Friday, with the  Easy Hill Gang.  7 p.m.  Special thanks to DeAnne

       Pearson for her fascinating sustainable brunch lecture last Sunday. Catch up

roof of a London supermarket, reports The Guardian: roof gardens

Central Texas Gardener on KLRU this week: Pick the best lawn grass

for sun or shade with Mike Piwonka from The Grass Outlet;  In San Antonio

and San Marcos, two brothers carry on their dad's garden love and legacy

with lawns. Saturday, noon and 4 p.m. Sunday 9 a.m. www.klru.org/ctg/

                Now's a good time to plant ornamental grrasses, such as this Purple Muhly Grass                          

                             by Chris Winslow 

This continues to be a busy (and joyful!) season for gardeners. Keep fingers

crossed for proper rain soon,  and I wish all of you every success in your

gardening adventures.

 

1. Spring vegetable gardening Plant those warm season crops. This list

includes beans, black-eyed peas, okra, squash, cantaloupe, tomatoes, peppers,

cucumbers, watermelon, corn, and eggplant. There is still time to plant cooler

season crops like lettuce, radishes, and carrots.

 

nutrition are dried fish flakes and organic fertilizers formulated for garden use.

You can also use liquid fertilizers, such as fish emulsion and seaweed extracts.

 

3.Control weeds   Keep them down with mulch and weeding

.

4. Plant spring annuals  This is the perfect time. Work some compost into

your flower beds and you will give these new plants just the food they need

to flower through the summer. Here are some ideas:  begonias, zinnias,

marigolds, petunias, periwinkle, cosmos, larkspur, portulaca, and purslane.

 

5. Plant perennials  Choose some of your favorites from the extensive lists

available, or visit your neighborhood nursery and browse. Look for the many

varieties of drought tolerant and showy lantanas and salvias. Also blackfoot

daisies, skullcaps, purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susan, plumbagos,

columbines, rockrose, ruella, and verbena.

 

6. Ornamental grasses   Native varieties are best due to their heat and

drought tolerance. My favorites are big muhley, coastal muhley and the maiden

grasses. For a short grass in a very dry place, you might like Mexican feather

grass. It is blond-colored, reaches 1.5 foot in height, and makes a beautiful

accent plant that moves so gracefully with the slightest breeze.

 

7. Fertilize lawn Use a slow release organic fertilizer. A 3-1-2 ratio is best.

Allow 10 pounds of fertilizer for every 1,000 square feet of lawn. Mowing height

should be 2.5 inches for St. Augustine grass and 2 inches for Bermuda and zoysia.

I like to return the grass clippings to the turf. These clippings act as a mulch and

 help to reduce weeds. Water infrequently and deeply to encourage a deep root

system. This practice will train your lawn grass to be more drought tolerant and

help to conserve water.

 

8. Fertilize shrubs, trees Mulch with a compost-mulch blend to provide

nutrients and conserve water. Deep, infrequent watering of shrubs and trees will

encourage deep, drought tolerant root systems. Remember to seal pruning cuts

on oak trees. It might save them from oak wilt.

                         Happy springtime gardening!  See you at the nursery.