T wo fall vegetable plants that Hays County gardeners should consider planting this month are Brussels sprouts and kale.  Both seem always to come near the bottom of the culinary appeal list, especially for children and a surprising number of adults … but it’s time for a re-evaluation.  Traditionall...

1.  Mulch & water:   Your vegetable garden, landscape, flowerbeds and trees need some help to make it through this torrid month. Mulch, and water deeply.  2. Lawn care : Your grass also needs deep, infrequent watering (5 day schedule) and keep the cutting height for your lawnmower as high as possibl...

By Chris Winslow A lthough we have enjoyed some rains and cooler temperatures this year, drought conditions remain with us, and as we enter these oven-hot months, I notice my life has a certain repetitive rhythm to it: water all day long at the nursery, drive home… and more watering!  With all these...

By Chris Winslow A t this time of year, when summer is beginning for real, I am often thinking of the best ways to keep all of my lovely plants alive.  As gardeners we must try our hardest to conserve as much of our precious water for our landscapes as possible. Drip irrigation, without question, is...

By Chris Winslow   1 . Vegetable Garden  The timing always feels a bit strange, but this is actually the month to renew your vegetable garden for the fall harvest season. From seed, plant snap and lima beans, sweet corn, Swiss chard, cucumbers, summer and winter squash (my favorite), black-eyed peas...

O ften Central Texas homeowners come into our nursery on a quest for ‘the perfect plant.’ They want an evergreen that will make an effective screen, while being a fast grower that also thrives in shade or blazing sun without any extra watering … and smells good.  This is a tall order. But believe it...

By Chris Winslow W ith water conservation in mind, I am always on the look-out for drought tolerant additions to my landscape, and a few years back I came across the wonderful sedums.  Commonly called ‘stonecrops,’ sedums are a large grouping of low-growing, flowering groundcovers in the Crassulacea...

By Amanda Moon T here is nothing that brightens up an empty fence or bare wall like a vine. They come in many shapes and sizes, but the one trait they all have in common is their desire to climb something ... anything! This gives them a versatility that shrubs and perennials just don’t possess. Even...

By Amanda Moon A  large group of plants which provide brilliant spring, summer and fall color in our landscape is the Apocynaceae family, known more commonly as dogwort or vinca.  The most popular plants in this family are the vinca-periwinkle annuals, and the oleanders.  Periwinkles are used a lot ...

By Amanda Moon F or years Japanese maples were an elusive wonderment to me. I would see beautiful photos of them in gardens from Oregon to Washington D.C., but thought that it was way too hot and dry here in central Texas to even try growing them, especially since the costs can be scary.    Fast for...