June 29, 2011

Welcome to Texas Gardener’s Seeds, the weekly newsletter for Texas gardeners. Please do not reply to this e-mail because the sending address is not monitored. See the bottom of this newsletter for information on how to subscribe, unsubscribe, or contact the editor.

Texas Forest Service can help with trees damaged by wildfire, drought

By April Saginor
Texas Forest Service

The driest seven-month period recorded in Texas history occurred from October 2010 through April 2011 – and it’s taken a toll on the state’s trees and plants.

How dry is it? To put it into perspective: Green plants normally have a moisture content ranging from 125 to 200 percent or more. But during severe and prolonged drought, the moisture content of live, woody plants can drop below 100 percent. This is harmful to trees and plants and often results in extreme fire behavior.

Texas Forest Service Entomologist Joe Pase said drought-stressed trees may exhibit signs of decline. There are a couple of tests that landowners can perform to determine whether their tree is dead or just dormant.

  • Collect some small twigs about one-eighth inch in diameter and try to break the individual twigs. If they snap and break like dead, dry twigs it could mean the tree or branch has died. If the twigs bend and don't break with a snap, the tree may still be alive.
  • Use your fingernail to scrape bark from a small twig or branch. If the tissue under the bark is green and moist, the tree may still be alive.
  • To be absolutely sure the tree is not dead, wait until the next spring to see if it sprouts a new crop of leaves.

“During times of drought, the best thing for trees and plants is water,” Pase said. “Homeowners should consider watering valuable shade trees (pine or hardwood) and other landscape plants to lessen the stress from drought and heat. Water the ground area beneath the branches in the evening or early morning. Without rainfall, watering should be done about every 10 to 14 days.”

Landowners concerned about the health of their trees should contact a local Texas Forest Service office or a professional consulting forester for assistance.

Food gardening sales total $3 billion for the second year in a row

National Gardening Association

 According to the just-released results of National Gardening Association's 2011 National Gardening Survey, consumers spent nearly $3 billion for the second year in a row on food gardening last year while sales for other types of lawn and garden activities saw a small decline. In 2010, sales for vegetable gardening, fruit trees, berries and herb gardening totaled $2.990 billion and $2.989 billion in 2009. "That's the highest level of spending on food gardening seen in more than a decade and a 20% increase over the $2.409 billion consumers spent in 2008 before the economic downturn," said Bruce Butterfield, NGA Research Director.

Total sales for all types of do-it-yourself lawn and garden activities declined by 5% in 2010 to $28.409  billion from $30.121 billion the previous year. Apparently homeowners did more for themselves and fewer hired someone to do it for them last year, but they spent a little less money . The number of households that hired lawn care and landscape services last year declined by 8% from 24 million households to 22 million households. That's the lowest level seen in households hiring someone to do it for them in the past 5 years. Nearly four times as many households, 80 million, participated in do-it-yourself lawn and garden activities as hired someone to care for their lawns and gardens for them. The nationwide average amount spent on all lawn and garden activities in 2010 was $363 compared to $355 in 2009, a difference of only $8 per household.

"It is gratifying to see that people are directly connecting to their food source as well as taking personal responsibility for their outdoor environments. If one good thing came out of our recession woes, it’s that many people have reconnected with the land and are growing their own vegetables, fruit, berries, and herbs," said Mike Metallo, NGA President.

Growing your own food provides flavor, fun and benefits way beyond the garden

By Melinda Myers
Gardening Writer

Whether it is the cost of groceries these days, the economy or just the desire to grow your own, beginning and seasoned gardeners are adding fruits, vegetables and herbs to their landscape. The many benefits of edible gardening, including the enhanced flavor, increased nutrient density of the food, and the sustainability factor provide a compelling argument to “get growing!”

And there’s always room to grow. “Whether people are gardening on a balcony or in a large backyard – there is always room for vegetables. You can find the room, be successful and have fun with edibles by doing the following:

  • Include a few containers filled with herbs and vegetables to your balcony and patio garden. Not only can these edibles, mixed with flowers look good — they bring the garden right to the backdoor.
  • Keep fresh ingredients near the space where you cook and entertain can make it convenient for you and fun for your guests. Just think what fun your guests will have picking a few fresh vegetables to place on the grill or garnish their burger. Or, how about plucking a few sprigs of mint for their ice tea or mojito?
  • Those with a bit more room may want to add a few edibles to their mixed borders. Bright Light Swiss Chard’s colorful stems can add color and interest to the garden. The bold and colorful leaves of red cabbage create a nice focal point in a container or garden. And tomatoes, eggplants and peppers can easily be mixed with annual and perennial flowers.
  • Use vegetables and herbs to help fill in the voids in new or renovated gardens. By properly spacing your trees, shrubs and perennials, you can save money on your landscape. But proper spacing of these young plants can leave lots of empty space in the garden. Fill in those voids with a few ornamental edibles.
  • Find the right place for your edibles to flourish. Shade-tolerant edibles like lettuce, spinach and other leafy vegetables only need about 4 hours of sun; radishes, carrots and other root crops need about 4 to 6 hours. Try a few seeds and test the limits of your landscape.
  • Increase productivity and decrease your workload by using a low organic nitrogen slow release fertilizer, such as Milorganite, in your garden or containers. Incorporating slow release fertilizer in your soil provides season long benefits with just one application. Give plants needing a nutrient boost a mid-summer fertilization with a non-burning slow release fertilizer.
  • Take a look at your favorite recipes and start planning ways to include some of the ingredients into your landscape. Try a salsa garden filled with tomatoes, a few hot peppers, onions and of course cilantro. Maybe it’s a pizza garden that includes Roma tomatoes, garlic, basil and oregano for the sauce. Include a few peppers, onions, and slicing tomatoes for topping. Young gardeners may like to plant these ingredients in the shape of a whole pizza pie or a slice. And though we can’t grow cheese in the garden, a ring of marigolds will add color.
  • Space-challenged gardeners can grow tomatoes in containers. A 3- to 5-gallon pot is perfect for a single tomato plant skirted by a few flowers or herbs. Or, try mixing a few tomatoes in with your shrubs and flowers. No matter where they end up, planting is about the same. Carefully slide the plant out of the container. Gently loosen the roots of pot-bound transplants to encourage the roots to grow into the surrounding soil. Remove any flowers or small fruit. Plant tall, leggy plants deeper to encourage development of a larger root system along the buried stem. Dig a trench, remove the lower leaves and set the plant in the trench, carefully bending the stem upright. Cover with soil and water. Set stakes and towers in place at the time of planting. Training tomatoes off the ground keeps the fruit off the soil, reducing insect and disease problems. That means more fruit for you to enjoy.
  • Top off a bed of homegrown greens with edible flowers such as nasturtium, fuchsia and pot marigold. Freeze a few pansy flowers in ice and add to a glass of sparkling water.
  • Flavor up your bloody Mary with a sprig of lovage. This easy-to-grow herb has hollow stems and a celery flavor. Place one or two plants in a sunny corner of a garden or one in a large pot for a vertical accent in moist well-drained soil. This perennial herb can reach 6 feet in height, grow one foot wide and is hardy to zone 4. Harvest sections of the stems, leaves and all, as needed. Use as a straw in your bloody Mary for a little home-grown celery flavoring.

Melinda Myers has 30 years of horticulture experience and has written more than 20 gardening books, including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening. Learn more by visiting www.melindamyers.com.
One honey bee makes only a teaspoonful of honey in four-week lifespan

North Dallas Honey

North Dallas Honey Company's constant quest is to lead bees to nectar so they can make honey. The super-active honey bee has an especially busy-and short-life.

The average honey bee enjoys only a four-week lifespan to flit from flower to flower. The result: only a single teaspoonful of honey to show for all that work. It's maximum effort to produce a tiny but tasty result.

But here's the buzz: a typical colony of 100,000 to 150,000 honey bees yields enough teaspoons of the finest honey to fill 10 two-pound jars.

A colony of bees generally contains one fertile queen bee, up to a few thousand drone bees or fertile males, and a large population of sterile female worker bees. Eggs are laid singly in a cell. Worker bees develop from fertilized eggs. Larvae are fed with royal jelly produced by worker bees, later switching to honey and pollen.

Young worker bees clean the hive and feed the larvae. They progress to other in-colony tasks -- receiving nectar and pollen from foragers, and guarding the hive. Worker bees cooperate to find food and use a pattern of "dancing" to communicate information about resources. Honey bees also perform tremble dances to recruit receiver bees to collect nectar from returning foragers.

Honey bees have been celebrated from earliest times. The ancient Greeks associated lips anointed with honey with the gift of eloquence and even the power to see the future. The priestess at the Oracle at Delphi was the "Delphic Bee."

A community of honey bees has often been employed throughout history as a model of human society. This image has been used by such famous writers as Aristotle, Plato, Virgil, Seneca, Erasmus, Shakespeare, Marx and Tolstoy.

Honey bees, signifying immortality and resurrection, were royal emblems of the Merovingian kings of Europe, a mythology that was revived by Napoleon.

All in all, a pretty sweet life for such a short-lived creature.
Seeks seeds

Beatrice Chollett of Temple is seeking old time climbing okra seeds. If you have any to share, or know a good source, contact her at 254-771-5944.


Esperanza, Yellow Bells Tecoma stans. (Photo by Chris S. Corby)

 Gardening tips

Does our current drought have you looking for a tough perennial that can handle a hot Texas summer in style? Look no more. Esperanza, Yellow Bells Tecoma stans is one our most beautiful, showy summer blooming native perennials. Along with its beauty, it is one of the most heat and drought tolerant on our approved list of plants. The specimen in the accompanying photo has received zero supplemental irrigation and, in spite of our current drought, it thrives. Look for the ‘Gold Star’ Esperanza selection discovered and promoted by Greg Grant.

Have a favorite gardening tip you’d like to share? Texas Gardener’s Seeds is seeking brief gardening tips from Texas gardeners to use in future issues. If we publish your tip in Seeds, we will send you a free Texas Gardener 2011 Planning Guide & Calendar. Please send your tips of 50 words or less to the editor at: Gardening Tips.
Did you know...

Mycorrhizal fungi help plants thrive where they grow because they increase the surface area of their roots and improve the plants ability to take up water, phosphates and other nutrients. In return, the plants provide the fungi with carbohydrates gathered from the sunlight through photosynthesis. We call that a “win, win” situation.
Upcoming garden events.

If you would like your organization’s events included in "Upcoming Garden Events" or would like to make a change to a listed event, please contact us at Garden Events. To ensure inclusion in this column, please provide complete details at least three weeks prior to the event.

Mount Pleasant: Tuesday, July 5, The Lake Country chapter of NPSOT will be hosting Michael Warriner, invertebrate biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as the featured speaker. He will be discussing the Colony Collapse Disorder of European honeybees, the decline in numbers of native bees and ways we can promote backyard habitat for them. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Titus County AgriLife building, 1708 North Industrial Blvd., Mount Pleasant.

Highland Lakes: Spring Gardening is good practice for having a successful fall garden. The plants are different but fall gardening is a real treat. Fall is the best time to plant almost everything, not only vegetables but herbs, shrubs, trees and more in your garden. Highland Lakes Master Gardener Sheryl Yantis will discuss fall gardening topics that will help improve your Hill Country garden in a Green Thumb program "Tips for a Successful Fall Garden" presented free by the Lakeshore Library, 7346 Hwy 261, Buchanan Dam, on Tuesday, July 12 at 2:30 p.m.. Please call the Lakeshore Library at 325- 379-1174 to reserve your spot for this free program.

Seabrook: Dr. Carol Brouwer will present a lecture on Landscape Design from 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m., Tuesday, July 12, at The Meeting Room at Clear Lake Park (on the lake side), 5001 NASA Parkway, Seabrook. This lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://harris-tx.tamu.edu/hort/greenthumb.htm.

Austin: Central Texas weather is presenting more challenges than usual in the landscape, especially with lawns. Master Gardener, Jerry Naiser will provide solutions for growing a healthy lawn. Topics will include choosing the right type of turf for soil conditions, irrigation, fertilization, proper mowing techniques and how to diagnose and treat pests and diseases. “Central Texas Lawn Care” will be presented Thursday, July 14, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., at Zilker Botanical Garden, 2220 Barton Springs Rd., Austin. For more information, contact the Master Gardeners Help Line at 512-854-9600. This seminar is presented by the Travis County Master Gardeners, a volunteer arm of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Travis County. www.tcmastergardeners.org.

Austin: “Joys of Container Gardening” will be presented from 10 a.m. until noon, Friday, July 15, at AgriLife Extension Office, 1600-B Smith Rd, Austin. Blooming flowers and vegetables can thrive in a container! This gardening method is especially useful if space is limited. Containers may also serve as accent points on the patio or in the garden. Learn how to select a container and the right soil, discover ideal container plants, and witness arranging techniques you can replicate to create your own mini-garden. This seminar is free and open to the public. It is presented by the Travis County Master Gardeners, a volunteer arm of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Travis County. For more information, visit www.tcmastergardeners.org or call the Master Gardener Help Desk at 512- 854-9600.

Rockport: DJ Chilcoat, Master Gardener, and Jeanna C. Godfrey, DVM, Master Gardener, will present "Art in the Garden, from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 19, at the Aransas County Library, 701 E. Mimosa, Rockport. For additional information, call 361-790-0103.

Seabrook: Mike Howlett, Project Manager for Harris County Precinct 4 Parks Department ,will speak on Carnivorous Plants at 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 20, at The Meeting Room at Clear Lake Park (on the lakeside), 5001 NASA Parkway, Seabrook. This lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://harris-tx.tamu.edu/hort.

Nacogdoches: Greg Grant leads "Everything you wanted to know about turf grass, but were afraid to ask" from 9 a.m. until noon, July 23, in Room 118, Ag Building, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches. $10 members, $15 non-members. For more information or to make reservations, call 936-468-18312 or email erodewald@sfasu.edu.

Austin: Cooler weather gives you an opportunity to grow and enjoy food that flourishes in the fall and winter months. Broccoli, lettuce, Swiss chard, radishes and spinach are just a few of the favorites that grow well here. Join Master Gardener Patty Leander, a Texas Gardener contributing writer, to learn about these varieties and strategies for bringing a bountiful fall harvest to the table! “Fall Vegetable Gardening” will be presented Saturday, August 6, from 10 a.m. until noon, at Zilker Botanical Garden, 2220 Barton Springs Rd., Austin. For more information, contact the Master Gardeners Help Line at 512-854-9600. This seminar is presented by the Travis County Master Gardeners, a volunteer arm of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Travis County. www.tcmastergardeners.org.

Rockport: Marthanne Mitch, Master Gardener, will present "Butterfly Gardens" from noon until 1 p.m., Tuesday, August 16, at the Aransas County Library, 701 E. Mimosa, Rockport. For additional information, call (361)-790-0103.

Cibolo: Do you have a love for gardening and want to learn more about horticulture? Then the next Guadalupe County Master Gardener training class is for you. Classes are on Wednesdays, August 24 to December 7 from noon to 4:30 p.m. at St Paul Evangelical Church, 108 S Main, Cibolo. Learn from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension specialists, staff and local experts. Topics cover botany and plant growth, entomology, Xeriscaping, propagation, herbs and vegetables, tree care and pruning principles, composting and organic horticulture, water conservation and much more. Registration is $170 with a 10% discount if received by August 1. For more information, visit www.guadalupecountymastergardeners.org or contact Jose Antonio Contreras, elmerojose@gmail.com, 830-401-0800.

Nacogdoches: Greg Grant leads "Landscape Design" from 9 a.m. until noon, September 10, in Room 118, Ag Building, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches. $15 members, $20 non-members. For more information or to make reservations, call 936-468-18312 or email erodewald@sfasu.edu.

Conroe: The Montgomery County Master Gardener Association is pleased to present Greg Grant, Horticulturist, Plant Propagator and Humorist on Tuesday, October 4. The program will start at 7 p.m. and will be held at the Thomas LeRoy Education Center, 9020 Airport Road, Conroe, which is across the street from the Lone Star Convention Center. Greg is a contributor to Texas Gardener Magazine, among others, and his topic for the evening will be Home Landscaping — Texas: Right Plant, Right Place. His talk will include basic landscaping design principles as well as some of his favorite plants. This is a rare opportunity to see one of Texas’ best gardening speakers in a local setting. The fee will be $20.00 per person and seating will be limited. Please call 936-539-7824 Monday through Friday for more information, or visit www.montgomerycountymastergardeners.org. There will also be information available about the Montgomery County Master Gardeners’ Fall Plant Sale at this event, which will be held Saturday, October 15, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

MONTHLY MEETINGS

Houston: The Harris County Master Gardeners meet at noon the first Tuesday of each month at the Texas AgriLife Extension, 3033 Bear Creek Drive (near the intersection of Highway 6 and Patterson Road), Houston. For additional information visit http://hcmga.tamu.edu or call 281-855-5600.

Rockport: Rockport: Monthly meetings of the Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardeners are held at 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at Texas AgriLife Extension Service - Aransas County Office, 611 E. Mimosa, Rockport. For additional information, e-mail aransas-tx@tamu.edu or call 361-790-0103.

Kilgore: Northeast Texas Organic Gardeners meets at 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. For more information, call Carole Ramke at 903-986-9475.

Allen: The Allen Garden Club meets at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, February through December, at the Allen Heritage Center, 100 E. Main St., Allen. For more information, visit www.allengardenclub.org.

Brownwood: The Brown County Master Gardeners Association meets the first Thursday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. at the AgriLife Extension Office, 605 Fisk Ave., Brownwood. For further information, call Mary Green Engle at 325-784-8453.

Austin: Austin Organic Gardeners meet at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at the Zilker Botanical Gardens in Austin. For more information, visit www.main.org/aog.

Marion: The Guadalupe County (Schertz/Seguin) Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas meets on the second Tuesday of each month except July and August at The Library, 500 Bulldog, Marion. There is a plant exchange and meet-and-greet begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the program at 7 p.m. Visitors are welcome. For more information or an application to join NPSOT visit www.npsot.org/GuadalupeCounty/ or contact contact guadalupecounty@npsot.org.

Rockport: The Rockport Herb & Rose Study Group, founded in March 2003, meets the second Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. at 619 N. Live Oak Street, Room 14, Rockport, to discuss all aspects of using and growing herbs, including historical uses and tips for successful propagation and cultivation. Sometimes they take field trips and have cooking demonstrations in different locations. For more information, contact Linda 361-729-6037, Ruth 361-729-8923 or Cindy 979-562-2153 or visit www.rockportherbs.org and http://rockportherbies.blogspot.com.

Beaumont: The Jefferson County Master Gardeners meet at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at the AgriLife Extension Office, 1225 Pearl Street, Suite 200, Beaumont. For more information, call 409-835-8461.

Brownwood: Brown County Master Gardeners Association meets the second Thursday of each month, from Noon to 1 p.m., at the Brown County AgriLife Extension Office, 605 Fisk, Brownwood. For additional information, call Freda Day 325-643-1077, or Mary Engle 325-784-8453.

Georgetown: The Williamson County Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas meets from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. 8th Street. Georgetown. For additional information, contract Billye Adams at 512-863-9636 or visit http://www.npsot.org/WilliamsonCounty/default.htm.

Orange: The Orange County Master Gardeners meet at the Salvation Army in Orange on the second Thursday of each month. A covered-dish dinner at 6:30 p.m. is followed by a speaker and business meeting at 7 p.m.

San Antonio: The San Antonio Herb Society meets at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at the San Antonio Garden Center, 3310 N. New Braunfels (corner of Funston & N. New Braunfels). For more information on programs, visit www.sanantonioherbs.org.

Dallas: The Rainbow Garden Club of North Texas meets the second Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Meetings are held at member’s homes and garden centers around the area. For more information, visit www.RainbowGardenClub.com.

Arlington: The Arlington Men's Garden Club meets from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. on the third Monday of each month (except December) at the Bob Duncan Center, 2800 S. Center Street, Arlington. For more information, contact Lance Jepson at LJepson@aol.com.

Cleburne: The Johnson County Master Gardeners meet at 2 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at McGregor House, 1628 W. Henderson, Cleburne, which includes a program and a meet & greet. For more information, call Diane Asberry at 817-558-3932.

Sugar Land: The Sugar Land Garden Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month, September through November and January through April at 10 a.m. at the Sugar Land Community Center, 226 Matlage Way, Sugar Land. The club hosts a different speaker each month. For more information, visit www.sugarlandgardenclub.org.

Denton: The Denton Organic Society, a group devoted to sharing information and educating the public regarding organic principles, meets the third Wednesday of each month (except July, August and December) at the Denton Senior Center, 509 N. Bell Avenue. Meetings are free and open to the public. Meetings begin at 7 p.m. and are preceded by a social at 6:30. For more information, call 940-382-8551.

Glen Rose: The Somervell County Master Gardeners meet at 10 a.m., the third Wednesday of each month at the Somervell County AgriLife Extension office, 1405 Texas Drive, Glen Rose. Visitors are welcome. For more information, call 254-897-2809 or visit www.somervellmastergardeners.org.

Granbury: The Lake Granbury Master Gardeners meet at 1 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at the Hood County Annex 1, 1410 West Pearl Street, Granbury. The public is invited to attend. There is an educational program each month preceding the business meeting. For information on topics call 817-579-3280 or visit http://www.hoodcountymastergardeners.org/.

Seabrook: The Harris County Precinct 2 Master Gardeners hold an educational program at 10 a.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at The Meeting Room at Clear Lake Park (on the Lakeside), 5001 NASA Road 1, Seabrook. The programs are free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://hcmgap2.tamu.edu.

Houston: The Native Plant Society of Texas — Houston (NPSOT-H) meets at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month except for October (4th Thursday) and December (2nd Thursday). Location varies. For locations, for more information on programs, and for information about native plants for Houston, visit http://www.npsot.org/Houston.

Rosenberg: The Fort Bend Master Gardeners meet at 7:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month except December at the Bud O’Shieles Community Center located at 1330 Band Road, Rosenberg. For more information, call 281-341-7068 or visit www.fbmg.com.

Seguin: The Guadalupe County Master Gardeners meets at 7 p.m. the third Thursday of each month, except December, at the Texas AgriLife Extension Bldg. at 210 E. Live Oak, Seguin. An educational program precedes the business meeting. The public is invited to attend. For topic or other information, call 830-379-1972 or visit www.guadalupecountymastergardeners.org.

Atlanta: The Caddo Wildflower Chapter of Native Plants Society meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Horne Enterprise building in Atlanta at 7 p.m. Visitors are welcome. For additional information, contact Kay Lowery at frostkay268@aol.com.

Brackenridge Park: The Native Plant Society San Antonio Chapter meets every fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Lions Field Adult and Senior Center, 2809 Broadway at E. Mulberry, Brackenridge Park, except August and December. Social and seed/plant exchange at 6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Bea at 210-999-7292 or visit www.npsot.org/sanantonio.

Edna: The Jackson County Master Gardeners present their "Come Grown With Us" seminars on the fourth Tuesday of each month, January through October, beginning at 7 p.m. at 411 N. Wells, Edna. The seminars are free, open to the public and offer 2 CEU hours to Master Gardeners or others requiring them. For additional information, contact the Jackson County Extension Office at 361-782-3312.

Fort Worth: The Organic Garden Club of Forth Worth meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month except July and December at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens main building. Refreshments are served. For more information, call 817-274-8460.

San Antonio: The Native Plant Society of Texas San Antonio Chapter meets the fourth Tuesday of the month, except August and December, at the Lions Field Adult & Senior Center, 2809 Broadway, San Antonio. Social and plant/seed exchange at 6:30 p.m., program at 7:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.npsot.org/sanantonio or call Bea at 210-999-7292.

Leander: The Leander Garden Club meets on the fourth Thursday of each month (except July and August) at 10:30 a.m. at the Leander Presbyterian Church, 101 N. West Drive, Leander, unless there is a field trip or an event at a member's home. Following a short business meeting, there is usually a program, followed by a shared pot-luck luncheon. To confirm the meeting place and time, please call Cathy Clark-Ramsey at 512-963-4698 or email texascatalina@yahoo.com.

Dallas: The Dallas Organic Garden Club meets at 2:30 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month at the North Haven Gardens, 7700 Northaven Rd., Dallas. For more information, call 214-824-2448 or visit www.dogc.org.

Arlington: The Arlington Organic Garden Club meets from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. on the last Thursday of each month (except November and December) at the Bob Duncan Center, 2800 S. Center Street, Arlington. For more information, contact David at 817) 483-7746.

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In Greg's Garden:
A Pineywoods Perspective on Gardening, Nature and Family

An intimate and personal exploration of the life of one of Texas’s most beloved gardeners, In Greg’s Garden: A Pineywoods Perspective on Gardening, Nature and Family gathers in a single volume the first nine years of Greg Grant’s columns from Texas Gardener magazine.

Revised and updated from their original publication, these 54 essays reveal the heart and soul of a seventh generation native Texan who has devoted his entire life to gardening, nature and family. With degrees in floriculture and horticulture from Texas A&M University and extensive hands-on experience as a horticulturist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Stephen F. Austin State University, Mercer Arboretum and San Antonio Botanical Gardens, Grant has successfully introduced dozens of plants to the Texas nursery industry, all while maintaining long-held family property and renovating the homes of his ancestors in Arcadia, Texas.

In Greg’s Garden: A Pineywoods Perspective on Gardening, Nature and Family is a must-read for every Texas gardener.

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Texas Gardener’s Seeds is published weekly. © Suntex Communications, Inc. 2011. All rights reserved. You may forward this publication to your friends and colleagues if it is sent in its entirety. No individual part of this newsletter may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher.

Missed an issue? Back issues of Texas Gardener’s Seeds are available at www.texasgardener.com/newsletters.

Publisher: Chris S. Corby ● Editor: Michael Bracken

Texas Gardener’s Seeds, P.O. Box 9005, Waco, Texas 76714 ● www.TexasGardener.com