Lazy Gardener & Friends
Weekly Newsletter
Welcome to the Lazy Gardener & Friends Weekly Horticultural Newsletter!
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2026 Newsletters
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 657 – Fall Gardening in Houston: What to Plant This Season
October 14, 2026 – Fall is a prime planting season in Houston! Discover colorful plants that bring October blooms to the garden, plus learn how Nature’s Way Resources is helping close the recycling loop through local composting and education.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 656 – Fall Rose Care in Houston: Pruning, Watering & Fertilizing
October 7, 2026 — Get practical fall rose care tips for Houston, including watering, fertilizing, and pruning guidance. Plus, learn how to keep gravel paths stable and manage drainage in clay soil.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 655 – Herb Gardening in Houston: Seasonal Tips & Organic Gardening
September 30,2026 — Explore fall herb gardening tips for Houston, including which herbs to plant and common mistakes to avoid. Plus, learn how organic landscaping and healthier soil support thriving gardens.
Lazy Gardener and Friends – 642 – Explore Mercer Arboretum & Summer Gardening Tips for Texas
Take a virtual stroll through Mercer Arboretum with highlights from Brenda Beust Smith and Shelby Cassano while learning how Saharan dust can affect Texas gardens. This issue also explores the benefits of organic gardening, healthy soils, and practical advice for growing stronger, more resilient landscapes.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 654 – Volcano Mulching: How to Protect Your Trees
September 23, 2026 — Learn why volcano mulching can harm your trees and how to apply mulch correctly to protect their health. Plus, discover seasonal Houston gardening tips, hummingbird insights, and a botanical look at Halloween from Mercer Botanic Gardens & Arboretum.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 653 – Hummingbird Houses in Texas: What Gardeners Should Know
September 16, 2026 — Thinking about buying a hummingbird house? Learn why hummingbirds prefer tiny, cup-shaped nests on branches rather than enclosed birdhouses. Plus, discover local gardening tips and fun ways to share a love of plants with the next generation.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 652 – Hummingbird Gardens in Houston: Plants & Garden Tips
September 3, 2026 — Discover how to create a hummingbird-friendly garden with native plants, nectar-rich blooms, clean feeders, and natural shelter. Get practical advice from Brenda Beust Smith and the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, plus details about Nature’s Way Resources’ Fall Garden Festival.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 651 – Greensand for Soil Health: Benefits for Houston Gardens
September 3, 2026 — Learn how greensand can support soil health, improve moisture retention, and provide minerals for your garden. Plus, get Houston gardening tips from Brenda Beust Smith and explore practical ways to care for plants through the heat.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 650 – Living Mulch for Soil Health: Benefits of Cover Crops
August 26, 2026 – Discover how living mulch and cover crops can improve soil health, conserve nutrients, reduce erosion, and support beneficial microbes. Plus, get seasonal gardening tips for helping Greater Houston gardens recover from summer heat and prepare for fall.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 649 – Native Plants in Houston: Grow a Healthier Landscape
August 19, 2026 – Choose native plants, support local wildlife, and turn your yard into part of a bigger conservation effort. Explore regenerative landscaping, healthy soil, and practical ways to bring nature home, one garden at a time.
2025 Newsletters
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 616 – Monarch Butterfly Update: Cautious Hope for 2026 Populations
This newsletter shares a monarch butterfly update with cautious optimism for 2026, examining recent population data, migration challenges, and the role gardeners play in conservation.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 615 – Native Caterpillars & Birds: Why Plants Matter in Houston Gardens
This issue explores why native caterpillars Houston ecosystems depend on are critical for birds and biodiversity, alongside timely poinsettia care advice from local gardeners.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 614 – Cold-Hardy Plants for Houston: African Bush Daisy & Winter Color
This issue highlights cold hardy plants Houston gardeners can grow for winter color, featuring African bush daisy, freeze-tolerant favorites, and tips for navigating unpredictable temperatures.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 613 – Houston Rose Winter Care: Freeze Prep, Mulch Tips & Recovery
This edition focuses on Houston rose winter care, featuring expert advice from Gaye Hammond on preparing roses for freezes, mulching properly, and reducing cold damage during unpredictable weather.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 612 – Houston Tree Canopy: Why Urban Trees Impact Every Neighborhood
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...
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 610 – Miniature Roses: Tips, Sources & Winter Gardening Ideas for Houston
Miniature roses, winter garden ideas, expert tips, and fresh insights from friends in John’s Corner.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 611 – Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving from Brenda and the team!
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 609 – Houston Gardening: Winter Prep, Strawberries & Easy Roses Guide
Houston gardening tips for winter prep, strawberries, easy roses, and monarch updates.
The Lazy Gardener & Friends – 608 – Plant Propagation Tips: Seeds, Cuttings & Fall Garden Guidance
Fall gardening is the perfect time to multiply your favorite plants. This issue covers plant propagation tips using seeds and cuttings, seasonal garden insights, chrysanthemums, and guidance from SFA Gardens expert Jordan Cunningham.
Lazy Gardener & Friends – 606 – Houston Native Plants: Winter Color, Marigolds & Manure Insights
Fall is a perfect time to explore Houston native plants and winter blooms. Discover deer-deterring marigolds, tips for low-care natives, and insights on manure and sustainable gardening from Lazy Gardener and John’s Corner.
2024 Newsletters
Lazy Gardener & Friends 565
DO OUR PLANTS WISH WE’D HELP BIRDS STICK AROUND ALL WINTER? YES, THEY DO!
Compost
Lazy Gardener & Friends 564
WITH WINTER COMES DIFFERENT (NEW?)
GARDEN OUTLOOKS!
DESPITE CHALLENGES, GINGERS REALLY DO LIKE HOUSTON AREA!
Mulch
Lazy Gardener & Friends 563
NEW MOON AT WORK — MILD WINTER OUTLOOK GOOD NEWS FOR PLANTS
Molybdenum
Lazy Gardener & Friends 562
Thanksgiving Issue
Lazy Gardener & Friends 561
GRAB WHAT’S LEFT OF 2024 TO ENJOY YOUR GARDEN BEFORE PREDICTED FIRST FREEZE
BARONS – Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry by Austin Frerick, Island Press, 2024, ISBN: 978-1642832-693
Lazy Gardener & Friends 560
COTTAGE GARDENING TIPS GOOD ROUTE FOR ALL OUR GARDENS!
Benefits of Gardening
Lazy Gardener & Friends 559
SALUTING A GARDENER EXTRAORDINAIRE
TIME TO BE ‘FORCE-FUL’ WITH BULBS FOR HOLIDAYS!
Hybrid plants and nutrients in our food
Lazy Gardener & Friends 558
“Boo-tiful treats for the garden!
HOME GARDENS AND PRAIRIES — LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER
Manure-based fertilizers
Lazy Gardener & Friends 557
Didn’t realize goldenrod has so many fans — wow! Looking ahead to more color…
IS ALL COPACETIC IN YOUR VEGGIE PATCH?
CAMELLIAS: QUEENS OF THE WINTER GARDEN
Books: Soil Science for Regenerative Agriculture and The Regenerative Agricultural Solution
Lazy Gardener & Friends 556
“Ah, Walt, what have you wrought?”
Fungi intelligence fungi and sound GMO soy
2023 Newsletters
Lazy Gardener & Friends 515
Thanksgiving Issue
Lazy Gardener & Friends 514
COMMUNITY GARDENS (LIKE BEAUTY’S) GREAT RESOURCES FOR WINNERS FOR YOUR AREA
Herbicides (glyphosate) and health
Lazy Gardener & Friends 513
WE SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON PLANTS
~THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!
Carbon pollination plants sound black cumin ungi leather
Lazy Gardener & Friends 512
Saving our Earth, one landscape at a time
CAMELLIAS — QUEEN OF WINTER BLOOMERS! HYDROPONICS WORTH TRYING!
Glyphosate fluoride & IQ tree sweat EMF and health
Lazy Gardener & Friends 511
Lookin’ for marigolds for Dia de los Muertos?
WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU A LANDSCAPE LEMON . . .
Tires – elderberry – bumble bees leaf mulch.
Lazy Gardener & Friends 510
SECRET WISH? SECRET WITCH? SECRET GARDEN? OR, JUST AN HERB LOVER?
COOL WEATHER HERBS PLANTING CALENDAR
Straw mulch glyphosate food contamination seaweed extracts cover
crops and tarping birds and metal health
Lazy Gardener & Friends 509
‘HOUSTON’S DIVERSE ECOLOGY’ CHALLENGE FOR GARDENERS BUT NATIVES ARE THRIVING!
fungi-algae bioinoculants sprayable mulch gardening and mental bees
Lazy Gardener & Friends 508
‘I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers’
TEXAS TOUGH NATIVES LIFT COLLECTION
TO NEXT LEVEL!
Fluoride Frogfruit ginger edible fungi and books diet and dementia