Category Archives: Favorite Plants
Blooming after a Hard Summer
After a grueling summer, with many garden plants biting the dust from drought and extreme heat, this fall weather with cooler days and occasional showers is a much welcome change. It almost seems a miracle that anything would be blooming up a storm, seemingly unaffected by the recent summer stresses, but there are many plants that made it through not only with little problem but are putting on a floriferous fall display. Included in this group are the salvias. Many of these species come from central and… Read More →
October Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (GBBD)
On the 15th of each month, garden bloggers everywhere post what’s blooming in their garden – called Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, and often just GBBD (originated by May Dreams Gardens blog – go there to see other GBBD posts). I’ve set the alarm on my calendar to remind me to post some of my blooming favorites. After a grueling summer – no rain, and 80+ days over 100 degrees, it is amazing that much of anything is doing well. Here are some that should go into the the… Read More →
Bulb Sale Saturday, October 8
Make plans now to attend the annual Fall Garden Conference and Bulb Sale, sponsored by Smith County Master Gardeners, a volunteer support group of Texas AgriLife Extension Service. It is this Saturday, October 8, at Harvey Convention Center, 2000 W. Front St. in Tyler. This free event begins with 2 talks, starting at 9:00 a.m. The featured speaker is Dallas County Master Gardener Diana Harris, also a Certified Landscape Professional, who will speak on gardening in the shade. Local Master Gardener Merlin Eck will give a rapid… Read More →
Tough Plants for Tough Conditions
You don’t need me to tell you that our summer has been really hard on our landscape plants. Even in landscapes with irrigation, whether you are a hose-dragger like me or have an in-ground system, many plants are suffering, showing signs of heat and drought stress. Common plants like azaleas are very prone to problems in these types of conditions. I’ve lost some azaleas that didn’t get sufficient irrigation because other plants were blocking spray patterns. Years like this often cause us to reconsider the types of plants… Read More →
Super Petunias
About 15 years ago, Purple Wave petunia came on the scene and turned my concept of petunias on its head. Petunias – wimpy plants that turn their toes up at the heat. Purple Wave changed everything – here was a gaudy, wide spreading, laugh-at-the-Texas-heat petunia that thrived in East Texas. My horticulture buddies in other parts of the State were not as impressed, since apparently it didn’t look so hot growing in their high pH soil, getting iron chlorosis and wimping out. But the breeding has only gotten… Read More →
Hot Plants at Horticulture Field Day
Last week about 180 folks attend the Horticulture Field Day at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Overton. Folks were having a good time on an unusually “mild” cloudy morning, strolling down row upon row of replicated plots of the latest seed and cutting propagated bedding plants. It was a great opportunity to see what has not only survived but performed well in the premature hot temperatures and dry conditions that have assaulted us for the last several weeks. Drought is not a problem for these… Read More →
Evergreen Dogwood
Yes, an evergreen dogwood! But to me, that’s not what’s cool about Cornus angustata, this small, highly ornamental tree. It’s the really long bloom season, at least for the one in my yard. It typically starts in mid-May, and the blooms may last until early July. They are small, like a Kousa dogwood, but they make up for size with their numbers. And blooming at a time when few other trees are blooming. Another aspect is that seems to be a very tough tree. Mine is growing in… Read More →
Azalea Season is Open!
Get ready to be dazzled. Seemingly overnight azalea blossoms have popped open to herald the arrival of spring. And what more convenient way to be dazzled than to cruise the Tyler Azalea Trail. Evergreen azaleas, the type that predominate the plantings on the Tyler Azalea Trail, originated in Asia where they have been cultivated for centuries. They were introduced to Europe and the U.S. in the 1800’s. Today, there are literally thousands of named varieties of azaleas, in many hybrid groups. The most definitive work on azaleas was… Read More →
