The cool spring weather is now a distant memory as East Texas summer has arrived for its extended stay. Beat the heat and humidity by doing your gardening activities in the early morning and early evening. Wear a hat, and protect yourself with sunscreen and mosquito repellant. Here are some educational opportunities this month to keep you informed on gardening and plant topics. Tomorrow is the last of the spring series of “First Tuesday in the Garden” free lectures – “Natives Beat the Heat” on June 4 in… Read More →

  The saying is, “If you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait a minute and it will change.” After hitting the upper 80’s, it’s predicted to be in the upper 30’s tonight. Of course, weather, including temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind, etc., affects plants in many ways. Eventually spring will give way to our typical Texas summer with endless hot days and warm nights. Many plants, including our turfgrasses, grow best in warm to hot temperatures. They have been slow in the transition from their winter dormancy to… Read More →

  Springtime is at the door, and gardening fever is starting afflict folks. I don’t know if March came in as a lion or lamb, but one thing is certain – you can’t predict the weather in Texas. The cooler weather in late February and early March slowed down what looked like an early springtime. Saturday March 16 is the second East Texas Garden Lecture Series workshop at the Tyler Rose Garden Center, featuring “Creating Creative Container Gardens”. Gone are the days of boring, one-plant pots! Come be… Read More →

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 →

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 →

Change is in the air with the turning of the seasons. It will not be long before the first killing freeze arrives, ending the growing season for the majority of our garden plants. Our first freeze is typically around November 15. It has come as early as October 20 and as late as January 4 back in 1966. Folks living in low lying areas, and out in the country, will see a frost or freeze before city folks where the heat island effect keeps the temperature a few… Read More →