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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 11, 2026
by Brenda Beust Smith | The Lazy Gardener
After 60+ years of writing the Lazy Gardener column (from the Houston Chronicle to wonderfully nature-oriented Nature’s Way Resources), I never thought I could be surprised by a new gardening idea. Adaptations, sure. But not NEW. But it’s happened, and hopefully this is just the beginning.
Did that headline take you a little “a’back”? Sure did me. Explanations below are from Raj Dharamshi, Founder, Urban Green Initiative (info@urbangreeninitiative.org | urbangreeninitiative.org). And thanks to Doris Heard, Garden Club of Houston (and “of America”) and Jaime González, Executive Director, UH Institute of Ecological Resilience, for aiming Raj my way. Many major gardening-related folks are interested in this, so really appreciate being able to share! This may not be possible for everyone, but hope some of you will find it worth it and let Raj explain in his own words:
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Tiny Forest atop an old landfill in the city of Cambridge, NY Times, August 24, 2023
Dear Fellow Houston Gardeners,
Every spring, I hear the same question from neighbors and nature enthusiasts: “Where have all the butterflies gone?” What if I told you that cities around the world have already found the answer and are bringing them back faster than expected, using land you likely walk past every day?
Look around Houston and you will see these orphaned land everywhere: mowed grass along the bayous, vacant corner lots, and forgotten medians. This is “dead space” waiting for a purpose. What if each of these patches became a dense, buzzing, bird-filled mini-forest? This is entirely possible through a method that is quietly transforming urban landscapes globally.
Miyawaki Forest Illustration – SUGI Pocket Forest
The Method
Developed by Japanese botanist Dr. Akira Miyawaki, this approach focuses on how ancient forests function to rebuild them rapidly. The secret lies in planting a high density of diverse native species in layers within living soil. As these plants compete and support one another, the forest establishes in a fraction of the traditional time.
Growth is up to 10x faster than conventional planting, with the canopy typically filling in within two to three years. By year three, the forest becomes fully self-sustaining, requiring minimal irrigation, weeding, or maintenance.
What It Means for Houston
Houston’s subtropical climate and rich native palette—including Yaupon Holly, American Beautyberry, Possumhaw, Cedar Elm, and more! —are perfect for Miyawaki forests. Our city needs the specific benefits these forests deliver: cooler neighborhoods in July, soil that absorbs stormwater, and vital corridors where Monarchs and Painted Buntings can thrive.
Beirut’s RiverLESS Forest | Beirut, Lebanon — 5 year old SUGi Pocket Forest
Through the Urban Green Initiative, we are working to plant Miyawaki forests across the Greater Houston area—in schoolyards, along bayous, on church grounds, and in underutilized vacant lots. We are looking for gardeners, HOAs, and community champions to help us get the next round of forests in the ground this fall.
To learn more about this method, check out urbangreeninitiative.org and/or reach out to info@urbangreeninitiative.org with questions, requests for speaking engagements, references, and more.
The butterflies are waiting. Let’s give them somewhere to land.
With green intentions,
Raj Dharamshi
Founder, Urban Green Initiative
info@urbangreeninitiative.org | urbangreeninitiative.org | 832.654.4813
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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?
Continuing with last week’s theme, 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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