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Supercharge your Garden with Texas Superstar Plants
The new Texas Superstar Guide to strong and stunning plants for Texans, created by Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas Department of Agriculture, is available online. To be designated a Texas Superstar, a plant must be beautiful and perform well for consumers and growers throughout the state. Superstars must be easy to propagate, which should ensure the plants are not only widely available throughout Texas but also reasonably priced. The Texas Superstar program began as a regional program in the early 1980s and became a statewide effort in 1989. The name Texas Superstar was coined in 1997. The designation was applied to all the…
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How to Build a Gardener’s Toolbox
Tips for finding quality tools that will last We may be a home gardener, not an arborist or full-time landscaper, but still want tools with the professional-quality performance that professionals demand. Like a chef impatient with a dull knife, we want them to cut cleanly into whatever medium we are working in, whether branch or soil. And we’d just as soon skip any implements with clunky grips or unnecessary weight. The tools that follow are the ones worth waiting for — and you may have to wait for some of them, if supply-chain snarls or shipping delays so conspire. But whether you’re shopping for gifts or your own personal use,…
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America’s Patriotic Victory Gardens
During both World Wars, America’s agricultural production became a powerful military tool During World War I, a severe food crisis emerged in Europe as agricultural workers were recruited into military service and farms were transformed into battlefields. As a result, the burden of feeding millions of starving people fell to the United States. In March of 1917¬—just weeks before the United States entered the war—Charles Lathrop Pack organized the National War Garden Commission to encourage Americans to contribute to the war effort by planting, fertilizing, harvesting and storing their own fruits and vegetables so that more food could be exported to our allies. Citizens were urged to utilize all idle…
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The Buzz on Beautiful Bees in your Garden
Bees are important to local ecosystems, now more than ever. For our local Central Texas gardeners who are interested in learning more about these wonderful pollinators, join the Lake Travis Community Library for a fun virtual program with the author of “Beekeeper’s Lab: 52 Family-Friendly Activities and Experiments Exploring the Life of the Hive,” by Kim Lehman on Wednesday May 26 at 2pm. About Beekeeper’s Lab: Beekeeping’s popularity as a hobby continues to skyrocket. Beekeeper’s Lab gives you 52 bee-inspired labs to do all year long, and are accessible enough to share with the family. Fill the year ahead with weekly activities from around and about the hive, including art projects, recipes,…
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Let’s Grow: Veggies
Join us for a special speaker from the Lakeway Garden Club as we discuss the easiest ways to grow local and harvest a bounty of delicious vegetables in your backyard garden this year. Topics include location, types of gardens, easy to grow veggie options and more! The latest from our Let’s Grow series of garden talks. Presented with the help of the incredible Lake Travis Community Library! Let’s Grow: Veggies! – a virtual talkDate: May 19, 2021Time: 2-3pmPlace: Zoom Virtual Meeting (details coming soon)
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Creative Container Gardening
From the Lake Travis Community Library’s Learning with the Library series, join the Container Gardening online seminar on Wednesday March 31st to learn creative ways to make a vertical garden in a small space, use vegetables as containers, and keep plants alive all year long in your Texas yard with experienced gardener Sharon Rogers. Indoor and outdoor containers will be discussed; green thumb not required! Register here. The Container Garden Bookshelf: Continuous Container Gardens by Townsend P. Allen Smith’s Bringing the Garden Inside by P. Allen Smith Container Gardening: 250 Designs Courtyards and Containers by McAlter Succulent Container Gardens by Deborah Lee Baldwin Grow All You Can Eat in 3 Square Feet by DK Easy Container Gardens…
