pruning

Welcome to 2026! It’s time to set our gardening resolutions! What do you hope to learn more about in the garden this year? What new plants are you going to try? What areas are you planning to revamp? January is time to get moving and set yourself up for big success this spring and beyond. Beds need prepping, veggie seeds need starting, citrus trees need feeding, and YES you can get a head start on planting too! Here are our top must-do’s (and don’t do’s!) this month.

Check out our January 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. Mulch for Many Reasons!

Let’s start off with the simplest and most effective garden must-do…JUST MULCH! A good 2-3″ deep layer of mulch is our best protection against dry drought conditions and against cold snaps/freezes. Think of mulch as insulation for your plant roots – it helps retain moisture in the soil and it provides a barrier to keep cold air out. Natural mulches also break down over time and add nutrients to your soil. Maintain a good layer of mulch, but don’t pile mulch up around the base of trees and plants. Give your trunks and root flares (where the roots meet the main trunks/stems) a few inches of breathing room for better oxygen exchange and to prevent potential fungal problems. Mulch is also an excellent place holder this month for areas that you plan to plant this spring. Mulch will help keep underlying soil active and alive, while suppressing weed growth. Clean up and mulch now, then easy planting when you’re ready!

2. Prep Soil Now for Spring Planting

January is our month to plan and prep for spring. Clean up, remove weeds, and most importantly, prep your garden beds by adding some compost! We love Nature’s Blend Compost for veggie and landscape beds, including raised beds. A good ratio is 1 bag per 12 sq. ft. of bed space. If you make your own compost, that approximate ratio works well. It doesn’t have to be exact. If working out is part of your new year’s resolution, get outside, grab your garden forks or a shovel, and turn some compost into the first few inches of soil – the best kind of exercise! Again, you can prep beds with compost and add a layer of mulch as a placeholder until you’re ready to plant.

3. Wait to Prune!

Remember – wait to do any major pruning of most plants until February! We can be tempted to do too much pruning in January because we want plants to look pretty, but you don’t want plants to think its time to start putting on new growth while we still have potential for cold snaps. Even if we do get a cold snap that damages some foliage, wait to prune because that damaged foliage will help insulate against more possible cold weather. We need to tolerate some wintery-looking plants this month.

Ornamental grasses, like Pink Muhly or Purple Fountain grass, are a January exception. They should be cut back this month. Trim them straight across (no cupcakes) 3”-4“ from the ground. Use a bungee cord or piece of rope to gather them up, then cut straight across with your shears – just like the photo above.

4. Feed Your Citrus Trees

Fertilize your citrus trees in January for more blooms, again in May/June for better fruit set, and again in September/October for nutrients. We recommend fertilizing with Espoma Citrus-Tone – all organic and highly effective. Remember to fertilize trees, including citrus, at the drip line. That means spread fertilizer in a circle where the rain naturally drips down from the leaves, not right up against the trunk.

5. Start Veggie Seeds!

January is time to start tomatoes, kale, chard, onions, carrots, beets, parsley and more from seed. We carry easy seed-starting trays, peat pots, and Espoma Organic Seed Starter soil for starting seeds indoors or on a protected/covered patio. A good rule of thumb is that once the seedlings have made their first true set of leaves, they are ready to be transplanted into a larger container outside or directly into the garden bed.

Check out our full Spring planting guide here.

6. Grow Potatoes and Onions!

January is prime time to plant potatoes and onions! We carry Red La Soda and Yukon Gold potatoes because they are better suited for South Texas growing conditions than larger varieties. Watch Matt’s video guide to planting potatoes here! Potatoes will be arriving any day now!

Plant onions in a row every 3-4″ then thin them by plucking every other green top as they grow. This will allow the onions to grow to full size. Keep in mind that both potatoes and onions need well-drained soil. Great for raised beds and containers!

7. Adjust Lighting and Water for Houseplants

Generally, most houseplants will need more light and less water this month. A moisture meter will come in handy to be sure you’re not overwatering. Experiment with moving houseplants to sunnier windows, and take them outside for a sunny day or 2. Keep their leaves clean to help them take up sunlight and prevent bad bugs. We like using a very light solution of Neem oil + water to wipe down leaves here at Gill’s.

February is time to really get going on pruning, prepping, and planting to kick off spring! We always say – spring in the Coastal Bend starts on Valentine’s Day. We’re stocking up on veggies, Texas native plants, trees, lots of flowers and blooming perennials, and we’re hosting lots of garden talks and events starting this Saturday! Here are our top 8 gardening tasks to focus on this month as we head into an amazing garden season.

1. Join Us for James Gill’s Annual Get Ready for Spring Talk – This Saturday at 10!

If you want to make a really good gardening game plan for spring, join us here at Gill’s this Saturday, February 7th at 10am for James Gill’s annual Get Ready for Spring garden talk. James will go over proper pruning techniques, what to plant, how to fertilize, watering tips, and lots more. James is a walking encyclopedia of local gardening and landscaping knowledge – bring your questions! This talk is free and open to everyone. One attendee will win a $100 Gill’s gift card, and we’ll do some other giveaways too! Take a look at all our upcoming talks and events here. Next up is our Valentine’s Potted Arrangement Workshop on Thursday, February 12th at 6pm.

2. Prep Beds & Plant Your Veggies!

It’s time to start veggie favs like tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, beans, lettuces/greens, & more! Work some Nature’s Blend compost into your beds and get going. Or fill containers and raised beds with Gardener’s Magic soil and plant! Stop by and we’ll help you plan your veggie garden and get you everything you’ll need for a bountiful harvest. We’ve also got our Spring Veggie Garden Talk with DeAnna and Wyatt coming up on February 21st. Come learn and share with a group of seasoned and aspiring gardeners!

3. Start Your Spring Cleanup & Pruning Now

February is the time to get plants cut back to make way for big spring growth! Typically, we recommend waiting until February 15th to prune, but since the weather is warm and the forecast looks good, game on now! Most perennials like Lantana, Turk’s Cap, and Salvias need a good pruning back to about 4-8″ – don’t be shy! For any plants with woody stems/branches (like Esperanza and Hibiscus) that look dead or damaged from our recent freeze, do the scratch test before pruning. Start up high and scratch with your fingernail, a dime, or the back side of a knife. Don’t scratch too deep. If you see the bright green cambium layer (like the photo), that means it’s still alive! If you see brown/gray when you scratch, keep working your way down the plant until you see green. That will tell you where to cut. As always, contact Gill’s if you’re not sure or have questions about whether or how to prune specific plants.

4. Bring Back the Color!

All our favorite spring annuals, perennials, natives, roses, and bright-blooming tropical plants are arriving at Gill’s daily! We’ve entered February and the forecast looks warm and sunny, so it’s time to create bursts of color in the garden and landscape. Yes, there’s always a chance for a late freeze, but given our forecast this year, those chances are getting slimmer every day. Better to plant early and get a head start on root growth. Plus, small plants are easy to cover if need be.

5. Keep Feeding Veggies & Flowers on a Regular Schedule

Blooming plants need food! Veggies are especially heavy feeders – they need to be able to sustain blooming and producing fruit. We recommend mixing in a little Bio-Tone Starter when you plant, which contains mycorrhizal fungi that promotes root growth. Then feed with a good organic, granular plant food like Plant-Tone or Medina Growin Green once a month, and supplement with liquid organic Hasta Gro in between. An easy way to remember this is to set an alarm or calendar event for granular feeding on the 1st of the month, then Hasta Gro on the 15th. These will add nutrients to your plants and keep your soil alive and healthy too.

6. Keep Watch for Scale Insects

Scale is a variety of hard bodied sucking insects that range in appearance from white oyster shells to brown boogers 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, but it must be done now before temps get too warm. The oil spray literally coats and suffocates the the eggs that are waiting for spring to hatch. It’s also good for treating houseplants that may have scale or spider mites.

Check out our February Garden Guide for more tips!

We’ve passed the halfway point for 2026…that was fast! We hope you’re having lots of fun this summer – holidays, BBQs, weekend trips, and garden projects! Here are our top must-do’s to keep your plants healthy and happy in July, including tips for planting, watering, and summer pests to watch out for.

1. Yes, You Can Plant in the Summer!

Myth: I’ve heard that you can’t plant in the summer because its too hot… FACT: Of course you can!! You can plant just about anything in our summers, including trees, as long as you have a good plan for watering. In fact, summer is a great time to plant crape myrtles because they’re blooming and you get to choose the color IRL! While we’re past the season for spring veggies like tomatoes, there are still plenty of summer veggies like okra, peppers, eggplant, and melons to plant now. If you want your own fresh pumpkins for Halloween, start ’em in July. Plus, now’s a great time to set table for the fall hummingbird migration with their fav blooming perennials like Firebush, Firecracker plant (pictured), native flame Acanthus, and Dicliptera aka Hummingbird Bush. Don’t let any myths discourage your summer gardening!

2. Watering: Think Depth, Not Frequency

Proper hydration happens when you get water down to the roots of the plant. This means watering deeply, not more frequently. Plants need long, slow, deep drinks! Encourage those roots to dive deeper for water. Even with recent summer rains (yay!!), continue to watch your watering and maintain that depth moisture. If you notice this summer that you’re having to water your potted plants a lot more often, it could be time to re-pot. As the pot fills up with roots, you end up with less soil and therefore less moisture retention.

3. Mulch to Keep Roots Cool

Another way to save water is to keep landscape beds and gardens mulched through the summer. Studies show that a good 3″ layer of mulch will keep your plant roots more than 20 degrees cooler! Not only that, a good mulch layer also helps retain moisture AND keeps weeds at bay. Healthy plants, less watering, and fewer weeds – that’s a win/win/win! It’s important to use natural wood or pine straw mulch that breaks down over time, NOT the red dyed stuff! As natural mulch breaks down, it adds nutrients and makes your soil more workable. Keep in mind, mulch is also a great placeholder. If you have areas that you plan to plant later, keep them mulched to keep weeds out and keep your soil healthy and ready to plant when you are.

4. Watch for More Bugs in Summer

This is what a mealybug infestation looks like!

Not all bugs are bad, so it’s important to know your bugs before you spray anything, even organics. A few bugs here and there is most likely not cause for alarm. If you do get an infestation, cut the plant back first, give it some fertilizer, then treat for bugs. By pruning first, you won’t have to treat every leaf on the whole plant. We see plants come back better than ever using this method. If you’re not sure about bugs or pruning, we’re here to help. During summer, watch out for mealybugs on plants like Hibiscus and Turk’s Cap, lacebugs on Lantana, and chinch bugs in the lawn – especially near sidewalks and driveways! We’ve got solutions for all of the above.

5. Yes, You Should Fertilize in the Summer!

Continue to feed plants, especially heavy bloomers and veggies through the summer. Keep in mind that strong, healthy plants are less susceptible to pests and disease. Speaking of strong, try a good liquid foliar food like Medina Hasta Gro about every other week in addition to your granular feedings about once a month. The foliar food sprayed directly on the leaves really makes those leaves stronger and more robust. Lots of gardeners like to use liquid seaweed in the summer for a similar purpose, to help fortify and summer-proof your plants. What about lawns? If you haven’t fed your lawn yet, you can still do that too. If you have, you don’t need to feed it again until the fall.

Start your engines…fall planting season is here!! September is the best time to plant almost everything – veggies, trees, shrubs, natives, hummingbird plants, and more. Here are our top 7 must-do’s in September as we head into fall, our favorite South Texas gardening season!

1. Ready, Set, PLANT Veggies, Herbs, Citrus, and Fruits!

It’s time! Tomatoes, peppers, & warm weather edibles should be planted early in September at the latest. Plant cool weather veggies & herbs anytime in September and remember to shelter them from still-intense sun and keep watered. When planting, you can’t go wrong with organic BioTone starter fertilizer + a good handful of Earthworm Castings. Neither of these require precise measurement, and they make an incredible combo for building stronger, deeper roots, preventing pests, and creating an active soil environment for plants to thrive.

Here’s our Fall veggie planting schedule. And save space for citrus trees, figs, and other fruit trees to round off your garden grocery store! They’ll all be arriving before or right around mid-September.

2. Make Way for New Growth with Light Pruning and Clean-up

Chances are you have established plants that could benefit from a clean-up after working so hard all summer. Wait until about September 15th and give them a light pruning to make way for new growth this fall. A good rule of thumb for most plants is to prune up to 1/3 (not more) in the fall, then wait until January to do a heavy pruning/cutback. If you have questions about how to prune specific plants, you know who to call!

3. Plant Trees and Shrubs for the BEST Start

Plants that are cold hardy (trees and woody shrubs) will benefit greatly by planting during our fall season. They’re under less heat stress, and they grow more roots through the fall and winter, making them stronger and ready to take off next spring. More roots, stronger plants, and less watering! Oak trees, Crape Myrtles, Hawthorns, Yaupon Holly, Plumbago, Boxwoods and a host of other trees and shrubs should be planted starting this month for the best possible start.

4. Plant to Support Pollinators!

We’re bringing in lots of new plants this month with our pollinator friends in mind! While you’re choosing what to plant, consider adding Texas Natives like Turk’s Cap and Lantana that birds and bees love. If you want to attract and support butterflies, try native butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Gregg’s mist flower, and lots of different blooming salvias. So many gorgeous options! Bring in some pictures of your outdoor space and we can help you plan the perfect pollinator garden – big or small. You can DIY or we can plant it for you!

5. YES You Can & SHOULD Water!

We’re in such a better water situation than we were last summer/fall! You can and should be watering regularly. Under current Stage 1 rules, you can use spray irrigation or hose end sprinklers once a week on your trash day. This is a great schedule for lawns for the month of September. Just be sure you’re applying about 1″ of water each time. As we move into October, cut back lawn watering to once every other week, depending on rain. Hold off on fertilizing lawns until October. For landscape beds and gardens, drip irrigation, soaker hoses, and long watering wands are great – you get water right down to the roots with almost no evaporation. Under current watering rules, you can run drip irrigation systems any day before 10 and after 6. But keep in mind, a good deep drink once a week is better than short durations every day. One more thing – if you want to make the most of your water, be sure to mulch! A good 2-3″ layer of fresh mulch this month will look great and be very effective for retaining moisture when you water.

6. Set the Table for the Fall Hummingbird Migration!

Ruby-throated hummingbirds will soon make their way through for the fall migration! These tiny birds are BIG eaters. They stop here in the Coastal Bend to fuel up before their non-stop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Host them in your yard by planting some of their favorite foods! Hummingbirds find plants using their excellent vision and are attracted to bright colored blooms, which indicate a high-sugar food source. Some of our favs for South Texas are Flame Acanthus (aka hummingbird bush), Salvias (like native Salvia greggii and Salvia leucantha), Cape Honeysuckle, Firebush, Firecracker plant, Coral bean – the list goes on! Plant a few of these and hummingbirds will find them. And don’t forget to visit the Rockport-Fulton HummerBird Celebration September 17-20!

7. You’re Invited! Fall Garden Talks and Events at Gill’s!

Gill Garden Talks and Events are back this Fall! We’re kicking it off with DeAnna and Wyatt’s Fall Veggie Gardening Talk on Saturday, September 19th! We’ve got all kinds of fun planned including a houseplant propagation workshop on September 24th and our 2nd Annual Fall Plant Fest on October 10th, . Stay tuned on our events page and on Instagram and Facebook for details of each event. We can’t wait!

With slightly cooler temps ahead, rain in the forecast, and all our fav veggies arriving, we’re majorly in the mood for fall gardening! Even though it’s still warm out, right now is the time to plant your fall veggie garden to ensure you can get a good harvest. Here’s our guide to growing the best veggies this fall – plenty for you and plenty to share!

1. Pick Your Plants – Know Your Timing!

Last chance to plant tomatoes and peppers! The average tomato needs 60-90 days to mature and produce fruit. That means they’ll be ready around the mid-late November if we plant now. Similarly, most peppers need 60-80 days to maturity. Be sure to get them planted now or very soon so you can get a good harvest before we have chances of cold weather which tomatoes and peppers can’t handle. While we’re reaching the end of the window to plant tomatoes and peppers, cool weather veggies like broccoli, cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, and cauliflower are just arriving! Even though these can handle cooler temps, you still need to get them in the ground in September to ensure you’ll get a good harvest. Radish and carrot seeds should be started this month as well. Take a look at our Fall veggie planting schedule. And save space for citrus trees, figs, and other fruits! They’ll all be arriving this week and next!

2. Prep and Amend Your Soil

Corpus Christi clay soil and sandy soil in Rockport or on the island both need a boost to make them suitable for growing veggies. Very simple – add compost! Whether you’re in clay or sand, we recommend 1 bag of Nature’s Blend compost per 12 square feet to establish a veggie bed. Just work the compost into the first 6-8 inches of the native soil and you’ll have a nice loose and bioactive mix ready for planting. You can use the same rough formula when filling raised beds, or use our Gardener’s Magic soil blend which is formulated for raised beds and already has the compost and other nutrients mixed in – just pour and plant! You can add even more life to your veggie soil by supplementing with earthworm castings, dried molasses, and Bio-Tone starter fertilizer with mycorrhizal fungi. Think of these as probiotics for your soil. Just like our gut microbiome keeps us healthy and balanced, an active soil microbiome will help your veggie plants perform optimally…bigger root systems and more fruit!

3. Give Your Plants Good Spacing and Support

If you’re following this guide, get ready for big growth! Be sure to give your plants adequate spacing to grow to their mature size. For example, tomatoes should be planted a good 4 feet apart, peppers should be 2.5-3 feet apart, and cucumbers, squash, broccoli, and cauliflower should be planted 18″ apart. Good spacing not only gives them room to grow to their full potential, but also ensures good airflow around the plants and helps prevent pest outbreaks. While plants are small, add/build your support structures! We carry tomato cages, wooden trellises, pre-made bamboo trellises, and bamboo poles or t-posts if you want to build your own. And be sure to have some good flexible garden tie tape!

4. Water Early & Often + Mulch

New veggie plants need water every day, preferably in the morning. Once established, you can water some plants less frequently. The best thing to do is to check your garden every day. You’ll get a good sense for which plants are thirstier than others. Soaker hoses can be a big help. Just snake them through your veggie beds and turn on the tap or use a timer. When watering by hand, think like a soaker hose – water slowly and gently at soil level. Watering over the top of your plants or splashing soil up onto the plants invites fungal disease and pests. A good mulch layer can help prevent soil from splashing up onto your plants, plus prevent weeds and help retain moisture. We love pine straw mulch for veggie gardens because its so easy to work with and it does a great job at suppressing weeds.

5. Fertilize Regularly

If you want your veggies to feed you, you gotta feed them! Plants require LOTS of energy to produce fruit. If you take anything away from this blog, remember DeAnna’s organic fertilizer regimen: granular Plant Tone or Medina Growin Green on the 1st of the month, followed up by liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. The granular fertilizer will slowly break down and feed your roots, while the liquid Hasta Gro sprayed over the leaves will make the foliage thick and strong. If you want strong plants and amazing veggie production, follow this schedule!

6. Be Ready for Pests

Insect pests in the veggie garden are pretty much inevitable, but controllable. Just like watering, the best way to control pests in the veggie garden is to inspect your plants every day and catch any problems early. We recommend having these 3 organic products on hand: Bt for caterpillars, diatomaceous earth for crawling insects like ants, and spinosad soap for beetles, aphids, and spider mites. If you’re not sure what’s eating your veggies, send us a photo or bring in a sample and we can identify and help you control.

7. Harvest Consistently!

If you follow this guide, you’re going to be set up for a bountiful harvest! It’s very important to harvest regularly so you get to enjoy all your efforts. Some veggies, like beans, squash, and cucumbers will need to be harvested daily! If you’ve grown cucumbers before, you know that one day they’ll look perfect and ripe, then the next day they’ll be twice the size and beyond their prime – huge and fibrous and flavorless. Keep in mind that birds, bugs, and other critters like ripe fruit too. Harvest it before they do! When you harvest regularly, you’re also signaling to the plant to redirect energy and produce more fruit.

Plants have thrived through hurricanes and worse for around 500 million years. Most of your plants will come back fine, and for those you lose, something new will grow, with a little help from you.

Don’t worry too much about wind-damaged foliage, it will be replaced by pretty and efficient new leaves. Some plants that have lost the shade from a damaged or destroyed tree or large shrub will suffer from sunburn. Some varieties will grow new and more sun-tolerant leaves, but some plants will never be happy in full sun. These will need to be dug up and transplanted to a shady spot or given away or tossed. If you need help determining which plants will tolerate the new sun and which won’t, bring a sample or photo by the nursery and we will advise you.

Some tipped over plants can be raised and staked, but some will be too top-heavy and will need cutting back before raising and staking. We have run across some bottlebrush, for example, that required this. Some soft herbaceous plants were really trounced, such as coleus and basil, but if damaged portions are pruned out, they will bounce back for fall. In fact, many perennials benefit from a light pruning in September for a better fall showing. Younger trees with broken branches, or tipped over sideways, should be staked or pruned, and will recover just fine. Larger and older trees are more iffy. Was the tree healthy and vigorous before the storm, or already declining? Is it the right tree for that spot? If not, maybe it’s a good time to change.

Image: Texas A&M Forest Service

If you determine the tree should stay but needs damage pruned away, remove large damaged branches with the 3 cut method to avoid stripping bark off the side of the tree. Undercut the branch first, 18″ out from the trunk, followed by cutting down from the top, 20″ out from the trunk, until the branch falls. Then remove the remaining stub to within an inch or two of the trunk. If the tree is leaning, small trees can be pulled upright and secured with 6′ steel t-posts, with the tree tied to the post with a soft material, or wire cushioned with hose, being sure the loop around the tree is large enough not to constrict the growth of the trunk. Larger trees will need 2″x4″ stakes driven into the ground, or maybe even steel earth anchors, like used to tie down sheds or mobile homes. Before lifting the tree up straight, soak the ground around the roots so the roots can slip through the soil back to an upright position instead of being held back and maybe broken off by hard dry soil. Until you get to the process of raising the tree or shrub, don’t keep the roots flooded, but do keep the roots moist, and if small roots are exposed, maybe even cover them with some shade, like burlap.

Be safe, serious injuries occur when ladders and chainsaws are involved. Also be cautious of men knocking on your door and saying they have just trimmed your neighbors trees and if you pay them a down payment, they will go get gas and be right back to trim your trees.

Please come into the store with pictures if you have additional questions. We are there to help.

-James

It seems everywhere I turn I see bugs. Chinch bugs in the grass, worms eating bougainvilleas, scale on irises and lilies, mealy bugs on tropicals. To spray, or not to spray? That is the question. We need to raise our tolerance of what is acceptable in our landscapes. A few bugs here or there or a little plant damage is all o.k. Did you know that only about 5% of insects are bad? Many insects are even beneficial. This fact is the reason you must decide whether or not to spray. Lots of times nature will take care of itself if you wait a few days. Keep your plants as healthy as possible, and you will not have many insect or disease problems.

First, make sure you have the right plant in the right place, proper sun exposure, correct spacing of plants to insure air circulation, regular feeding, mulched beds, watering. All of these things reduce stress and result in perfect growing conditions for your plants keeping them happy and healthy. We call it IPM or Integrated Pest Management. If you do determine you need to treat a problem insect, start with the least toxic approach.

Insects and disease go for the weak and stressed plants first.
A few aphids can be controlled with a blast of water.
A cluster of mealybugs on the tips of plants can be remedied by pruning and discarding the area.
Using Insecticidal Soap, Neem Oil, or Thuricide sprayed on plants with insects is your next approach.
Never spray everything just because one plant has a problem.

So look around your yard; see what’s happening. If you’re not sure whether you have a beneficial or a problem insect, just put a sample in a ziplock bag and bring it to us. We will help identify the bug and tell you if you need a control solution.

-Deanna

Do you have a gardener in your family that you just don’t know what to buy them? Think about a new pair of pruners. Or rose gloves that reach up to your elbows. They’re great for pruning thorny plants like roses, bougainvilleas or pyracantha. We also have moisture meters, rain gauges, outdoor thermometers, candles, windchimes, birdfeeders, hummingbird feeders, and more. We have fruit pickers to help harvest their fruit up high in the tree. How about a tub- trug to hold plant clippings or soil as you work around the yard.

One of my favorite parts of gardening is, accessorizing! We have concrete statues of dogs, cats, pigs, frogs, St Francis and more. We also carry metal yard art from Mexico and Haiti. Beautiful ceramic pottery, fountains and birdbaths. Or for the new gardener, how about the Corpus Christi Garden Book. Still not sure what to buy? How about a gift card to Gills. That way they can shop year-round at both stores and buy what they need when they are ready. I know I would love any of these.

-DeAnna