tel: 512 280-1192 Thursday, May 12, 2016
Nursery notes: with rising concerns about the zika virus, garden-
ers, sensibly, are starting to choose plants that repell mosquitos.
In stock we have lemongrass ($2.59, $9.99), citronella hanging
baskets ($14.99), American beautyberry ($24.99).🌷Grow your
own grapes: Carlos muscadine (white), Cowart muscadine (blue-
black), champanelle (blue) for $24.99. 🌷Vitex is starting to bloom
in its purple haze of beauty around the city at the moment. We have
3 gal. for $34.99, 15 gal for $149. Please come by for a visit! 🌷
Blurring garden boundaries: designer Steve Martino used a
series of walls in this desert-adapted landscape in Phoenix to create
beautiful, uncluttered backdrops for the garden's architectural plants.
The walls also shield the garden from traffic and connect the land-
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Red yucca flowers are edible: whether in a fancy salad, or just
taken fresh off a plant you happen to be walking by, this is a good
time to enjoy the free, nutritious gifts which these delicate beauties
from the lily family have to offer us. (Yes... 'yucca' is a misnomer.).
The flowers taste a little like snow peas. In stock: $9.99, $34.99.🌷
The magic of lemon balm: at Saturday's herb day festival at the
American Botanical Council, specialist David Winston shared his
wisdom about this amazing herb. He suffers from Seasonal Affect-
ive Disorder during winter months. To lift his spirits David visits
his lemon balm plant, and sort of washes his hands among the lea-
ves before bringing them to his face - and this works as an effective
mood elevator. More on this international herbal celebrity here:
creating such a fantastic event. (In stock for $2.59 and $3.59.) 🌷
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Central Texas Gardener: art meets horticulture: learn how to
from the nursery on Manchaca). Feed hummingbirds with native
coral honeysuckle. Plant of the week: almond verbena. Saturday
at 4 p.m. Sunday at 9 a.m.or on-line. KLRU 🌷
Ten Activities for May
by Chris Winslow
1. Plant flowers: This is a perfect time for flowering annuals and
perennials. Begonias, zinnias, marigolds, moss-roses, purslanes,
and vinca are all good choices. Perennials might include lantanas,
salvias, and verbenas (see photo above: wiki)
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2 Vegetable garden care: Water deeply to encourage a deep,
drought tolerant root system. Still time to add a few warm season
crops: sweet and hot peppers, green beans, okra, eggplant, and black-
eyed peas. Fertilize tomatoes.
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3. Mulch: Place around all plants to conserve water and keep the
temperature around the plant roots comfortable. Mixing some com-
post with the mulch will help replace nutrients as the plants grow.
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4. Care of roses: Dead-head spring flowering roses to encourage
a new flush of flowers. Apply fertilizer to produce new flowers.
Watch for powdery mildew, black spot and western flower thrip.
Treat with organic sprays: Neem oil and wettable-sulphur.
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5 .Move houseplants outside: Put them out for a spring breather.
Move them slowly towards their new light exposure. Too much
sun too fast will burn the leaves. This is also a good time for trans-
planting.
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6. Insect control: All this new spring growth is attractive to every
kind of critter imaginable. Be nice to the environment (and to your-
self) and only use organic sprays. If you have larvae (caterpillars)
eating holes in your plants and trees, look for products that have
B.T. as the main ingredient. If sucking insects like aphids, spider
mites, whitefly, scale, and mealy bug are the problem, use Neem
oil or Spinosad.
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7. Maintain irrigation: If you own an automatic sprinkler system,
it would save water and money to have it tuned up. Set the con-
troller for deep, infrequent watering to encourage a deep, drought-
resistant root system. Install rain sensor.
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8. Fertilize lawn: Use an organic blend with a 3-1-2 ratio. Ten
pounds per 1,000 square feet of turf area should be adequate.
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9. Feed the birds: With lots of new birds in the area, keep those
feeders full.
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10. Grow basil: The top herb for the summer months is basil.
With the nights getting warmer, this wonderful herb should finally
have the temps it needs to take off. Happy Gardening Everyone!🌷
Please contact newsletter editor Darrel Mayers 🌷🌲 🌿 🌵
with any ideas for articles or interesting links:
internationalrain@yahoo.com (hitting 'reply' to this email won't work)
Visit the website: It's About Thyme And here for facebook 
