tel: 512 280-1192 Thursday, December 10, 2015
Nursery Notes: a new shipment of chimeneas - the beautiful
outdoor Mexican fireplaces - just arrived this week: $129 - $199.
If you want a fragrant garden, nothing is better than the smell of
piñon firewood. We have 35 lb bags for $24.99. Dill on sale:
buy one 4.5" pot for $3.59, get one free. Red lettuce 4" pots on
sale for 55 cents (reg $1.50): lola rosa, red garnet, red sails and
Fire cider, home-made cold remedy: this concoction of pepp-
ers and ginger and onions, herbs and honey (and much more!)
takes 20 to 30 minutes to make, but needs to brew for at least a
couple of weeks. An effective natural medicine to have on-hand
to help you and your family make it through the winter months.
A story by Brian Barth in Modern Farmer
How to Make a Garden Planter from a Pallet: continuing our
pallet upcycling theme from last week, here's a short video on
how to make a fantastic DIY vertical garden. It's amazing what
you can do with a staple gun, some garden fabric and potting soil,
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Central Texas Gardener: a look at drought-defiant plants, from
trees to groundcovers. On tour, a front yard dazzles neighbors
and wildlife all year. On Sat. at 4 p.m., Sun. at 9 a.m. KLRU
by Amanda Moon
The good news is that gardeners are easy to shop for. The hard part
is trying to decide how to narrow down the options. To help, I have
put together a list of ideas that should please even the gardener
who seemingly has everything.
1. Garden clothing and accessories. Anyone who has worked out-
side knows that a sturdy, wide-brimmed hat is a necessity. If you
can covertly find out their head size, a well-made Aussie/Outback
style or straw hat makes a great gift. A nice set of leather garden-
ing gloves makes a good stocking stuffer or they can both be com-
bined with a plant-themed T-shirt (Zilker Clubhouse has some
really neat ones) for a complete Christmas package. We have
gloves in stock from $5.99 - $10.99, and hats for $19.99.
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2. Pottery. Many fancier options are available including glazed
pots in almost any color and shape, molded terra cotta, and my
favorite – Talavera. This pottery from Mexico is bright and color-
ful and because they're hand-painted, each piece has its own
personality.
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3. A new set of hand tools. This is a perfect gift for the practical
gardener. Years ago my aunt gave me a hand trowel for Christmas
and I liked it so much that I went out and bought several more.
Pruners, trowels and hand-held picks (a great garden tool) are
all good options. In stock: trowels $5.99, pruners $19.99
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4. Gifts to help attract wildlife to the yard. These are for garden-
ers who want to attract pollinators or birds and butterflies. For
the bird-watchers on your list, consider a birdbath, or a bird or
hummingbird feeder . . . or a bat or owl house. In stock: bird
baths, $99.
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5. A rain gauge. They now offer products that are large enough
to see from a distance (like a dry house). And for the times when
it doesn’t rain, every gardener will appreciate a sturdy watering
can to get the job done.
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6. A farm-to-table book. This is perfect for the person on your
list who is a vegetable gardener and a cook. You can’t go wrong
with some old favorites including Sam Cotner’s The Vegetable
Book (texasgardener.com), Hill, Barclay and Hardy’s Southern
Herb Growing (Shearer) and anything by Howard Garret, aka
the Dirt Doctor, or Malcom Beck.
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7. A goodie basket (or colorful water bucket) full of skin care
products for the home gardener. Lotions including Working
Hands (love it, love it!!), scrubbing soaps, sunscreen, natural lip
balm (I like Bert’s Bees), nail cleaners/trimmers and a pumice
stone should all be included.
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8. A spring or late winter vegetable seed collection full of heir-
loom and open-pollinated varieties. Buy locally to ensure that the
seeds will grow well in central Texas. Some options: carrots,
greens and radishes for winter and chard, okra and squash for
summer. For those new to gardening, include a small bag of or-
ganic fertilizer, seed starting kit, labels and a seed sower.
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9. Bulbs. They are super-easy to wrap up, they store well and will
provide years of enjoyment. Paperwhite, amaryllis, Dutch and
bearded iris, muscari and daffodils all grow well here and are easy
to find in December.
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10. A decorative basket filled with a mix of herbs and vegetables
that they can plant out in the garden immediately. Thyme, rose-
mary, sage, cilantro, greens, bunching onions and kale can all be
planted at this time of year. Throw in some violas for a punch of
edible color and you'll have a beautiful gift for the gardener with
room to plant. Good luck!
Please contact newsletter editor Darrel Mayers (pictured above)
with any ideas for articles or interesting links:
internationalrain@yahoo.com (hitting 'reply' to this email won't work)
Visit the website: Its About Thyme facebook
Visit the nursery: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, 78748
