Lawn Care

Akasha Yoga is a great example of a collaborative design between property owners and Gill’s landscape designer Harry Villarreal. The owners’ vision for Akasha was to harmonize and integrate the indoor and outdoor spaces. To compliment the modern interior design, the owners used earthy, grounding updates to the exterior including the wooden sign, steel planter boxes, and a gabion rock wall out front.

Harry had the task of tying the existing design elements together with carefully chosen plantings. The owners knew they wanted a low-maintenance landscape with a strong visual impact to accent the clean lines of the space, so Harry kept it minimal: a decomposed granite bed with a single line of Blue Glow Agave and Hedgehog Aloe, Orange Bulbine that can take the heat of the steel planter boxes, and soft Purple Fountain Grass to frame the corner of the gabion wall.

Such a fun, collaborative project for Gill’s that we get to drive by and see on Airline Road every day!

-Jesse

I’ve admired BJ and Michael’s home for years. It’s a beautiful Santa Fe style stucco home with a clay tile roof and old dark stained wood front doors. The landscape follows the theme with brightly colored benches and ceramic containers mixed with artistically placed specimen agaves, yuccas, and palms.

This past week a group of us toured her garden; I felt like I was visiting a remote Mexican countryside estate. We moved from the front under a wood arbor and through a gate into their herb garden, all in large pots – Italian parsley, chives, mint, sage, some tucked under towering jatropha and schefflera. The walk to the back led us through banks of holly fern, ruellia, and liriope with blooming viola in Talavera wall pots hanging on the fence, interspersed with climbing red passion vine. The back included an area with blooming poinsettia, fire spike, plumeria, European olives, night blooming red cereus and lots and lots of succulents. The view from the interior looks out on to an intimate clay tile patio, scattered with dining tables and chairs and a multi-level stone Cantera fountain with cascading water and a backdrop of bougainvillea blossoms. Stunning!!

And you think, all they must do is work in their garden. Well, no. BJ shared with us her tricks to making her garden work for their current lifestyle. The first rule is nothing gets covered during cold spells. They live a block from the bay, which does bring warmer air off the water. After a cold winter, there’s a lot of cutting back, but if a plant doesn’t make it, it’s gone. Their permanent collection of potted plants are all on a drip irrigation system with a timer. She said the biggest challenge is keeping the timer adjusted correctly. And finally, no grass in this landscape!

I’m thinking BJ must have been born with dirt under her fingernails. Her parents weren’t gardeners, but at a very young age she was attracted to women neighbors that did garden. One woman had an extra square of space and let BJ loose to grow veggies and flowers of her choosing. In college she was advised she should be a farmer. When raising her boys, BJ grew vegetables but gave that up when she realized her sons and husband weren’t crazy about greens. Today, succulents are her passion.

BJ loves succulents. She loves collecting succulents, some from Gill’s, some from friends, some from HEB – anywhere and everywhere she can find a new variety. She harvests from the mother plant, growing from cuttings and offshoots. Many of her succulent arrangements are combinations of three or four varieties, each placed to compliment the other. BJ has a designated work area strung with shade cloth where she does her potting and another area where she does her growing. She doesn’t just keep all these succulents to herself; she has one more station where she places plants that are ready for delivery to our South Texas Botanical Gardens to be sold in their gift shop!

Dr. Wommack of our South Texas Botanical Gardens said how thankful he is for folks like BJ & Michael in our community who share their talents and gifts to enrich the gardens. By growing and gifting plants, income is generated for the gardens and visitors benefit from BJ’s passion for succulents.

Thank you BJ and Michael this Thanksgiving week for sharing your garden gifts with our South Texas community!

-Sally Gill

Brown patch/Large patch fungus and Take-all Root Rot (TARR) are two unwelcome Fall and Winter visitors to our South Texas lawns. Cool nighttime temperatures and moisture on the grass from rain, dew, or excessive watering frequency are the two main factors promoting these diseases. Large patch is relatively easy to diagnose visually if you are familiar with the symptoms. TARR has more subtle and varying symptoms and requires 60x or greater magnification to positively ID. Large patch is an unsightly annoyance for Fall and Winter, but damaged grass will regrow in Spring. TARR does not show much damage while the disease is spreading over Winter, but when hot temperatures arrive in Summer, the weakened roots and runners are unable to support the water requirements of the infected areas, and they decline or die.

There is no “curing” or eliminating these diseases, but you can attempt to prevent them, or manage them, by various means. Culturally, you should “goldilocks” your lawn: not too much water, not too little, but just right. Water deeply when needed to avoid drought stress but keep the frequency of application to a minimum. Mow as often as needed. Do not let grass grow too tall, but do not cut it too short. Fertilize according to recommended timing and quantity, not too much or too little. If you see a fungus damaged area, mow it last to minimize spreading into healthy areas. Keep mower blades sharp, so grass is cleanly sliced rather than ripped with slower-healing ragged edges. Any stresses make the lawn more vulnerable to infection by a harmful fungus.

We have fungicides that can help prevent or suppress harmful fungus, but keep in mind that there are also beneficial fungal organisms that recycle dead organic matter into plant nutrients and help prevent thatch. So excessive fungicide use, like most excesses, can cause new problems. My personal recommendation is to let large patch fungus run its course, as it does no permanent damage, just temporary unsightliness. But I recommend topdressing TARR infected lawns with peat moss, to control (can’t eliminate) the disease, as the damage is permanent. Best is for you to bring in some samples (still alive but with symptoms) and photos for us to look at, and offer to you various courses of action, for you to choose whatever approach you are most comfortable with.

-James

They’re coming – weeds! Due to our relatively warm Winter and recent rains, weeds are sprouting earlier than usual. Control them now before they get out of hand – here’s how.

Weeds in Lawns

Start simple instead of going directly to battle mode. If your lawn is stressed, think about using a good organic like Nature’s Blend compost to give the grass a boost before doing any weed control. Healthy grass will prevent weeds on its own and using chemicals can have negative effects on the quality of the underlying soil.

If you have a chronic weed issue and need to use a chemical, right now (late Jan/early Feb) is your last chance to use a pre-emergent weed control. We recommend spreading Bonide Weed & Crabgrass Preventer. If you’re already seeing some weeds, you can spread Weed Beater Complete which kills existing weeds and helps stop new ones from sprouting.

Once its consistently warmer and sunnier, you can use hose-end Weed b Gon Spray to spray your entire lawn for weeds. Be sure to check the forecast to see if we are sunny for 4-5 days with no rain and don’t water or run your irrigation system before you spray.

Wait for the right time to fertilize. Grass has just started to come out of Winter dormancy, and as we continue to get warmer, it will grow quicker. Once your lawn is growing and you’re mowing about once every 1-2 weeks, you know it’s time to fertilize – wait until then! If you fertilize too early, your grass doesn’t get the full benefit.

Weeds in Garden and Landscape Beds

Controlling weeds in beds is simple if you keep up with it. Most weeds are smothered by keeping a good layer of mulch (2-3”) in your beds. Mulch also helps retain moisture and adds organic material to the soil as it breaks down. If you see a large weed – don’t spray, just pull it! Patrolling your garden beds and pulling weeds is therapeutic and great exercise. Be sure to get the root.

If you need to spray for weeds, use horticultural 20% vinegar or the new organic Ortho GroundClear. Both are very effective against small weeds before they spread, which means you should inspect and apply frequently (weekly). You can also use these to spot-treat for weeds in your lawn. Spray directly on the weed, wait a few hours, then pull up the dead weed – nice and easy.

Our first reaction to make it all better is to water our grass and plants. Do not water unless the ground is close to dry. Watering damaged plants will encourage fungal and bacterial growth, which we want to avoid. Stick your finger in the soil and check for moisture. If it is moist, do not water yet.

You can mow your grass if it is taller and needs to be mowed. Place your mower setting one setting lower; do not cut too short. Cutting too short will add stress to grass that’s already stressed from the freeze.

Do not fertilize your lawn until it is greened up and actively growing. That is when the grass can best absorb the fertilizer in its roots and benefit from the nutrients.

Start removing the dead/damaged portion on your plants. Some examples below are:

If the plant is mushy (tropicals like ginger, Moses in the boat, bird of paradise) trim back to firm stem or to ground. Watch video: “Freeze Remedy: Initial Assessments”
Plants like salvia, plumbago, firecracker plant, and flax lily, trim down to within 4” from ground.
Plants like ixora, duranta, schefflera, hibiscus, and bougainvillea: scratch trunk and trim back to where you see green in the cambium layer of the trunk (maybe to ground).
Philodendron – Watch video: “Freeze Remedy: How To Save Philodendrons”
Palms – Watch video: “Freeze Remedy: Palm Trees”
Citrus– if you scratch a branch and there is no green underneath you can remove it, but no hurry. Keep any suckers that arise from below the graft cut off, they will grow fast but produce sour fruit. If your tree is frozen all the way to the graft, fertilize with Citrus Tone now, May 1st, and September 15th to promote plenty of healthy regrowth from freeze damage.

We know it looks bad but we are here to help you get your landscape back as best we can. We are bringing in new, healthy plants from California, Florida and all over Texas. Our Texas growers learned from the 80’s freezes how to protect plants.

Thank you for your questions on our website, Facebook, Instagram, on the phone, and in person! We will continue creating videos as we see the need and as always, we’re open 7 days a week to help you with your garden!

It’s been five weeks since the big freeze. As my yoga instructor, Gretchen Weber, said so well last night, the first few weeks was about mourning. Mourning the loss of big, beautiful, tropical plants that have abounded in our warmer-than-normal winters.

Now we’re all in the recovery mode. Some have been quicker on the draw than others. Some want to just get their garden back to where it was as quickly as possible. For others, now may be a great time to rethink your garden. What do you want going forward?

Do you want your landscape beds wider so they will accommodate the natural growth of plants without constant shearing? Or smaller beds with more grass or rock?

Do you want a compost bin in a spot where a big overgrown shrub once was, a compost bin that will help you constantly enrich your soil?

Do you want to have more plants that feed the birds and butterflies? Yesterday, I visited with Dr. Dale Gawlik, Endowed Chair for Conservation and Biodiversity, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. He moved from Florida into a home on Padre Island that had many ornamental plants that died in the freeze. Instead of replacing with the same, he is going back with only plants that provide habitat and food for birds and butterflies.

Do you want plants that stay lower to show off more of your house from the outside? Or plants that grow up and frame your views from the inside?

Do you want to change your color palette (another Gretchen comment last night)?

Do you want less of your landscape to be tropical so in the next freeze you don’t lose as much? Now’s a good time to drive around and see what plants flourished in the cold temperatures.

Take your time. Look through magazines and make Pinterest boards. Stroll our garden center and others. Our growers are ramping up to supply us more plants and greater variety than ever. Enjoy the process and always remember, we’re here to help you.

-Sally Gill

Just like us, plants can’t live on water alone. To thrive, plants must have food, especially in Spring when they are actively growing. Rather than try to carry every fertilizer imaginable (there are hundreds!), we focus on the ones that we can really stand behind. Here is our menu of favorite plant foods, tested and used by the pros here at Gill’s.

Medina Growin’ Green

Our most versatile plant food. Organic and great for lawns, trees, shrubs, veggies, flowers, potted plants, you name it! Use a spreader to spread over your lawn. Each bag covers 3,000 sq. ft. Or sprinkle a small handful of granules on the soil around your plants, then water it in well.

Gill Lawn and Garden Food

Back in the 80s, James worked with Texas A&M to create a fertilizer formulated specially for South Texas lawns and gardens. It’s been a fav ever since. Each bag covers 6,000 sq. ft. of lawn. Or broadcast under trees and shrubs and water in well.

HastaGro

Another amazing organic food. Also very versatile. Mix the liquid with water (or use the hose-end sprayer) and use almost everywhere. Great for veggie gardens, blooming plants, succulents and more. HastaGro provides excellent nutrients for houseplants and none of the smell! You may not want to bring stinky granular plant food inside the house 🙂

Espoma “Tone” Foods

We love organic foods by Espoma. BioTone starter fertilizer with beneficial microbes is great to use at planting time to stimulate root growth. PlantTone is an excellent granular for veggies and flowering plants, CitrusTone is specifically formulated for citrus or other fruiting trees, and AzaleaTone for Azaleas, Magnolia, and Gardenias.

Pro tip: Fish Emulsion is another very popular and effective organic that works great for leafy veggies. Just be aware that cats go crazy for it too!

We’re all plant geeks here at Gill’s. We spend time around plants all day, then go home and garden some more! We get excited to talk to each other about the plants we’re growing at home, so we thought it’d be fun to share with you too.

Debbie’s Fiesta Hibiscus

I’ve always loved hibiscus and this Fiesta variety is at the top of my list. BIG non-stop flowers, deep green foliage, and loves this spot in my courtyard! Some sun, some shade….Perfect!!! Hibiscus add tropical beauty and they love our climate.

Kelsie’s Monstera Minima

I brought this tiny 4” Monstera Minima home about a year ago and it’s grown to over 6 feet! I love it because it’s the easiest plant I’ve ever grown – super forgiving of low water and low light. Since it grows so fast, I’m training it to grow up around my window.

Josh’s Porterweed

This is my purple Porterweed. I chose this plant for its big leaves and small blooms. The small blooms compliment the deep red trim and door on my front porch!

Sally’s Turk’s Cap

I love plants that give back to nature. Hummingbirds love Turk’s Cap, it’s native to our area, and it has NO bug or fungus issues. It thrives in the part sun/part shade spot under our Texas Sabal Palms in the front yard.

Wyatt’s Crystal Ruby Grass

Crystal Ruby Grass is a beautiful low-growing grass with a max height of about 14-16” and about the same width, with light pink to white blooms in the Summer and Early Fall. Great for borders and creating small grassy areas in your pollinator garden.