John contributes articles regularly and is responsible for publishing it.
PABLO HERNANDEZ Pablo Hernandez is the special projects coordinator for Nature’s Way Resources. His realm of responsibilities include: serving as a webmaster, IT support, technical problem solving/troubleshooting, metrics management and quality control. Pablo helps this newsletter happen from a technical support standpoint.
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