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Just when you think things are going monochromatic for the winter, a bright stalk appears in the landscape, then another and another… the aloe plants have gone into bloom. Torches of red, orange, and yellow cigar shaped flowers assure the eye and the heart that in winter, gardens are beautiful!

Succulent plants like aloes, agaves, echeverias, kalanchoes, and sedums show off their best colors during the season of short days…winter. From mid-November through late January, these trendy delights shoot up spires of strange unique flowers one might think came from a Dr. Seuss book. What a treat!

Use them in containers as living art, and combine them to make beautiful mixed gardens that are perfect for gifts. Add succulents to your table setting in tiny pots, or even use as decorations in a living wreath or centerpiece.

Some tips and trivia on succulents and their care:

– Succulents prefer morning sun and afternoon shade.
– They have a shallow root system and need good drainage.
– Fertilize once a month with Hasta Gro.
– A good way to check your succulents for water is place a flat rock onto the moist soil. Pick up the rock every few days and when soil beneath is dry- give your succulent a good drink.
– Protect from heavy rains by bringing pots onto a covered patio, or if in ground have a soil mix that is mounded and very porous. You can even set out a patio umbrella to help protect sensitive in-ground plants, or dig up valuable specimens and replant after things dry up.
– Take broken plant pieces and lay on top of the soil to start new plants. Plant in Cactus & Succulent mix once the roots have formed.
– Some succulents get colorful foliage during winter and will tolerate freezing temperatures, but others should be brought inside if temperatures are going below 40 F. So research your succulents before the next freeze to be ready.

Let us share the season of wonder and surprise! Come see us soon.

-Debbie

Spectacular is the best word for Flowering Cabbage & Kale, with its purple hues on sage green leaves. These ornamentals are in the same family as edible cabbage and kale, and can be eaten, but do not have good flavor. They are bred for their colorful foliage. Their contrast to the golds and browns of winter makes them especially stunning.

Below are some tips to guarantee your success with Flowering Cabbage & Kale:

– Best planted in ¾-day sun to full winter sun
– Plant in well-drained soil or in a pot
– They grow up to 14″ tall, 14″ wide so give room if planting in the ground. Can be tucked in with other contrasting annuals and eventually may take over
– Let soil dry between watering
– Beautiful mixed with winter snaps, pansies, violas, alyssum, petunias, and geraniums
– Fertilize with Hasta Gro every 2 weeks

-Sally

A friend texted me this week-end and asked how she can get rid of her winter weeds. Probably like everyone, she’s getting ready for her family to arrive! She has weeds amongst her flowers near her front door. Our recommendation is to

1. Spray with Nature’s Creation Total Weed & Grass Control, 20% Vinegar, best if sun is out. Even better, mix a small amount of Medina Orange Oil with Vinegar.
2. The next day, top dress with Pine Straw or Hardwood Mulch

Before & After!

And like magic, all gone!! Happy Holidays!

-Sally

PS* …and, put on your calendar to install Preen in October and January to stop more weed seeds from sprouting.

It’s the time of year we are scurrying around the garden, picking delicious ripening citrus. Perfect gift giving for the holidays! A few days ago, I noticed that some of my lemons and their leaves have a black mold on them. Some of you have had the same issue and are concerned too. “What is happening?”

Well it is most likely from the honeydew of visiting insects who enjoyed a meal from your citrus tree. Who could blame them? They have probably moved on but if you find a few still catching a free meal, you can treat your citrus tree with dormant oil spray. It’s just oil-no chemicals so you can be assured it’s not harmful to you or your tree. But it suffocates those insects and any eggs they may have laid while hanging out.

It doesn’t change the flavor of the fruit, and thank goodness it’s easy to wash off! Happy Holidays!

-Debbie

Each year in January and February, I give my pre-spring “Get Ready for Spring” garden talk. I always start the talk with pre-spring pruning and the importance of sharp tools.

You may want any pruning saws sharpened professionally, as it can be a little difficult and tedious. But pruning clippers, loppers, and hedge shears are easier to do-it-yourself if you are inclined to. Pruners, loppers, shears, as well as shovels and hoes all perform better with a good sharp edge. Less effort and strain when trimming or digging, and clean cuts that heal faster than ragged cuts; that’s our aim.

We have carbide sharpening tools in stock that do a fast job on pruners and shears and take up very little storage space. Metal files are more appropriate for the harder steel edges of shovels and hoes. Diamond sharpening rods or whetstones can give the very finest edge to pruners if you are a perfectionist. For those far from perfectionist, I have sharpened my shovel enough to make a big difference in transplanting a shrub just by finding a rough spot on the concrete street curb and rubbing the cutting edge back and forth until dull is gone and cutting edge is on.

When sharpening pruners, be sure to watch a video or read instructions before beginning, as a simple proper sharpening makes pruning easier and more fun, but sharpening the wrong edge will ruin a tool forever. Once you’ve sharpened your tools, you can keep them sharp longer and prevent rust by wiping on a thin layer of lubricating oil, such as boiled linseed oil, tung oil, motor oil, lamp oil, or cooking oil.

-James Gill

What does Xeriscape mean to you? Cactus and rocks? Yes, it could be that, but it can be much more! Texas native plants? Yes, many Texas natives fit a xeriscape, but also plants from Italy (rosemary), Mexico (firecracker plant), Madagascar (periwinkles), and more! Even a lily pond could have a place in a xeriscape.

Xeriscape is planning and constructing an attractive landscape that requires little or no irrigation. So thirstier elements, such as Raleigh St. Augustine lawns, petunias or rosebushes, or that lily pond, can be limited in size, grouped together, used only in high-impact areas of the landscape, and hopefully, watered with “salvaged” water collected from rooftops, patios, air-conditioner condensate, or grey water.

Your xeriscape can be as simple and colorful as cenizo (Texas sage), red yucca, and mesquite trees (for shade and bold form), all from Texas, or a very sophisticated mix of xeric plants from xeric areas around the world combined with flagstones (or repurposed broken concrete), colorful pots, and striking shade structures.

Growing human populations and consequently shrinking water supply mandate reduced water use for our future. We might as well start thinking about Xeriscape and how to design the right landscape that suits us and still uses less water.

-James Gill

It’s harvest time around my house and I have to admit the bounty is big this winter.

This past fall, I planted later than usual (Oct 13th) due to rainy days and a total kitchen remodel! Mother Nature was my advocate, though. Rain, sun, and many cool fronts did amazing work with little help from me, other than a feeding of Hasta Gro 4 weeks after planting and pulling a few weeds.

The end result is a fridge full of delicious broccoli, nice size cabbage, sweet carrots, good-for-you kale, a huge stand of cilantro (from seed), celery, and a freezer full of fresh squeezed Meyer Lemon juice. Our Brussels sprouts are looking good, still just a little small. We will wait patiently for these culinary jewels. Life is really good!

So, what’s next? Well, we’ll clean out the old, do a turn of the soil, and set our sights on tomatoes, peppers, basil, zucchini, and whatever else tickles our delight to try… like having fun with potatoes.

James Gill fondly tells a story about how much fun he and his boys had planting potatoes. They were young, so playing in the dirt was a given and harvest time even better as they dug into the dirt to pull out bunches of potatoes from just the one that they planted!

It’s time to plant potatoes now through the end of February, so here’s our recipe for success:

– Cut potato into 2-4 pieces…or you can plant the whole potato. Best to buy non-treated potatoes. We have Red Lasota seed potatoes for sale.
– Coat with dusting sulphur and let cure for a few days.
– Prepare an area to plant…mostly sun and good drainage is very important. Loosen the soil and work compost into the dirt. Or you can plant in large pots using potting soil.
– Work fertilizer into the soil 8-10” deep…Plant Tone is great. Do NOT fertilize after planting
– Plant potatoes 3” deep and space them about 12” apart
– In about 3 weeks bank 3-4” of fresh soil over the base of each plant. Continue mounding soil every few weeks as the plant grows
– Potatoes are ready to harvest when mature plants begin to yellow and die (around 3-4 months).
– Start digging and have fun!

The spring planting season is starting – see you soon!

-Debbie

P.S. – check our Spring Vegetable Planting Guide for more tips!

It may not feel like it today, but we are soooo close to a gorgeous Spring, and there’s lots to do in the garden. Here’s our top 5 to focus on in February to prep for an amazing Spring season.

Check out our February Garden Guide for more tips and remember that trees, shrubs, and perennials can be planted 12 months out of the year! The only difference is the amount of water they need depending on temperatures and wind!

1. Stay Ahead of Big Weather Changes

As we’re seeing right now, seasonal transitions can be a roller coaster of weather events. Beautiful one day, frigid the next. It’s important to know what’s coming our way so you can plan your gardening projects & protect newly planted gardens if needed. We use NOAA as our go to for current weather & upcoming forecasts.

2. Plant Spring Edibles. Tomatoes sooner; Peppers later.

Beloved tomato growing is rewarding and can be challenging. Planting them early this month is a good step toward a bountiful harvest. Tomatoes need cooler nights to have good fruit set. When you buy your tomato starts, buy a tomato cage to install while they’re small. It can act as a frame for cold weather protection (a bag or blanket) if needed and a frame to support your plants as they grow.

Peppers, on the flip side, will be stunted (even killed) by cooler temps. Below 55 is no good for heat-loving peppers. Wait to plant peppers the end of Feb into March. You can go ahead and start other favs like squash, cucumbers, beans, & greens either by seed or transplants mid-Feb.

3. Feed Veggies & Flowers

The warm weather has sent most flowers & veggies on a growing spurt. A good meal of organic plant food like Plant Tone or Medina Growin Green will ensure they continue to look and produce their best for your garden. Both of these are granules that can easily be spread around plants then watered in. Plus, they feed the soil to keep it healthy.

4. Cut back ornamental grasses.

Most of these grasses like Purple Fountain Grass, Muhly Grass, & others are in need of a good shearing to look nice again this Spring. Do this now before the new growth starts. Have a sharp pair of hedge or hand pruners, tie up the grass clump with twine or rope to see the base of the grass. Cut straight across about 4-6in above the ground. This exposes the crown to more light helping to begin their fresh new growth. And you will not have to clean old brown blades out of the new green ones later this Spring.

5. Keep Watch for Winter Insects

Scale is a hard bodied sucking insect that looks like a brown booger stuck to the leaves of plants. Some of their favorites are Burford Holly, Bird of Paradise, Flax Lily, & Irises. They are easily controlled with a spray of organic All Seasons Oil Spray. It literally coats and suffocates the insect. It’s also good for treating indoor plants that may have scale or spider mites.

Check out our February Garden Guide for more tips!