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It’s that wonderful time again in South Texas! Easter is right around the corner and we’ve been enjoying some amazing weather – and some spring rain!! Conditions are just right for gardening and gathering with family and friends for holidays. Time to dress up our outdoor spaces. Here are a few simple tips for big impact!

Baskets & Tubs of Flowers = Instant Wow

Nothing is quicker and easier than adding some well-placed hanging baskets and tubs of blooming flowers. Think Begonias and Coleus for entry ways, shaded patios, and overhangs. Think Purslane and Salvias for sunny spots, and think Silver Falls Dichondra for adding lush contrast.

Basket tip: don’t water hanging baskets over the top or they will flatten out. Instead, lift up the foliage and water from the side, directly onto the soil.

Add a Few Special Potted Arrangements

Look at these arrangements we made with Salvia + Ryegrass, aka Easter Grass! Simple, gorgeous, and ready to go. Think about adding some special arrangements like these to your holiday table – indoors or out. Or come use our potting shed and create your own arrangements from our huge palette of plants!

Button Up with Mulch!

Fresh mulch makes gardeners and gardens happy. We only carry natural mulches at Gill’s, free from chemicals, so the mulch breaks down over time and feeds your soil and plants. Our only dyed mulch, Black Velvet, is dyed black using mushrooms! Is there a better feeling than standing back and looking at a freshly mulched landscape?! In the spirit of spring and Easter and tidying up – we’ve got ALL mulch on sale for 20% off through 4/4/24!

April means hummingbirds in South Texas! We’re lucky to see a few pretty much year-round, but April and September are when we see big migration surges. If you want to attract and enjoy hummingbirds, feeders can help, but plants are key. Did you know that most plants which are pollinated by hummingbirds have evolved over time to replenish nectar at night while hummingbirds are least active? That means hummingbirds can feed on the same flower over and over again without depleting the nectar! Here are 10 of our favorite plants for attracting and feeding hummingbirds – plant these now!

1. David Verity Cuphea

There are many different Cuphea (aka cigar plant) varieties, but ‘David Verity’ is our favorite for our area. Grows well in full-sun to partial shade, gets about 2′ tall and 2′ wide, and keeps on blooming through the summer! Like a lot of plants on this list, those blooms are perfect for little hummingbird beaks.

2. Native Turk’s Cap

Turk’s Cap is one of our all around favorite plants for the South Texas landscape. Lots of different birds, including hummingbirds, absolutely love it. Turk’s Cap grows well in shade, partial sun, under trees, in sandy soil, in clay soil…you get the idea. Such a versatile plant! Hummingbirds feast on the nectar, then other birds enjoy the fruit in the fall. Turk’s Cap is part of the mallow family and all parts of the plant are edible for humans too.

3. Hummingbird Plant aka Dicliptera

As the name implies, this is one of THE hummingbird plants! If you haven’t noticed yet, most plants on this list have red blooms. That’s because hummingbirds locate nectar by sight, not by smell. They tend to favor red and orange, although there are some exceptions. Hummingbird Plant does well in full sun and gets to be about 3′ tall and 3′ wide. Again – notice that bloom shape. Perfect straws for hummingbirds!

4. Bottlebrush

Bottlebrush come in a lot of shapes and sizes – the dwarf shrub variety all the way up to mid-sized trees. Hummingbirds will flock to them all! If you take a close look at the blooms, you can see how juicy and filled with nectar they are.

5. Red Pentas

We grow pentas as annual flowers here in South Texas, and the timing for planting them aligns perfectly with the April and September hummingbird migration. They come in many colors, but hummingbirds prefer the red variety.

6. Firecracker Plant aka Russelia

If you’re looking for a summer-tough, fast-growing, shaggy, wild-looking plant that attracts tons of hummingbirds…you found it! Firecracker Plant gets 3-5′ tall and wide and is a tried and true favorite here in South Texas – reliable and drought-tolerant.

7. Native Flame Acanthus

Talk about a tough plant! Our Texas native Flame Acanthus aka Hummingbird Bush survives freezes, summer temps, and long periods of no rainfall. Make sure you give it some space since it wants to be about 5′ tall and 5′ wide. With so many blooms, Flame Acanthus can accommodate a whole hummingbird convention!

8. Duranta erecta

You’ve made it to the only non-red/orange plant on our list! These blooms are not like the others – they’re purple and white and they’re not tubular. Nonetheless, hummingbirds make frequent stops for Duranta. These small trees typically grow to 12-15′ tall with a spread of about 10′ here in South Texas. Lots of room for lots of blooms!

9. Firebush (Hamelia patens)

Firebush is another one of the larger specimens on our list. They get about 8-10′ tall and 6-8′ wide and they grow FAST! They’ve done very well through recent freezes. The foliage dies back, you prune it, then by late spring you’ve got a big full plant again. Firebush is easy on water and can handle hot sunny locations just fine.

10. Red Salvias!

If you plant Texas native Salvia greggii, you might have hummingbirds on it before you finish filling up the hole. This is true for so many of the different red salivas like Summer Jewel, Roman Red, native Salvia coccinea, Hot Lips, and more. Hummingbird magnets!

Time to turn up the HEAT! It’s pepper planting season! Shishitos for grilling, bell peppers and poblanos for stuffing, plus chile pequin, jalepenos, and habaneros for salsa. We’ve even got some Hungarian wax peppers and super hot ghost peppers if you’re adventurous. Here are a few quick tips to make sure you get plentiful peppers!

1. Peppers Like it Sunny and Dry

Make sure you choose a location to plant your peppers that gets full sun! They can be planted in the ground, in raised beds, or in pots, just remember that they need at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight each day. Don’t plant in an area that stays too wet after a rain, and make sure that your raised beds or pots have good drainage. When watering, give your peppers a nice deep drink, but make sure you let them dry out between waterings. Sometimes, peppers will look wilted like they need to be watered, but they are doing this to shade their fruit! So, check the soil with a moisture meter to be sure.

2. Pluck Off First Buds

This tip is optional, but makes such a big difference! You’ll notice that many of our new pepper plants already have some buds and blooms, or they will very soon after you plant them. For a bigger, healthier plant, and a better yield, pluck off those first buds/blooms. This will help the plant redirect energy to growing deeper roots and help it grow into a stronger plant that can then produce and support more peppers.

3. Feed Your Peppers Regularly

Like most veggies and fruits, peppers require lots of nutrients and energy to produce. If you follow this fertilizing schedule, you’ll be amazed at how many more peppers you get! Very simple: feed with organic Plant Tone granular fertilizer on the 1st of the month, then feed with organic liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. Set these reminders on your calendar/phone!

Now THIS is some gorgeous gardening weather!! We’re all busy planting, re-designing, fertilizing, and getting ready for holidays and weekends outside with family and friends. Here are our top tips for making the most of a very important month in the garden.

1. Feed Your Lawn and Plants

Fertilizing/feeding your plants this month is a must. This includes lawns, trees, and most plants. Everything is actively growing, which means they’ll need more food to continue looking their best. For lawns we love to apply organic Medina Growin Green once in Spring (now!), once in Summer, and once in the Fall. Medina Growin Green is a great multi-purpose food for shrubs and trees too. For blooming perennials, annual flowers, and veggies we really like organic Plant Tone by Espoma and Medina Hasta Gro liquid. Feed with Plant Tone on the 1st of each month, then follow up with liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. Add these reminders to your calendar and you can’t go wrong!

2. Watering Wands Win!

Hand watering with a watering wand that has a cutoff valve is the most efficient and best way to water, especially for new plantings. Watering plants low to the ground keeps water from escaping via wind and evaporation and keeps water off the leaves which can invite fungal issues. Watering slowly (by turning down the pressure on your watering wand or kinking your hose) ensures that more water gets down to the roots instead of running off the surface.

As of right now, with Stage 2 watering restrictions in effect, you can use sprinklers or spray irrigation once every 2 weeks. Check your watering schedule here. Lawns and established landscapes will like this schedule if you water slowly, deeply, and consistently. For new landscape projects, and some other situations, you can apply for a temporary exemption to watering restrictions and use sprinklers and irrigation systems in order to help get plants, lawns, and trees established. We can help you file for the exemption if you like – it’s a straightforward process.

Keep in mind that hand watering and drip irrigation/soaker hoses are not limited by current watering restrictions. You can hand water or supplement with drip irrigation any time as needed. We carry the pro watering wands that we use here at Gill’s as well efficient sprinklers, moisture meters, timers, and soaker hoses.

3. Plant Blooming Perennials for Pollinators

April is time to add some blooming perennials to attract pollinators like butterflies, bees, and birds to your garden. You support pollinators (and the planet!) and in return they help you have more blooms, better production on your veggies, and a more vibrant landscape! Remember – April is when we start seeing hummingbirds! Add a few of their favorites like this native Salvia greggii, native Flame Acanthus, or firebush and make your backyard a preferred stop.

4. Plant Your Warm Weather Veggies

It’s time to plant hot peppers, squash, zucchini, basil, beans, and more! Tomato time has almost passed, but we still have a few if you still really want to plant a tomato – or better yet, a tomatillo! When starting veggies, the trick is to get the soil as active and alive as possible. Amend your existing soil with Nature’s Blend Compost (about 1 bag per 12 sq. ft.), then add a little Bio Tone starter fertilizer with mycorrhizal fungi and a good handful of worm castings when you plant each plant. Then follow our trusted fertilizer schedule – Plant Tone on the 1st of the month and liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th! Remember that veggies use a lot of energy and need these regular feedings to produce. Plus, strong, vigorous veggie plants are less susceptible to pest damage.

5. Get Ready for Guests

We’re wrapping up March and rolling into April with a gorgeous Easter weekend! For the quickest and easiest impact outdoors, think hanging baskets full of Impatiens, Vinca, Purslane, Geraniums and more overflowing with color. Some pops of color plus fresh mulch in your beds and you’re ready to host! We’ve extended our mulch sale through 4/4/24 to help with that! For indoors, our favorite flower arrangements are those cut fresh from the garden and landscape.

Check out our April Garden Guide for more tips!

Happy Earth Day Weekend! A big part of our purpose here at Gill’s is to help gardeners be the best stewards of their pieces of the earth that we all share. We want to help you create beautiful gardens that only get better with time, which means nourishing life in the soil and choosing the right plants. Here are a few areas of focus if you’d like to make your landscape more earth-friendly for Earth Day and beyond!

Focus on Nurturing Life in the Soil

Gardeners know that it all starts with healthy soil. By healthy, we mean ALIVE with all the microbes and fungi that help plants grow stronger roots. We also know that the soil types in our area (heavy clay or sand) need some amendment. Adding compost, worm castings, using organic plant food, and using natural hardwood mulch all help keep those microorganisms active and thriving. Over time, your soil will become lush and beautiful and your established and new plants will thrive. It also makes digging and working in the garden so much easier and more fun! Keep these soil microorganisms in mind if/when it’s time to treat for pests. This is the main reason why we almost never recommend chemical pesticides – they kill the good stuff in the soil too. Many pest problems can be solved by treating organically or by doing nothing at all.

Choose Plants that Support Pollinators

If we’re focused on supporting life in the soil, we can also focus on supporting important wildlife above ground with the plants we choose. We have so many options design-wise in South Texas for plants that attract and feed birds, butterflies, moths, bees, and other insect pollinators. Think of a well-placed native Yaupon Holly + a bird bath near a window where you and your pets can watch birds. Think of a fence line pollinator bed filled with different native and cultivated salvia varieties + Gregg’s Mistflower for butterflies. Think of a boring curb strip seeded with native wildflower mix. And right now, you can gear up for the April hummingbird migration by planting Firecracker Plant, Firebush, Turk’s Cap, Flame Acanthus, and many more. So many options for beautiful AND beneficial!

Reduce Lawn Space

With so much interest in supporting pollinators, combined with our current watering restrictions and a more modern restorative approach to landscape design, many of us are reconsidering the traditional lawn. It’s estimated that there are over 40 million acres of turfgrass lawns in the US. That means 40 million acres of diverse native plants that once supported wildlife have been replaced with a monoculture that provides no benefit to the ecosystem. Does this mean we should immediately remove and replace our entire lawn with natives? Maybe, but we can have a big impact by just reducing some lawn space. Think of it this way – how much of your lawn do you actually use? Could some of that space be devoted to new beds filled with plants that serve more of a purpose and use far less water? Could some of that space be converted to native groundcover like Wooly Stemodia, Dichondra, Frog Fruit, or Horseherb that use far less water than grass and don’t require any mowing?!

Yay for May! Everything’s growing and blooming and we hope you are too! May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which is a good time to think about the peace of mind that gardening brings us. Gardeners know that all the research is true – gardening is good for you! Here are our Top 6 Must Do’s this May to keep you and your garden feelin’ good.

1. Join Us for Garden Talks and Events!

We’ve got a fun May planned here at Gill’s, and we’re kicking it off Saturday, May 11th with our Mother’s Day Flower Art for Kids workshop! Then we’re hosting an RSVP-only pressed flower workshop the evening of May 16th, and an informative talk on setting up your own drip irrigation system on May 25th. Sure to be lots of fun and lots to learn and discuss! Click here for more info!

2. Plant Blooming Perennials and Trees

It’s still time to plant lots of different blooming perennials and blooming trees. Get them established in May so they are better adapted to withstand warmer temps this Summer. Staples like Esperanza, many varieties of Salvia, Lantana, and tons more are all blooming beautifully right now. And blooming trees like Vitex, Retama, and Wild Olive are looking great right now too. Added bonus: these blooming perennials and trees attract lots of butterflies and hummingbirds!

3. Plant and Harvest Veggies

Warm weather veggie time! Plant peppers, zucchini, squash, and okra this month for continued harvesting into the Summer months. If you planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and other early Spring veggies, you’ll be harvesting now or very soon. Be sure to harvest often! It keeps birds & insects from finding them first. If you do have insect issues in your veggie garden, our go-to organic control is Spinosad – safe for food but takes care of bugs. Recent rain showers have been great for veggie gardens. Remember to keep watering as the weather warms up to maintain depth moisture. Soaker hoses are great to snake around your plants keeping water close to the ground and root systems.

4. Transition Your Lawn to Summer

Water deeply once every 2 weeks unless we get rain (per current watering rules). Watering once every 2 weeks with your irrigation system or sprinklers IS sufficient to keep lawns healthy through the summer. If necessary, you can supplement with hand watering. The key is to focus on depth moisture and root health – not necessarily a perfect green appearance all summer long.

When mowing, the proper height for St. Augustine lawns is around 3 inches. For Bermuda lawns, keep mowed to around 2-2.5 inches. Buzzing lawns shorter than that will cause lawn stress, and stressed lawns are more susceptible to pests, weeds, and disease.

Feed with Natural Fertilizers: Medina Growin Green or Milorganite. These feed the lawn and the soil with great results. Water in to get them started. Plus you can use them elsewhere in your landscape for plants and trees.

Watch for lawn insects & treat when needed. Grub worms & chinch bugs are easy to control when caught early but there’s no need to treat unless you have them. Bayer Season-long Grub Control will do the trick for grubs. Cyonara takes care of chinch bugs. Reminder, you can bring us a grass sample any time you suspect a lawn disease or pest. We’ll diagnose (using our microscope if needed) and get you what you need to knock it out.

Consider reducing your lawn space! Does all this lawn stuff sound like a lot of work? It can be! Many of us are reconsidering whether we really even want all that green lawn space. Why not start converting small portions of lawn to planting beds filled with blooming perennials that benefit the environment and use far less water? One way to start would simply be to deepen existing landscape beds to reduce some lawn.

5. Set Your Mosquito Traps!

We are big fans of the simple bucket mosquito trap. Just fill a bucket 3/4 with water, add a good handful of lawn or plant clippings, and toss in a Mosquito Dunk or Mosquito Bits. These dissolve in the water and release bacteria that target mosquito larvae and kill them before they hatch. And they’re organic and not harmful to birds, bees, pets or humans! Set a few of these traps, sprinkle some organic Mosquito Beater granules around walkways and patios, spray organic Cedar Repel on your lawn, and use Skeeter Screen incense sticks near where you’re working or hanging out outside. Remember that using chemical mosquito foggers kills all the good bugs too, some of which also help control mosquitos and other bad bugs.

6. Gifts for Moms and Grads

Let us help you find something pretty, useful, or both for the gardening moms and grads in your life. Pottery, birdbaths, wind chimes, garden tools, hats, gloves, garden decor, gift cards – lots of options. Check out the Bee Puddles handmade by ceramicist and Gill’s own Wyatt Page! Help bees stop for a drink. Or find the gift that gardeners love most – plants 🙂

Visit our May Garden Guide for more tips! Happy gardening!

What a gift running into Joyce Barnette this past Saturday while visiting Gill’s. Joyce has been a weekly visitor of Gill’s since we opened our doors 46 years ago. She and her husband Jim have lived in the Country Club Estates neighborhood since the early 70’s, raising three boys and now blessed with daughter-in-laws and seven grandchildren. Joyce reminds me often how much Jim loves flowers and how much she loves to garden. They make a great team!

Joyce grew up in Mississippi. She credits her mother for her love of gardening. Most days, unless she’s adventuring the world with her sister or other family, she’s out in the garden repotting, planting, trimming, or weeding. Their front yard includes oaks, junipers, hollies, roses, and beautiful ferns on either side of her front door. Instead of pulling the hose up to water, she keeps bottles of water just inside her front door for the ferns. They have a terra cotta stone texture front walk and driveway with a beautiful side yard garden anchored with hill country limestone boulders her sons collected over the years for her. Private seating with pergola, container planting, hanging baskets, and art create a very peaceful outdoor garden space to read and relax! Her back yard has two more seating areas, surrounded by palms, Japanese yew (one of her favorite woody ornamentals), vitex, pittosporums, groundcovers, and flowers. A gardener’s paradise!

Joyce loves putting together hanging baskets, which display beautifully from low lying branches of trees and garden hooks. She doesn’t mind experimenting with plants. She’ll try a plant in one spot and if it isn’t happy, she’ll move it, and hope for better results. She has an extensive succulent garden and she even has a “plant hospital” along the far side of the driveway for plants she’s nursing back to health.

It is always fun to hear what project Joyce is shopping for when at Gill’s. She’s either planting annuals at Jim’s office, landscaping at their church, purchasing gifts to donate to the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center for a fundraiser, or working in her own garden. Joyce, along with her good friend Mary Hill, have been volunteering their time and resources, keeping the grounds of St. Lukes Methodist Church beautifully landscaped for over 30 years. Joyce has donated many items over the years for the annual Botanical Garden’s Moonlight in the Garden fundraiser, and she and Jim have been sponsoring the 20+ foot fresh Christmas tree that greets families during the holidays at the Botanical Gardens.

The morning I visited with Joyce a hummingbird darted into the garden to gather nectar and then flew right up to us, stopping mid-air as if it knew we were marveling about the beauty and bounty of her garden. I’m so happy to have gotten to know Joyce and am thankful for her kindness and support she generously gives our community!

– Sally Gill

Here’s to summer garden fun! We’re making the transition to warmer weather with some intermittent rainfall and lots of good energy in the garden. Here are our top priorities this month, including what to plant, how to adjust watering, what to watch out for, and how to keep plant roots insulated and happy.

Check out our June 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. Plant Summer-Tough Stuff!

So many of our favorite plants for South Texas don’t just tolerate warm weather, they only begin to thrive and look their best in the summer. Think of blooming perennials like Firebush, Esperanza, and Pride of Barbados for awesome summer impact. Think of big purslane hanging baskets, Gomphrena, and Periwinkles for bursts of bright color. And browse our Texas native plant section for plants and trees that have thrived through hundreds and even thousands of Texas summers. If you’re still wanting to plant food, you can do that too – okra, basil, thyme, watermelon, peppers, black-eyed peas and more can be planted in June.

2. Water Low & Slow

We’re not talking about BBQ, although that sounds good too… We’re talking about watering low, as in as in low to the ground to avoid evaporation, and slow as in not with your hose open full-blast to decrease runoff and get more water down to the roots. Consider setting up your own automatic drip irrigation system – they’re easy to DIY and they operate on the low & slow principle. For spray irrigation sprinkler systems, be sure to follow current watering rules.

Pro tip: Use a moisture meter in your landscape beds and pots! We carry them for around $10 and can show you how easy they are to use. They’ve saved many plants!

3. Watch for Summer Bugs and Disease

Yes, bad bugs will be around more during the Summer, but don’t treat unless there’s significant damage. We can help identify the pest and if/how to treat. You don’t want to kill too many good bugs while trying to take care of the bad bugs! If you see brown areas in the lawn that are easily pulled up, it’s usually a sign of grubs eating the roots of your grass. You can control grubs with Bonide Insect and Grub Control. Chinch bugs love hot dry areas in lawns. They make the lawn look dried out along sidewalks and pavement. Spot-treat those areas with Cyonara in easy ready-to-spray bottles. For organic control, use Spinosad or Diatomaceous Earth. Remember that healthy lawns are less susceptible to damage from bugs, heat stress, and common lawn disease like Take All Root Rot. Water lawns deeply and fertilize every 3 months. If you fertilized in April, wait to feed again in July.

4. Hang Out with Your Houseplants

We just restocked the greenhouse with all kinds of unique and classic houseplants looking for their forever homes! Time to work on your collection! We can help you determine the best houseplants for different areas and different lighting in your home. Once again – invest in a moisture meter for your houseplants, too. In our experience, the main cause of houseplant death is too much love aka too much water. Keep in mind that houseplants can also be sensitive to tap water. We use as much A/C condensate, rainwater, and water from our dehumidifier as we can to water houseplants and keep them looking their best here at Gill’s.

5. Keep Roots Cool with Mulch

A good mulch layer (2-3″ deep) has so many benefits. It looks amazing, keeps weeds down, helps retain moisture, adds organic matter to the soil, AND keeps plant roots nice and cool in the summer. Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories shared amazing results with us from a mulch study they conducted in San Antonio. Soil temperatures were measured at 6″ deep (where plant roots live) on a 105 F summer day. Bare soil, 6″ down was 102 F. Soil under grass was 92 F. Soil beneath a 3″ layer of mulch was only 76 F!! Mulch for the win!