Jesse Jenkins

When most people think of Lavender, they are thinking of true Lavender from the Lavendula genus, which is known for its wonderful fragrance. Mona Lavender is an annual plant from the Plectranthus genus that thrives during fall into spring. Though it does not have that wonderful smell, it would be safe to say that it is rich with color, whether you’re enjoying its abundant lavender-purple blooms or its dark green leaves with a purple underside. It reaches a height of around 2ft and is equally wide. Whether you grow it in a pot or plant it in the ground, it will add a nice accent of color to your garden!

Matt Pinkerton

Mexican Flame Vine is a wonderful vine with a long blooming period until the first good frost. It has deep green leaves back-dropping beautiful orange daisy flowers. Very easy to grow in full sun to part shade with little to no serious pest issues. It is considered the best nectar vine for Monarch butterflies. It is also one of the best butterfly plants attracting Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, Gulf fritillaries, Hairstreaks, Painted ladies, Pipevine swallowtails, Skippers, Sulphurs, Queens, Zebra Longwings and more. It also attracts hummingbirds, and is a pollinator plus plant attracting bumble bees and honey bees. It can also be grown in a pot on a small trellis or tomato cage for support. We have one next to our office building. It is a great addition to any sunny landscape.

DeAnna

Zika – slight fever and joint pain, but causing serious birth defects. Dengue – fever, headache, back and joint pain, some fatalities. Chikungunya – fever, back and joint pain, headache, vomiting. All these bad characters are on our doorstep, it is highly likely that we will be dealing with them here in South Texas soon. We South Texans like to travel to the Caribbean, to Mexico, and to Central America, for vacation or to visit family. And while the mosquito vector doesn’t typically travel fast or far, we do, and will likely be bringing the virus home with us sooner or later, as Miami already has. We have the known vector mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and the Aedes albopictus here now, sneaky day and night biters, and they would be so happy to bite us and spread around these horrible diseases. So how shall we get ready? It’s fortunate that the diseases are not widespread here at this point, and so we can start now getting into new habits that will limit the spread once they show up.

The presence of both these mosquitoes is largely a result of our bad suburban habits. They reproduce in small amounts of water, such as old tires, neglected kiddie pools and toy trucks or wagons, any bucket or garden cart holding water, rain gutters, low areas in the yard, even a saucer under a pot. So throw away what you can, dump what you must, use Mosquito Bits (Bacillus thuringiensis israelinsis, non-toxic to all but mosquitoes) in small amounts of water like bird baths or saucers, Mosquito Dunks (also Bt) in low areas or ditches, put guppies (mosquito fish) in ornamental ponds. Clean or re-level rain gutters, cut grass frequently, apply Mosquito Beater granules (lemon grass, cedar, and other natural oils) under shrubs or in lawn or groundcover close to outdoor sitting areas, spray Mosquito Beater liquid (permethrin) in shaded entryways to kill and repel mosquitoes that might enter the house. These vectoring mosquitoes usually feed within a few hundred yards of where they hatch, so your own yard is most important to control hatching and biting, and your neighbors next most important.

Map courtesy of: cdc.gov

For further information, see: http://www.contagionlive.com/news/southern-texas-primed-for-an-outbreak-of-dengue-fever

James

Don’t give up on your mums before they’ve had a chance to live out their season! Sally explains how to trim your mums for new growth throughout the fall:

1. Use a sharp pair of head shears to remove the bulk of the blooms.
2. Spot trim with pruning clippers as needed.
3. Mix up some Hastagro (1 oz./1 gal. of water) and apply to soil.
4. Place in bright sun and enjoy!

With cooler months finally upon us, now is the time for planting some of my favorite winter annuals, one being the ever vibrant, versatile and easy to grow Nasturtium. Here are some things you may or may not know about this lovely little flower:

Nasturtiums are edible, flowers and leaves. The flowers make a beautiful addition to the top of any salad and add a peppery flavor. During the mid-twentieth century people used nasturtium seed pods as a replacement for pepper by drying out the seeds and grinding them. The bloom can be dusted with sugar and used to decorate a holiday cake.

Nasturtium Salad c/o Sunset Magazine

They’re not picky and grow well in any type of soil. They love sunshine and don’t like to stay wet.
They make a great companion plant. They help deter aphids, white fly, squash bugs and other pests. Plant alongside veggies like tomatoes, cabbage & broccoli.

Gill Garden Guide: Fall & Winter Annuals

-Whitney

Watch this video from James to help you identify & prevent Brown Patch Fungus. With shorter days and cooler, damp nights, your lawn is susceptible to this disease.

This is a project I have been wanting to do for a while now, and it was a lot easier than I was expecting. So naturally, I want to share the project idea with our customers!

Staghorn ferns are eye-catching plants that make for a beautiful indoor addition to any home! This fern is naturally epiphytic, meaning that it generally grows on trees or other surfaces. In this case, a slab of wood!

The staghorn fern would be happy indoors in bright indirect light or in a shady area in your backyard. Watering requires a heavy misting and the frequency will depend on if you intend for it to be outdoors or indoors.

All you need for this project is wood, a hammer and 25-30 nails, scissors and twine, sphagnum moss, and a staghorn fern!

First you will want to assemble your wooden base.

This can be made of scrap wood, drift wood, or anything lying around. Before long, the plant will steal any attention away from the wood backing, so don’t worry if it’s imperfect. I used some scrap wood I found in my garage.

Next, you will want to take your fern out of the pot, and gently brush away as much dirt as you can to expose the roots.

Staghorn ferns don’t need soil to root in, so we will be replacing much of this with our sphagnum moss. Lay the fern onto the wood until you’ve got it in a place that looks best, making sure to try and leave the fern’s shield in tact. These will eventually grow over the sphagnum root-ball holding the plant to the wood.

Once the plant is set, trace your circle for your nails and get to work!

The nails encircling the plant will be what holds everything in place, so don’t be stingy with the nails! I used 25-30 nails and got them about a half-inch away from one another. Leave the nails half way out of the wood so you will have plenty of anchorage for the twine.

Next you’ll need to wet a couple of handfuls of moss in a shallow dish, and press it down over the fern’s roots, making sure to cover everything from the shield down.

I used the twine to anchor the plant until I felt it was completely secure, and then finished nailing the nails in all of the way into the wood. And that’s all, folks! Super easy and super fun project that only took about 45 minutes.

-Kady

How to heal your lawn from a long summer: identify and treat damage from Chinch Bugs and Sod Webworms; apply pre-emergent to prevent weeds; fertilize in fall for healthy roots come spring.

Also, keep an eye out for the fungus among us. Watch James’ video on Brown Patch Fungus for more info.

If you are ever unsure, just dig up a chunk of the problem area and bring it in to us for help with a diagnosis.

Further reading: Top Five Tips for a Beautiful Lawn.

Jesse Jenkins

Next, you will want to take your fern out of the pot, and gently brush away as much dirt as you can to expose the roots.

Once the plant is set, trace your circle for your nails and get to work!

Next you’ll need to wet a couple of handfuls of moss in a shallow dish, and press it down over the fern’s roots, making sure to cover everything from the shield down.

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