Author Archives: khansen
Helleborus Blooms
Nothing brightens the wintertime (this is winter, right??) like cheery blooms. Narcissus and flowering quince are starting to bloom, and I’ve seen a few early deciduous magnolia blooms. Another early bloomer is Helleborus, also known as Lenten Rose or Christmas Rose. It’s not even closely related to roses. But they are reliable bloomers for the winter garden, and do great in shady spots in the landscape. They can take quite deep shade, but bloom better if they get some morning, or late afternoon sun. They do like well-drained… Read More →
East Texas Garden Lecture Series Feb 16
Scott and Lauren Ogden are the featured speakers at the first East Texas Garden Lecture Series on February 16 at the Tyler Rose Garden Center. The keynote will be based on their award winning book “Plant-Driven Design: Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place and Spirit.” They base their approach that plants come first rather than a certain style or architectural construct in which to find plants that fit. Their extensive plant knowledge and design experience equips them to look at the process of creating gardens in a new… Read More →
Moth Orchids – Easy to Grow Houseplants
Early in my gardening hobby days, I became interested in orchids. Those beautiful, large, colorful, long-lasting, waxy blooms are quite enchanting, and the lure was irresistible to try growing some of these exotic plants. I availed myself to references, books and magazines, and became thoroughly confused, and nearly convinced that folks without greenhouses were not meant to enjoy these botanical wonders, except as corsages on special occasions. Killing a few along the way reinforced my notion that special conditions were a necessity to grow any kind of orchid…. Read More →
Gardening Educational Programs
This February, several educational opportunities, presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, are coming up that will be of interest to gardeners, growers and those in the landscaping business in the East Texas area. The East Texas Garden Lecture Series kicks off on February 16 at the Tyler Rose Garden Center with “A Morning with Scott and Lauren Ogden”. The Environmental Horticultural Committee which plans this event revamped it from an all-day to a morning-only program. Scott and Lauren Springer Ogden are nationally renowned garden designers and… Read More →
Gardening Tips for January
With the New Year begins a new gardening season, and renewed hopes of a greater harvest, prettier blooms, abundant rain and fewer weeds. As you continue to build on your successes and learn from your failures, one thing to keep in mind is that every year will most likely be different from the previous one. Some things never change, though, such as the routine gardening tasks that make gardening more productive. When it is too nasty outside to work, there are those gardening catalogs arriving in your mailbox… Read More →
Christmas Cactus Care
Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesi) is a favorite holiday season house plant, but one which needs careful attention to details if it is to flower again the next year. It is closely related to Easter Cactus (Schlumbergera gaertneri) and Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera truncatus), all with fleshy, flattened, segmented joints and showy flowers ranging in color from white through pink, red and purple. These cacti are epiphytes, which means that in their native habitat, they live in the crotches and bark of jungle trees. This is why they do best… Read More →
Winter Gardening Tips
Now that cold weather has finally arrived to end the growing season for most garden plants, you might think that there is nothing left to do in the outdoor garden. But, there’s now some cleanup to be done, preparations for next year, and perhaps some rearranging of your “garden furniture”. Garden Clean Up. The hard freezes on Monday and Tuesday have left many perennials and annuals a wilted mass of stems and leaves. Time to clean up the garden, and the frozen vegetation can make a good addition… Read More →
Camellias – Southern Charm with a Long History
Fall and winter bring out the flowers of one of the loveliest blooming shrubs we can grow – camellias. Like many other wonderful plants we grow and admire in the landscape, camellias are native to Asia. Did you know that the leaves of a very close relative of garden camellias is the source of the beverage we call tea! Camellia sinensis has been grown and used in China since 2737 B.C., and it became a popular drink in Europe in the 17th century. Due to the expense of… Read More →
