This is the primest of prime times for gardening across Texas, and e-gardens reflects that this month. Here's hoping you've caught some of the rain that has soaked big parts of our state. Reservoirs are filling, and in those areas, watering restrictions are being loosened ever so gently. Please continue to be water-conscious, and pray for relief for those who are still dry. Now, here's e-gardens for April.

A year ago this week I was signing off on the last of 44 press checks for my new book Neil Sperry's Lone Star Gardening. Now, 50 weeks after it was released from the bindery, we're almost out of the first-printing copies. It's still only $28.95 plus tax and postage, but that will go up when we head for the second printing. Remember: it's not in stores, and it's not on Amazon. It is not a revision of my 1991 "boot book." If you'd like a signed copy, first printing, order now!

Questions? Yep. We have them. And this is the place where Neil will answer those of the widest reader appeal. (For the record, plant IDs are usually of interest only to the person sending the question, so they rarely make the cut.) Neil requires us to have a photo with each question he answers because the e-gardens template calls for one (or more). So, with that out of the way, click here to send Neil your Q&P (question and photo). Click here to see his answers to last month's questions.

Much of Texas has had enough snowy, icy, rainy days that gardeners are behind on their schedules. So that you will have a checklist of things you would normally want to accomplish in April, we've assembled the most important among them. It's going to require a certain amount of prioritizing, but we know you can do it. Here's hoping our list will be of help. Click to plunge in.

Our native son stops to taste the redbuds on the road toward Columbus, Texas. But that's just one adventure of many. Click to read Steven Chamblee's story about his latest road trip.

Salvias are a staple of summer gardens in Texas. Jenny Wegley, horticulture director at the Dallas Arboretum, fills our readers in on the best new hybrid salvias. Read her article here.

The March/April 2015 issue of Neil Sperry's GARDENS magazine features articles about big tomatoes, passion flowers, lemon herbs and much more. Here is Neil's recent article about his favorite steps to success in the garden.

One sure sign of spring is the saucer magnolia in bloom. This month our tree expert, Steve Houser of Arborilogical Services, tells readers all about that ever-popular ornamental tree.

This month Mike Shoup invites our readers to consider the fragrance of the roses they buy and give. And he even invites us to a special celebration of fragrance at his Antique Rose Emporium. Click to find the details.

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I joined Facebook five years ago, but as we reach and go beyone 36,000 FB friends, I have to say it's a great deal of fun. That's quite a community of gardeners helping gardeners. I post a timely Garden Tip almost every day, and the interaction with others has been very rewarding. A recent post on grape hyacinths, for example, was shared to more than 75,000 people. If you're not there already, please join us.

Balboa would have been proud. We have tamed the jungle! This one planting is now more than 30 years old, and it had outgrown its surroundings. It was time to do a major trim, but the weather just hadn't been cooperating. First ice. Then snow. Then snow with ice. Then rain. Luckily, however, the hollies hadn't started to put out their new buds in our North Texas backyard. They got quite a haircut, but they'll bounce back quickly. This is their "before" photo. Click to see the final results.

Get ready for one of the best wildflower years in recent memory - across almost all of Texas! Add to that a month full of plant sales, classes and festivals! Click to see our April calendar of events of interest to gardeners.

We're happy to introduce Zaphara, Ollie, Fred and Marble, deserving animals who need loving families. You can meet them at SPCA shelters in the DFW Metroplex. Read their stories, then pay them a visit!

We're having a dickens of a time in DFW with a virus that has taken out literally thousands of North Texas roses. It causes deformed "bull canes" of growth with buds that fail to open properly. Most notably, however, the afflicted canes are almost wall-to-wall thorns. I assembled all the facts I could find about the disease and posted them on my website. If you want to know more about Rose Rosette Disease, please visit this page.

We're looking for nice spokespeople who enjoy a great newsletter. People who are connected with friends who might have similar likes and hobbies. People who don't mind sharing a "find" when they have one. People who are willing to let others know about e-gardens, and how enjoyable it is to receive it. I'm talking to you, and I hope you'll let others know about us right now by clicking forward at the bottom of this e-mail. A big, hearty "Thank you" for doing so!

It's official! You have completed another edition of e-gardens, and we certainly hope you've found it useful. If so, please alert others. If anything crops up before the last Thursday of April (April 29), we'll send out a special issue. Otherwise, get lots of things planted, and enjoy your time outdoors.

Happy gardening!

Neil Sperry