Late summer in Texas is when crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica and related hybrids) are winding down their first big flower show, and right now is exactly when a small, optional task can give your tree a real shot at one more round of color before the first frost. You do not have to do this,…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, a familiar Texas summer morning. You glance at the edge of your bed and there it is, your lantana looking ragged again, or maybe just plain gone after that last hard freeze. Many of us have a love-hate thing going with lantana. It feeds…
You step outside on a warm April morning and notice a low patch of purple flowers spreading across your lawn, and your first instinct is probably to pull them up. Before you do, take a closer look, because that plant may be violet woodsorrel, a Texas native that a lot of homeowners yank without ever…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, promising another scorcher of a Texas summer day. Across the street, a neighbor’s front yard holds a tree you have never really noticed, and it looks completely at ease while everything else looks thirsty. Turns out you are not the only one spotting these…
Late August in Texas is the moment that quietly decides how your plumeria (Plumeria rubra) finishes the season. If you pick up the pruning shears right now and start shaping those branch tips, you may be cutting off the very flower clusters that are already forming. The good news is that a handful of practical…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, a familiar Texas summer greeting. That heat can feel like a heavy blanket, especially when you eye a bare fence line begging for something beautiful and tough. Crape myrtles seem like the obvious answer, but many Texas homeowners end up fighting mildew, pests, and…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, promising another scorcher. That familiar Texas heat is wonderful for swimming, but it can be tough on your garden, especially when those cheerful Black-Eyed Susans start to look a little tired. You just want a border bursting with color that can stand up to…
Step onto a Texas patio on a July morning and catch a wave of sweet, tropical fragrance drifting from a single potted plant, and you will understand why so many gardeners here are obsessed with plumeria. This flowering tropical, also called frangipani, can push out repeated clusters of blooms through much of a favorable summer…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, promising another scorcher. Then you spot it, a knocked-over planter and a scattering of droppings by the shed. The rats are back, and it feels like a personal insult to your quiet Texas yard. But before you reach for harsh poisons, imagine your beds…
Step outside on a cool Texas morning and you might catch a glimpse of quail moving single-file through the brush at the edge of your yard. Plenty of homeowners across the state want more of those moments, and a few simple yard choices can make your property more usable to quail that already live nearby….
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, the air thick with that familiar Texas humidity. Another scorching day is settling in, and you start to wonder if anything can truly thrive out here without babying it every evening. The secret many Texas gardeners already know is simple, some plants have spent…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, the concrete throwing heat back up at you before the sun even clears the fence. You know that little worry in the back of your mind, whether anything you plant out there will survive another Texas summer. The good news is that a handful…
You step outside before breakfast and a hummingbird whizzes past, a blur of ruby headed straight for your Turk’s cap. You love that flash of life, but when you want something rare, a plant that truly belongs to Texas, the big box stores let you down. They stock the same tired rows, plants that gulp…
Autumn sage has been putting on a show in Texas yards all summer, and right now, before the heat finally breaks, is exactly when a smart trim can set the stage for another round of fall color. The plant most people call Texas salvia in this context is actually Salvia greggii, known as autumn sage…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, that first hint of a scorching day in Central Texas. Your potted lemon tree looks green, but you catch yourself worrying about how it will handle another brutal summer. Growing your own lemons, maybe a fragrant Meyer, is a sweet reward for iced tea…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio finally feels lighter, like the long Texas summer just took its first deep breath in months. The heat is easing, and that quiet shift is your signal to grab a trowel. Your summer beds may be fading, but a whole new season of flavor is waiting on…
Somewhere between February and May, a crossvine in full bloom stops people in their tracks. The tubular flowers come in orange, red, and yellow, hummingbirds find them before most gardeners even notice they’ve opened, and the vine that produced them has been quietly growing back from the same roots it put down years ago. If…
Somewhere between the first sip of sweet tea and the second swat at your arm, the promise of a relaxing Texas porch evening falls apart. A lot of gardening advice floating around social media says one plant is all you need, and it is a tempting idea. But the research tells a different story, and…
You step outside before breakfast, and the patio already feels warm. Then you spot it, another yellowing leaf on your live oak, a whisper of worry in the quiet. Oak wilt has been quietly taking down live oaks across Texas, and if yours is fading, you are not alone. But here is the relief part….
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, the air thick with the promise of another Central Texas scorcher. You are pouring your first cup when a flash of movement catches your eye by the lantana, and it is that lanky, unmistakable bird, the Greater Roadrunner, stalking with purpose. These feathered speedsters,…
Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea glabra) puts on some of the most jaw-dropping color a Texas porch can offer, and right now, in the heat of late summer, a lot of gardeners are wondering whether to reach for the fertilizer bag. The answer is not as simple as the advice you may have seen online. Where you live…
Most Texas summers hit a point where the lawn turns the color of straw and the garden looks like it gave up weeks ago. But tucked along driveways and fence lines across Central and South Texas, one silver-leafed shrub just keeps putting out flowers while everything around it sulks. Texas sage, Leucophyllum frutescens, has been…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, carrying the sweet scent of something blooming down the street. It is a lovely smell, and you might picture that same purple cascade softening your own fence. But pause before you grab that wisteria at the nursery, because many Texas homeowners learn the hard…
Word gets around fast in Texas neighborhoods, and lately the claim making the rounds is that one native shrub can quietly keep scorpions away from your yard. The plant behind that idea is Texas sage, and it genuinely deserves a spot in many Texas landscapes. But before you plant a row of it around your…
Spotting a Great Horned Owl perched on your fence post at dusk feels like a good omen, especially if rats have been raiding your barn or chewing through feed bags. The idea that more owls means fewer rats is appealing, and there is some truth buried in it. But the full picture is more complicated,…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, even in early fall. That old Texas heat lingers, but you can feel a whisper of change, and you start picturing your yard washed in bluebonnets and Indian blanket. Then you remember the stubborn blackland clay out back, the kind that swallows seed packets…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, the air thick enough to lean on. The news just called it another heat dome, promising weeks of triple-digit days, and your St. Augustine lawn is already going blue-gray at the edges. You know what comes next, more water than the restrictions allow and…
You step outside before breakfast and the patio already feels warm, the air still and heavy. It is mid-August, and your impatiens are drooping their thirsty heads no matter how much you soak them. Sound familiar? Plenty of Texas gardeners fight this same losing battle every summer, hauling the hose out twice a day. But…
You step outside as the last orange fades from the sky, and the air still holds the day’s heat like a warm blanket. Then a whine hums past your ear, and another, and mosquito hour has officially begun. Before you reach for the spray, know this. The right night-blooming plants can call in bats, and…
You step outside before breakfast, and the patio already feels warm before the sun clears the fence line. A mockingbird runs through his morning set, and you notice the flowerbed you fought with all last summer looking tired again. Texas has a way of turning hopeful color into a yearly chore, and most folks give…