My family and I just recently went to the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Science.  Every time that I go there I have an amazing little adventure into a small version of a tropical rain forest.  There are so many butterflies flying in the Center that you can't possibly keep up with them.  They also have a large variety of insects and spiders along with one very large green iguana. Here are just a few of the pictures that I was able to take.

                                                                     Scarlet Peacock

                                                                    Idea leuconoe           
                                                 Rice Paper also called Tree Nymph

                                                                     Owl Butterfly
                                                                    Caligo memnon

                                                        

                                                                 Mimoides ilus branchus
                                                                 Mimic Kite Swallowtail

                                                      
                                             

Product Review- Drinking Water Safe Water Hose

I know that the last product review that I did was a soaker hose but it is that time of year where we are starting to water more often and I was in need of new water hoses.  I have quite a few vegetables that I grow mixed in with my regular flower beds so I decided to get this water hose that is drinking water safe.  It is from Apex and I did get it at Walmart.  I paid almost $11 which is the going rate for a 25 foot hose.  I have looked at the website for Apex and can't seem to find this hose on their site, however, you can find it at Walmart.  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Apex-5-8-x-25-Boat-Camper-Hose/15914127
I have only have this hose for about 3 weeks and I love it.  It is a great hose and I feel safe using it on my vegetables and fruit.  It is lead free and it has a coupling for easy attachment to the faucet.  This one gets a thumbs up from me.
Apex also has another hose called the "Healthy Habitat Water Hose".  This water hose is drinking water safe.  It is lead free and phthalate free.  It also has a reduced water flow rate to conserve water.    It is made from less material making it lighter when you need to move it around the yard. (This is a plus for me since my yard is very large.)

"Healthy Habitat Water Hose"

BottleBrush Bush

I have to admit that this is one of my favorite plants.  I love, love, love the Bottlebrush plant.  This plant is truly  a carefree plant with little to no worries about diseases or bug problems.  It will flower several times a year here in the south, (I live just outside of Houston, Texas).  The Bottlebrush is great for covering things and blocking views, such as a fence, or blank wall, or a bright light from a neighbor's flood light attached to the back of their garage.  The last example is what happened to us.  The light was so bright that it lite up over half of my backyard and shined into my son's bedroom window.  We put up a bottlebrush to screen out the light.  It grew nicely over a short period of time and is beautiful when it blooms. 
Another great thing about this plant is that there is very little pruning involved in taking care.  It is best to trim it to shape it.  Try not to take out too much out of the center of the plant.  

The ins & outs of the Bottlebrush:

Scientific name: Callistemon rigidus
                        This is native to Australia.

Growth Habit:  Zones 8-10
                        Grows 8 x 6 feet; the average growth is 6 x 4 feet (but I have seen it grown to about 11 feet)

Flower:  Bright red spikes near the tips of the branches, each flower sessile, in axil of floral leaf.  Many   
              bristlelike stamens one inch or more long.  Flowers grow in a mass in the shape of a bottlebrush,
              hence the name.  It flowers in late spring and early summer and then again in the fall.

Foliage:  The leaves are a gray-green leaf scattered along woody stems.  Each leaf is 2 to 5 inches long and
              about 1/2 inch wide.  They have a midvein that runs through the middle.  The tips of the leaves are
              sharp-pointed.  The new foliage is showy being reddish green.

Pros:  -Drought tolerant.
          -The bottlebrush plant attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, as well as bees (this is a good thing).
          -Bottle brush have wonderful flowers that are very showy when in bloom.
          -These shrubs and small trees are salt tolerant, which makes them great for near the beach.
          -Non-toxic to dogs, cats, and horses.
          -Very little care to keep this plant a beauty, mild pruning.
        
Cons:  -The bad thing about these plants is that they will freeze when there is a severe winter.  I personally
           have not lost any of these plants but they have died back to the ground during a hard winter.
           -If you don't trim them occasionally, the ends of the branches can bend down instead of staying
           upright.  The flowers tend to be heavy and makes the branches droop on smaller branches.
           -Bottle brush plants do not want to be in poorly drained soils.


Other common varieties:  -'Little John'- a dwarf red
                                     - 'Splendens'- a scarlet-red
                                     -'Hannah Ray'- an orange-red
                                     -Callistemon citrinus- Lemon bottlebrush lemon-scented leaves; red flowers.
                                     -Callistemon viminalis- Weeping bottlebrush, red flowers.
          

          
                        

White Gaura (aka Whirling Butterflies)

Here is another one of my favorite spring/summer flowers.  Gaura lindheimeri is a great plant for the a spot in the front of the garden. Gaura lindheimeri is also called Whirling Butterflies.  It grows about 2-3 feet tall flower spikes while the foliage is shorter than that.  The plant gives an airy feel to the area.  The flowers will bloom upward on the spikes. Gaura blooms from April through November.  The leaves are a dark green about 2-3 inches long to 1/2 inch wide with the upper leaves smaller.  Gaura likes rich clay or sandy soils of prairies, pinelands, moist edges of ponds, lakes and seepage areas. 
Gaura can and will form into groups or colonies.  The flowers are visited by numerous species of insects, especially small bees and beelike flies.  A great plant to have.  It has little to no trouble with insects and diseases.  I have had this plant for many years and I love it.

Plains Coreopsis

This is one of my favorite Texas wildflowers.  It is called Plains Coreopsis.  I have also heard it called tickseed.  It usually blooms here from late March until summer.  It has perfect timing here because it starts blooming right when my bluebonnets are looking very ugly while I wait for them to go to seed.  The plants are usually 1-2 feet high.  The stems are solitary, leafy, and multi-branching.  The flower heads are about 1 inch across yellow with a red-brown spot in the middle.  Sometimes they may be all yellow or all brown.  The leaves are 2-4 inches long.  It mainly grows  in moist area in prairies, pastures, and fields.  This is one of my all time favorite spring/summer wildflowers.  It blooms for a really long time.  And it even lasts a long time when you are having extreme weather conditions.  This is a must have for wildflowers.

Finally getting the garden cleaned up

My favorite place in this whole world is my backyard.  I have a pretty big backyard where backyards are concerned but up until a few month ago I was not able to do much gardening for about 1 1/2 years.  To put it gently, I had a dog that was just not right for our family that wouldn't let me garden. It sounds weird but it is true.  We rescued this dog when he was just 2 months old.  He is a chocolate Labrador and when we got him we were so happy.  We had just lost our second dog in 2 months time to cancer and thought that it would be great to have new life in the house to help the kids grieve. We had our other dogs for 16 years and 11 years and we really couldn't figure out what to do to bring our spirits back up. 
So the new dog, Ziggy, turned out to be a big handful.  I had raised our other dogs from puppies and knew it was hard work but this time it was different.  I almost felt like we had a "Marley" dog.  I spent countless hours watching dog training shows, reading dog training books, and researching online what could I do to get this dog to fit in with our family.  Ziggy would constantly jump up on the kids and scare them, he would jump up on the counters and grab anything he could get his mouth on and tear it up, he would chew up the kids toys, even chew books, and the grossest part is that he would eat his own poop.  This is only a small part of the things he would do.  I worked with him constantly and played with him at least 3 times a day and nothing seemed to work to get him to calm down.  It was so bad that we had to keep him either outside or in the kitchen.  And towards the end of his time with us he would even jump over the baby gate to keep him in the kitchen.  It was really horrible.  We couldn't live like that anymore.  My kids were even afraid of him.  I kept asking myself- my family and the dog have to have a better life.
Now to the gardening part of this story.  When I would go outside to try and work in the garden Ziggy would take my tools and chew them up.  He would grab any plants that were in pots and chew them up.  So much for starting seeds for the garden.  He would even dig up the plants that I had just planted.  And he would trample on plants constantly.  I found myself putting the dog inside the house just so we could go outside and play.  The whole time I would worry if he was getting into something in the house. 
We had him for over 1 1/2 years and nothing I did was helping the situation.  I didn't know what to do.  I decided to put him up for adoption.  I made so many calls to vets offices, and kennels, and adoption agencies (which I decided was not the right option in this situation).  And I couldn't get any responses.  After 3 months I again was stuck.  After much trying I need to get some results because things at home with him were only getting worse.  So I put him up for sale.  I hated doing this  because I only wanted to find a home for him and I know there are so many dogs that need adoption.  Funny thing is that the very next day after I posted my ad I had 4 replies.  I went through them and talked to everyone trying to find the right fit for Ziggy.  I did love him and only wanted the best for him.  I ended up picking a single guy from Austin that had another dog already.  It turns out that he fell in love with Ziggy.  I did make the right decision and gave Ziggy to him without charging him.  It didn't feel right to charge him for a dog that needed a home.
After he had Ziggy for several weeks we talked to him again and found out that when he takes Ziggy to the park and Ziggy is around other kids he gets a bit crazy.  And my kids were around him constantly so he was always wound up.  Ziggy is doing really good and I am so happy for him.  I had always had dogs my entire life and never thought I would give one up but for us it just wasn't the right fit.  We have since adopted another dog, this one is a 5 year old girl black Labrador.  And it is a wonderful fit.  She is really calm around my boys and she has free run of the house and yard.  Almost everyday since we found Ziggy a new home I have worked outside in the yard.  I had missed it so much and it had missed me.  My yard was in terrible shape.  When I get a few more areas cleaned up I will show you some before and after pictures of my great clean-up.  But the best part is being able to go into my favorite place and relax.

Feed those tomatoes

Don't forget to feed your tomatoes.  Tomatoes and Peppers are heavy feeders. For tomatoes you can add 1-2 Tablespoons of fertilizer per plant every 3-4 weeks.  I however also feed my plants every 2 weeks with a foliar food and spray it right on the leaves. Make sure the leaves have enough time to dry before it gets dark so you don't promote diseases and fungus.  Also, remember to stake your tomatoes while they are growing tall.  You don't want to lose any of those precious tomatoes.  I was going to say precious fruit but then there goes that debate about tomatoes being a fruit or a vegetable.  I personally don't care if they are a fruit or a vegetable.  I just like to eat them either way.
If you want to read more about how to grow tomatoes here is lots of great information on them, Easy Growing Tomatoes

Culantro- The new Cilantro

I know that the picture doesn't look like much but, I found this plant at a little landscaper supply store.  It is called Culantro and it tastes just like Cilantro.  I am really excited about it.  Here in Houston we can't grow cilantro all year long.  I was told that culantro can be grown all year long.  We planted one of these at a clients house and it looks really good.  This one was in the sun too much and it did dry out for one day so that is why the leaves are a bit yellow.  I took this picture a couple of days ago and now it looks even better with new leaves coming up.  I did move it out of the sun and have been keeping it watered.  The growers for this particular plant is Bonnie.  This link takes you to the culantro page...http://bonnieplants.com/growing/growing-culantro/.  Culantro does bolt like cilantro when it gets hot and too sunny for the plant.  I am noticing that where I live it is doing great with just about 3-4 hours of sun a day.
I have read that it does not have a good shelf life so you only need to pick what you want to cook with that particular day.
I plan on testing this plant to see how it does throughout the year, especially when we get really hot. (101+ degrees.)  Stay tuned and I will give you reports.  I hope this plant is a keeper.  It would be nice to have a plant with that kind of flavor to use all year long.  I know you can get it in the store but I love the fact that we can go into the garden and pick what we want to eat.  Yum.

Product Review- Element SoakerPro Soaker Hose

Last year my soaker hose finally went to soaker hose heaven.  Really that hose lasted for about 15 years for us so I think I got my monies worth.  Towards the later half of last summer here in Texas you could not find a soaker hose anywhere.  Everyone was buying them up trying to save money watering especially since most of my area was under watering restrictions.  Almost as an impulse buy I grabbed one at the store yesterday.  I have wanted to get another one for a while so I guess it wasn't that much of an impulse buy.  Anyway, I bought  this hose at Walmart.  It is called Element SoakerPro by Colorite Plastics Company.  Made right here in the Good Ole USA in New Jersey.  Their website is http://www.elementhose.com/hoses/soaker-pro/.  I like that this hose is made from 65% recycled rubber.  But my favorite part is that it is Lead Free making it safe to use on your fruits, veges and herbs.
Today I hooked it up and I love it.  It works really good with the water making it all the way to the end of the hose.  That is a problem that I had with my other soaker hose.  My old hose wasn't as long as this 50 feet beauty.  It definitely goes a long way.  It says that you can put 3 of the hoses together for really large areas.  I will probably buy another one before we really have to start watering here so I will update later and give feedback on how well it works with 2 of them hooked up together.

How To Correctly Plant A Plant In The Ground

I was planting a few plants in the ground the other day with my son and I realized that I needed to give him a few pointers on planting plants in the ground.  At first I sat down next to him and said plant this basil here when he looked up at me and asked what he needed to do exactly.  He knows how I feel about my plants so he wanted to do a good job.  I have planted many plants in my 20 something years of gardening and just didn't realize that there are a few things everyone should know about planting. 
When you get ready to plant something you first want to clear the space of weeds.  I am always fight weeds so I usually need to pull a few out of the way for my new little (or big) plants that I want to go into that space.   Sometimes, if the ground is to hard to pull the weeds out of or to dig the hole to put your plant in, you will need to water the area to make it easier to work.  Do this and let the water soak in.  Usually when I know that I have to weed an area and it is dry, I will water it and then come back an hour or two later to clean it up. 
Next, you get your shovel for big plants and a hand held trowel or what I call "my digger".  I dig a hole twice the size of what the plant is.  When I mean the size of the plant- I mean the size of the soil that is in the pot you are about to plant. Only do this wide not too deep.  You are going to plant the root ball or dirt ball as my son calls it just deep enough to add a little fertilizer to help the plant grow when it is in the ground.  I always put a little bit of soil on top of the fertilizer so the fertilizer will not burn the roots of the plant.  After this step you are ready to plant your plant. 
Grab your plant.  What I do when I am trying to get it out of the pot is, if it is small enough that your hand can hold the pot upside down, turn the pot upside down and use your hand to hold the plant where it will not come out of the pot, fall to the ground and crush the top of the plant.  Then if it hasn't slide out, I will gently squeeze the pot or gently shake it while holding it upside down to get it out.  After it is out of the container I always take the root ball (or dirt ball) and rub my fingers on the outside of the soil to break up the roots that have coiled themselves within the container.  Doing this helps the roots to start growing out and not continue to grow in a circle.  You are not going to kill the plant if you do this.  After this step I put the plant into the hole making sure that the top of the soil where the plant is coming out of the soil is level with the top of the ground.  It is better to plant it a little too high than plant it too low in the ground.  If you plant it low in the ground then the plant may rot and die.  Adjust the soil level in the bottom by adding or taking out soil to make the plant level.
Time to fill the soil back in around the plants roots.  Gently push the soil down getting out all of the big air pockets.  It is also a great idea to mulch after the plant is planted.  This will help bring nutrients back into the ground and help conserve water.
That is the basics.  Happy planting.

Last of the Cool Weather

This morning I had the windows open and was enjoying the last of the cool weather that we will get until late September or October.  And when I mean cool weather, I mean 68* mornings.  Our high temperature for the day is 78.  I know that is not cool for some of you but it is perfect for me.  It may sound silly but I like to open the windows up in the morning and let the house get pretty cool so the air conditioner doesn't have to come on all day.  I hate having to pay for electricity. It's also good for the environment to not have the a/c going all day.  Too bad that is exactly what happens in the summer here.  I hope this year's summer is not as hot as last year's summer.  I just wish that we get some rain this summer.  I am not sure how Texas will do with 2 summers back to back with no rain, even no clouds. A nice cloud cover will do from time to time.  And the plants would be pretty appreciative also.
Enough of the ranting about nice weather or really lack of nice weather.  Today I am going to feed the tomatoes and peppers.  If you didn't know it- they are both heavy feeders.  They can get fertilizer burn if you put too much fertilizer on them but you are more likely to under-feed them than over-feed them.  Also, tomatoes are foliar feeders meaning they can take in nutrients from liquid fertilizers through their leaves.
This past weekend I have a show that I had a booth at for the whole weekend.  So last week I wasn't able to do any gardening since I was trying to get ready for the show.  With that being said, I am about to spend a few needed hours in my backyard. I am sure my kids and husband will have to drag me into the house so I can feed them for dinner.  See you later.

Best Citrus for Texas

The Gulf Coast area is a great place to grow citrus.  We have the perfect climate of high humidity, sunlight, and heat.  Oh course we would love to have a little less of the heat and humidity but the citrus love it.  Most citrus grow into large bushes or small trees.  If you don't want a big citrus plant then it can be grown in a container.  This can be a bonus during an early freeze when you need to protect your citrus by bringing it into the garage when that cold snap comes.  You will want to bring the citrus to a warmer area when it gets 26 degrees or lower.  But some citrus have been know to survive a colder freeze than that.
Best varieties for South Texas:
(The * means that it is virus-free)

Oranges:
Tomango
Louisiana Sweet
Naval
Marrs
*Pineapple
*Hamlin
Republic of Texas

Grapefruit:
Bloom Sweet
Golden
*Rio Red
*Star Ruby
Marsh
Ruby Red
*Henderson

Kumquats:
Chang Chou
Nagami Kumquat
*Meiwa Kumquat (seedless)

Acid Citrus:
*Mexican Lime
Eustis Limequat
Sunquat
Yuzuquat
Calamondin
Meyer Lemon
*Ponderosa Lemon
Eureka Lemon
Thomasville Citrangequat

Mandarins/Tangelos:
Orlando Tangelo
Fairchild Tangerine
Clementine Tangerine (Monreal)
Changsha Tangerine
Satsuma

There are many more that can be added to this list.  Really it is a matter of taste.  Get the ones you like the best.  Try to wait until March to add your plants in the garden.  You will want to wait till all danger of frost has past.  Normal spacing between trees is 15 to 20 feet. 
Fertilize the trees with a complete fertilizer such as a 13-13-13 in late January or early February, at a rate of one-and-a-half pounds per year age of tree up to 12 years.  Water regularly and make sure that your water source is not high in sodium. Citrus love sunshine. Provide 5 to 6 hours of sunlight a day.

The next thing you do is sit back and wait for your delicious fruit to grow and flourish. Enjoy.

Texas Bluebonnet Time

It has been a wonderful season for bluebonnets this year.  I know the spring rains that we have had played a big part in making this year so beautiful.  I live right outside of Houston so really it is not too far for me to go to see the bluebonnets in the hill country.  But at my house you don't have to go far at all.  I planted bluebonnet seed in the garden right after we put the soil in (our backyard was nothing but builders sand when we moved in). And every year since then we have more and more bluebonnets that spread and pour into the lawn and garden pathways.  I love going outside and looking at a sea of blue and pink and maroon bonnets.  Yes, I said pink and maroon bonnets.  They are not as prolific as the blue ones but they still come back every year.  One year I decided to add some Aggie bonnets, which are maroon for Texas A&M University. They were actually developed by A&M.  I was told that they would cross pollinate with the bluebonnets but I didn't care.  As the next year rolled around I had a few maroons bonnets and a few pink ones mixed in with a bunch of blue ones. They are really a sight to see.  I love springtime at my house.  I end up spending more time outside than I do inside.  (The house doesn't get a good spring cleaning where I live, but the yard does.)
So here is how you grow them if you would like to add them to your garden.  The variety that I have is Lupinus texensis. These plants are Texas natives, which I love. They bloom from March-May.  Although at my house they tend to bloom early but they finish early also.   It loves prairie, pastures, hillsides and slopes to call home.  It doesn't require much water to survive.  I do notice that when I don't splash it down with the water hose from time to time that it will get spider mites.
I don't use any chemicals on it since bees love bluebonnets.  It is also the larval host plant to the Elfin butterfly and the Hairstreak butterfly.  The bluebonnets are susceptible to herbicides. So please don't spray anything on them or near them. If you do spray them, then that chemical can affect any of the bees and butterflies that drink its nectar. Please be careful.
You can add plants directly to your garden or you can easily sprinkle the seeds in the fall.  What I do is every year after the plant has finished flowering I wait for the plant to die.  The seed will mature on the dying plant and then when they are ready to come out of their pods they pop out and go flying to their new location. Yes the plant is ugly and doesn't look pretty at all but I will never have to buy more plants or seeds at the store again.  It is that easy.  Bluebonnets are a great wildflower to have in the garden.  Every year I truly enjoy going out and watching the bees and butterflies hovering around the fragrant flowers.  It is an awesome sight to see.

Trying To Get Rid Of Bermuda Grass

I have one main problem in my yard- Bermuda grass.  We bought our house brand new.  So when we did buy it there was no sod in the back yard.  I liked that we had a clean slate and I was able to design the yard the way I wanted it to look.  No problems there.  When we got around to adding grass to the back yard we spent about $2,200 on St. Augustine grass.  I thought at that price we were getting good grass but there was plenty of Bermuda grass that came with the St. Augustine.  It has now been about 9 years that we have had our house and the Bermuda grass has made its way into my flower beds.  It is literally taking over and I am so tired of digging it out that I am on the verge of getting Round up.  Really I wouldn't buy that stuff.  Round-up is horrible and I have recently read that they are now finding Round-up residue where it has never been sprayed before and also in the air.  Did I say how bad Round-up is?
So I am now trying to find ways to organically get rid of it for good.  The one thing that I have not got around to is making a 3-4 inch dead space (just dirt space) between the flower bed edging and the grass itself.  So I will need to get to that soon.  After that I will put a barrier deep in the ground at the edging so I can hopefully stop the Bermuda grass from coming in the flowers beds in the future.  Then the next thing I will do is spray vinegar on the Bermuda grass without getting it on the other plants.  I am going to try this at the hottest part of the day.  Since I have a background in Horticulture I do know that the vinegar will only kill the top of the plant and not translocate to the roots of the plant.  So I intend to do multiple sprayings of vinegar.  I am going to experiment with this and find out what type of spray schedule is going to work best.
So far I really have no idea if this is going to work but at this point I am willing to try it because I don't want to have to dig up this plant any more.  Wish me luck.

Need more Butterfly Food!!!

This year I have been in short supply of butterfly weed, which is the only plant that Monarchs will eat and lay their eggs on.  I have had so many butterflies this year that I just can't seem to keep the plants around long enough for all the caterpillars.  I have a good amount of butterfly weed that usually grows in my garden. I will only grow it for the Monarch butterflies.  I don't care what it looks like after the caterpillars get finished with it.  And honestly, it looks pretty bad.  Nothing but stems and no leaves. Last year I didn't have hardly any butterflies.  I probably had 4 or 5 the entire year.  I am not sure if the number of butterflies was lowered because of the drought that we had here in Texas but I think it is a large part of it.  Maybe there was not enough nectar plants for them. Also,  I don't think there was enough wild butterfly weed out there for them to eat or lay eggs.
This year we have had a great spring with lots of rain and with that came lots of butterflies.  My boys and I usually help raise the caterpillars inside our house in a terrarium because the red wasp will eat as many caterpillars as they can sink their teeth into.  But we have had so many caterpillars that I have kept most of them outside on the host plants.  I also have not seen any red wasps this year.  Not sure why?
Six days ago I ran out of food for all the caterpillars.  And I still had about 18 caterpillars that were still growing.  So my oldest son and I went down to our favorite nursery, Enchanted Gardens in Richmond. We bought 4 more good sized butterfly weed plants.  Brought them home and moved the remaining caterpillars onto the new plants.  It only took them 3 days to devour them and we were out of food again.  This time my youngest son and I went back to Enchanted Gardens and bought one more plant.  We only had 7 caterpillars left to get to cocoon stage. Now we have 5 caterpillars left and one is getting ready to cocoon.  We have only half of the last plant that we bought left.  Two of those remaining caterpillars will stop eating within the next day or two. So I sit here and wonder if I will have enough food for the last few caterpillars.  The good news is that all of the original plants that I have in the flower beds are all starting to leaf out.  So I do have hope for the remaining few caterpillars.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  I don't want to keep going to the store to buy more butterfly weed because I tend to find new plants that I want to add to my garden.  There is so much to choose from, I can never have enough plants.

Mulch It Right

Mulching your flowers beds is one of the most important things you can add to your garden.  By definition, mulching is when you place a layer of organic or inorganic material on top of the soil.  Mulches can greatly improve the benefits of the internal soil structure while greatly enhancing the overall health of most plants, reducing their susceptibility to pests and environmental stresses.  They can also prevent weeds, protect the plants roots from heat, cold, or drought, keep fruit clean, and reduce plant diseases by preventing water from splashing on the leaves and fruit of plants.  And if that was not enough, mulches can also prevent soil erosion and add nutrients to the soil as they break down slowly. 

So here is the ins and outs of mulching.  It really is pretty simple to remember just a few pointers about mulching your flower beds.  Mulch can come from many materials.  Shredded pine bark, wood chips, leaves, grass clippings, and compost are all forms of mulch.  My personal favorites are compost and/or native hardwood mulch.  I don't like using the red mulches as they are dyed and I don't want anything that is not natural in my garden beds.  I recommend putting down a 2-4 inch layer of mulch around your trees, shrubs, and garden plants.  Please do not pile up the mulch around the stems and trunks of plants.  I have actually seen mulch piled very high around the trunks of plants and trees and I just wanted to cringe.
Grass clippings can be used as a mulch.  I love not having to go and buy my mulch and this is one way to do it.  Simply wait to mow until your grass is between 2 and 4 inches high.  Then mow off only the top 1/3 of the grass, and don't bag the grass clippings.  The clippings will feed your soil and won't smother your grass.  If there are too many clippings, you can rake the excess and use it to mulch the garden beds.

Mulches are essential for the overall health of your plants.  Using mulch and/or compost will raise the soil nutrient level and enhance the physical structure to a point that the need for synthetic fertilizers is greatly reduced. This is not achieved quickly.  You need to have patience to build up the soil.  But it is soooo worth it.

April Gardening To-Do List

It is that time of the year to get lots of gardening chores tackled before it gets hot.  And here in Houston it will get hot in a few weeks.
This year we did not have much in the way of winter.  There were only a few days that we had freezes and even on those days it didn't freeze hard enough to freeze back many of the semi-tropical plants that usually die back to the ground every year.  When this happens we have lots of lush growth early on in the season along with lots of bugs that my not get killed when we get a hard freeze.  So with that said here is my to-do list for April.

1. If you haven't done so already, it is time to get rid of any dead limbs and leaves off of plants that may die back when it does freeze, such as the Giant Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) and the hummingbird bush or firebush (Hamelia patans).  I already have new growth that is about a foot high on these plants right now but you can still cut them back when you need to.  I usually let these plants grow to their natural forms and they both get fairly big.

2. Cut back any of your spring flowering shrubs.  The azaleas should be almost finished flowering this year, as well as the Bridal Wreath Spirea that I posted about on March 30.  Spring flowering shrubs only bloom on old wood and need the rest of the year to create that old wood after you finish pruning.  This chore is not necessary to do.  You can leave these plants to grow naturally if you like.  The bridal wreath spirea that I posted about has not been pruned in about 9 years and it looks beautiful.

3. It is time to fertilize.  You can fertilize it all right now; the grass, trees and shrubs, flowers.  So get to feeding.  I will soon talk about what is the best fertilizers to put on the different types of vegetation.

4.  You can also put mulch down in all the flower beds now.  This will help deter some of the weeds that are coming up.  Mulching can help keep the moisture on the soil for the plants.  Another thing that mulch can do is to keep the soil cool during the summer months.  Mulch is a really great think to add to your to-do list.  If you don't get to it this chore now you can add it to the garden and beds any time of year.

5. Look out for the hummingbirds in April.  They will make their spring migration stops in the Houston area starting the first week of April.  Get those feeders cleaned and ready to go.  And don't forget to take pictures while you are on your stake out of these great little creatures.

6.  I have been planting seeds for all of my annual spring flowers and getting some vege seeds ready.

  Here are just a few vegetable seeds that can be started in the Houston area in April:
  Beans- both Bush Snap and Pole varieties through mid-April
  Corn seed
  Cucumber seed through April 30
  Eggplant through May 1
  Okra seed April-July
  Peas, southern, seed April-May
  Pepper plant; mid March-May 1
  Radish, seed; Feb.-April
  Squash, summer, seed; mid March-April
  Tomato, plant; March, April
  Watermelon, seed/plant; mid-March-May1


There are many things to do in the garden right now.  So stop reading and get to work.  That's what I am going to do right now.  Just have fun and enjoy being in the outdoors.

Bridal Wreath Spirea

Bridal Wreath Spirea has got to be one of my favorite spring blooming plants.  I have had this particular spirea for about 7 years now and every spring it gives me a wonderful explosion of blooms.  Maybe I love it so much because it happens to be one of the first things to really show off its flowers.  These plants will grow pretty big if you let them.  The one pictured above is probably 9 feet wide and it is as tall as my fence.  It is supposed to be pruned every year after it finishes flowering in the spring yet, I have never pruned this one.  I like the way it has that natural look to it.  If you prune it in the fall it will not bloom the next spring.  It only blooms on old wood.  The bridal wreath spirea grows at a moderate rate.  It performs best in full sunlight with a moist, fertile, well-drained soil, but it is tolerant of a wide range of conditions.  You can propagate by taking cuttings and dividing.  I have not done this yet, but I think I will do it soon to this very plant.  I would love to have about 3 more of these on my property.

Helping The Monarch Butterfly

For many years now I have been trying to help grow the population of the Monarch butterfly.  I specifically grow the milkweed plants which is their host plant for laying eggs for the caterpillars to grow up feasting on.  The milkweed variety that I personally grow for the butterflies is Asclepias tuberosa.  This is the milkweed variety that has yellowish-orange and red flowers. I have seen it grow to almost 3 feet high until the caterpillars eat it all. 
Last year I didn't have hardly any monarchs in my yard.  I am not sure if it had anything to do with the drought that we were having here in Texas last year or if it is because their numbers are declining. However, this year I have lots of butterflies and caterpillars.  Right now I have about 10 coccoons and 8 baby caterpillars in my little terrarium that I keep in the house.  There are also about 8 more caterpillars in the garden that I can see.  Usually there are more, but I have so many plants in my garden (not just butterfly weed) that it is hard for me to keep count when they are in abundance.    I like to keep some, if not all, of the caterpillars in my terrarium in the house simply to protect them from predators outside.
This is how I do it.  When I am outside and I see a caterpillar, I gently pick him off of the plant (without squeezing him) and put him on one of the milkweed branches that I have clipped from a mother plant placed inside the terrarium.  The best way to pick him up is by putting your fingers under his legs and lift him off of the plant.  Sometimes, if I have just clipped off a piece of the milkweed that I was going to put into the terrarium and I take that piece and put it in front of the caterpillar.  I then very gently push his bottom, or to tenderly put it- his rear end and he should begin to move forward.  Sometimes this takes a while but it does get the caterpillar onto the plant that I plan to put into the terrarium.  They can be stubborn and not want to move.  But be patient.
Try to keep the terrarium clean.  The caterpillars will poop a lot. But it just means that they are growing.  Do not use any household cleaners to clean the terrarium.  This will more than likely  harm them.  I usually clean it out with a wet towel and once a week I use vinegar to clean it.  Vinegar is a safe non-toxic cleaner.  When using vinegar, do not clean the terrarium while the caterpillars are around.  And let the vinegar smell totally go away after cleaning it.  A lot of times I put it outside to clear the smell throughout.
I will replace the eaten milkweed with new milkweed for the caterpillars at least twice a day, maybe even more times than that.  They will shed several times.  So don't be alarmed when they don't eat for a little bit.  The caterpillars will be very still before they shed and then also after they shed.  One interesting thing that they do is after they shed they will turn around and eat their shed skin.  It may sound gross but it is just something that they do.
Now you just sit and watch your little caterpillars grow to big fat caterpillars.  Soon they will get ready to cocoon.  They will go to the top and find a place to turn into a cocoon.  Before they cocoon they will do what is called J-hooking.  They will hang upside down from the top of the terrarium and make their bodies into what looks like a J.  They may stay in this position for about a day.  Then, just when you are not looking they will go into a cocoon.  This will happen real fast.  And if you do get a chance to see it, you will totally love it.  It is really fun to watch.  They will stay in a cocoon for about a week, give or take a few days.  It depends on the temperature on your room.  When the cocoon turns black, you will be able to see the butterfly all squished up in the cocoon.  It is then ready to come out.  This usually happens sometime in the morning.  Do not take the butterfly out of the terrarium at this time.  They will need several hours to dry their wings.  I have seen with my very eyes a red wasp eat a butterfly while the butterfly's wings were too wet to fly.  I was so upset when this happened.  So I always wait until the butterfly is starting to spread his wings before I let them go outside.  After you have let a few go you will know when they are ready to go.  It is so much fun to raise caterpillars into butterflies.  I have truly enjoyed it.  And I hope that I am making a difference by helping the population and by telling everyone else how easy it is to raise their own butterflies.

Making A Bird Friendly Yard-Part 2

In my last blog post I explained what kinds of shelters you need to have a bird friendly yard.  Now I am going to talk about the other two requirements needed to attract and keep the birds around your property.

Water- A dependable source of water is critical to having birds in your area.  You can add a water feature in many different ways, such as, a pond, birdbath, a mister, dripper, and even a small waterfall.  With a pond or a waterfall you will not only attract birds but you will attract other critters like dragonflies, turtles, tadpoles and frogs, and beetles. The sound of moving water will not only relax and sooth you but will invite the wildlife that your are trying to nurture and protect.  Birds love to bath in fresh clean water.  Try to have your bird bath deep enough for birds to bath in.  You will also need to make sure that your bird bath is high enough off of the ground so that cats and other predators will not be able to get your feathered friends while they are bathing and eating.  It might be a good idea to provide perch sites and cover close by so that the birds will have a place to go when predators do decide to strike.
 Just remember to always try to keep the water source for the animals fresh and clean.

Food-  There are a variety of  trees, grasses, shrubs and flowers that are native to your area that would work perfectly for attracting birds.  They are great sources of food providing seeds, fruit, nectar, berries, and nuts. If possible, try to provide enough vegetation so the birds can find food on their own. That would be perfect in an ideal world.  But sometimes it is not possible.  So for those times you need to provide feeders for the birds.  There are many types of bird feeders out there to choose from.  You can use a type of hanging feeder, a type of ground feeder, or a suet feeder. Hanging feeders are just that, they hang from a branch or something off of the ground.  Most hanging feeders are tubular favored by chickadees, titmice, and sparrows.  Try to use good quality seed for the birds.  A good thing to remember is that different seeds will attract different birds. Sunflower seeds tend to be the number one choice for seed eating birds. Birds may toss out seeds that are not sunflower seed that come in a mixed seed bag.  If this happens it tends to be messy under the feeders and can be expensive refilling the feeders.
Ground feeders can be as simple as throwing some seed onto the driveway or on the ground for the birds to eat or can be a tray low to the ground.  Something to think about with ground feeders is that it can be a great way to distract squirrels from getting into your hanging feeders.
Suet bird feeders attract a variety of birds such as the woodpeckers. Suet feeders are hard beef fat from the kidneys and loins.  It is a good source of high energy good for the winter months.  You can make your own suet bird feeder by getting an old onion bag, place hard fat in it and place it outside on a tree limb.  You can even put seeds and raisins into the melted suet.  You can also use vegetable shortening instead of beef fat.  Be careful since beef fat can go rancid quickly, especially in the Texas heat.
Tubular feeders can be used for hummingbirds, chickadees, and titmice.  It is not necessary to color your liquid feeders with red coloring.  Place the nectar feeders out for the hummingbirds during the migration times of March through May and August through early October.  Be sure to space the feeders far enough apart from each other to avoid fighting between the hummingbirds.
You can also use platform bird feeders.  Make sure that it is away from danger of being attacked by predators.   Birds that like platforms are cardinals, white-crowned sparrows, and house finches. I have also seen doves use platform feeders.
Whichever bird feeder you choose to go with always keep the feeders clean and dry.  If feeders stay wet they can grow mold and bacteria which can make the birds sick or can even be fatal to them. Dirty feeders can also spread avian diseases.  This is just some information for attracting and keeping birds in your yard. In the near future I will talk about specifics on attracting particular bird varieties.  Until then try to stay as close to your native species when selecting plants. This is one of the best ways to attract your native birds. Take a look at nature and try to replicate it.  Happy gardening and get back to nature.

Making A Bird Friendly Yard-Part 1

Imagine a world with no birds.  It doesn't sound like a good thing.  I can't imagine not getting up everyday and listening to the birds outside. In my yard they are always flying around chasing each other and getting that bug that they have been looking for to have for dinner.  Having a bird friendly yard is a simple thing to do.  If you want birds in your yard, you will need three basic requirements for them to survive and thrive.  Shelter, Food, and Water are what birds require to call your space home.

1.Shelter.  All wildlife will need protection from weather and also from predators.  This can come from many sources: shrubs,  nesting boxes (bird houses), and even standing dead trees can all help protect birds that come on your property.  Shrubs are a good place for birds to go for protection.  The dense growth will keep birds out of sight from predators and will also protect them from bad weather. Many birds will use shrubs for nesting habitats also, such as mockingbirds, thrashers, and cardinals.  Do be careful with shrubs around ponds, feeders, bird houses, and bird baths.  Predators can use shrubs to hide in and strike when the birds are around these areas.
Nesting Boxes provide great shelter from both the elements and predators.  There are about 50 species of North American birds that use bird houses for nesting.  The size and shape of the bird houses are determined by the species of bird that you are trying to attract into your yard. For example, Purple Martins love to have open spaces to fly in and out of their gourd shaped houses. They also like to high up off of the ground.  Check back when I talk more about the different birds and how to attract them individually.
Dead Trees can be slightly unwelcome in a manicured yard but if you have them on your property, please leave them be.  Many dead trees provide shelter for not only birds but some other critters and insects also.  Woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, tree swallows, bluebirds, nuthatches, some owls, wrens, raccoons, flying squirrels, and even some bats will use dead trees to house in. Some species of birds are insect lovers and  dead trees attract insects, as well as fungi and other organisms that help decompose the wood of the tree.