Garden centers are overflowing with new and fresh plants for the garden.  Early May is a great time for setting out new annuals to take the place of winter color.  And the number types and varieties of colorful perennials available for adding color and interest to the garden increases every year. In the flower garden, you have time to directly sow into the soil seeds of sunflower, zinnia, morning glory, portulaca, marigold, cosmos, periwinkles, and ornamental gourds. Achimenes, cannas, dahlias, and other summer-flowering bulbs and corms can… Read More →

What an interesting year, weather-wise, thus far. Mild winter, warm March, and thankfully enough rainfall to fill up lakes and replenish dried out soils. Spring gardening is at a fever pitch now, and nurseries are fully stocked with all kinds of plants and products for every purpose for the itchy green thumb.  Here are a few gardening tips for the month of April that you might find helpful. Home Garden Tour. Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 28, when the Smith County Master Gardeners host their annual Home… Read More →

This mild winter and spring, along with welcome rainfall, is helping to push the drought and heat of 2011 out of the minds of gardeners. While we should remain cautious regarding the potential return of drought conditions, it is hard to resist the urge to plant the garden, or to replant and replace drought-damaged plants. In case you have not seen or heard, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just published an updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM). This is a map which graphically shows the… Read More →

Looks like March is coming in like a lamb, and spring gardening fever is spreading across the area. Recent rainfall has replenished a lot of soil moisture, restoring hope for a more normal year weather-wise. However, we must remain vigilant since drought conditions that affect our vegetation can be different than municipal water supplies from lakes and reservoirs. Because of the uncertainty of this summer’s weather and current lower lake levels, Tyler and many other municipalities are still on mandatory water conservation status. This winter has been relatively… Read More →

Do you enjoy birdwatching? This is a favorite pasttime of many. Cornell Ornithology Labs and several partners sponsor each year the Great Backyard Bird Count. What is the Bird Count? This is from their web site: The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day,… Read More →

It’s already mid-February and I’m behind  posting notes on the blog, mainly due to lots of educational programs are going on this month. Here are a few tips for gardening in the month of February. Planting.  Even though it’s still wintertime, there are many types of plants that can or should be planted at this time of year. Early to mid-February is vegetable planting time for cool season crops including onions, Irish potatoes, radishes, greens, lettuce, spinach, sugar snap peas, carrots, broccoli transplants, beets, Swiss chard and turnips…. Read More →