Volume 10, Issue 7

July, 2014

Mid-summer, yet it really hasn't felt that way in many part of Texas just yet. But it will! We have tips to help you pull your plants through the next couple of months. Featured plants, fall garden plantings, Stephen Chamblee's trip through the redwoods.... All that and a lot more. Let's get to it!


Lone Star Gardening -- Special Price Ends Soon!

Neil's brand new book has been a rousing success! Reviews are outstanding, and folks are buying extras as gifts. However, the sale price of $28.95 (reg. $32.95) and the special offer to get our magazine for only $14 (normally $23.95) when it's bought with the book will both end soon. Click here before it's too late!

Ask Neil

If you have a question for Neil, this is your place. Each issue of e-gardens, he selects six or eight (or more) questions that he feels are of the greatest general reader interest. However, he chooses only questions that are accompanied by a photo, as you'll see if you click to read this month's questions and Neil's answers. If you'd like to send Neil a photo and question, click here -- and be sure to include the city where you garden to help Neil fine-tune his answer.

Timely Tips

July is a critical month for Texas landscaping. Our plants are challenged by heat and dry weather, yet we can pull them all through with just a little care and attention. Some of these tips will help you and your plants, and having the list planned out before you head outdoors may get you back into the cool a little bit faster. Click here to see our listing of the most important tasks.

Native Son

Our native son travels Texas roads often, but his latest road trip found him journeying down this nation's West Coast. Read Steven Chamblee's story about his travels from the Umpqua River to Redwood National Park.

Plant of the Month

When the weather is hot, nothing cools the senses like blue in the garden! Jenny Wegley, director of the Trial Gardens at the Dallas Arboretum, tells us about a small blue flower that has had a big impact this summer on the Arboretum grounds.

From the Sperry Gardens

Seeking a path for your journey, you sometimes stumble onto a successful routing. We have a spot in our yard that transitions from sun into heavy shade, and I had spent several years musing about ways to set the two areas apart. Read what I finally decided.

Texas Tree Tips

When a tree is downed, its usefulness is far from over. Steve Houser of Arborilogical Services wants e-gardens readers to think about "logscaping." Click to read his article.

From the Magazine

The July/August 2014 issue of Neil Sperry's GARDENS magazine is filled with midsummer pleasures like figs, palms and hot-weather flowers. Here in e-gardens we share a portion of Sharon Lee Smith's feature, "The Joys of Perennials."

Where's Neil?

Join Neil on Facebook. Or hear him on radio. You'll see him in newspapers, and you can read his works in newspapers, in his book and magazine and here in e-gardens. But after a year of book writing and book sales and signings, he's catching up on work that's been shoved aside. No public appearances on the docket for a few weeks.

Rose Cuttings

This month Mike Shoup of the Antique Rose Emporium describes a class of Southern roses that are the "envy of the North." Click here to read about Duchesse de Brabant and other Tea roses.

July Events

July is the month for kids in botanical gardens across Texas! In addition to Fourth of July concerts outdoors, there are nature nights and summer camp offerings. (Adult kids can find great summertime activities, too.) Click for this month's calendar.

SPCA Pets

Here they are -- Aurora, Minnie, Patches and Mimosa -- precious animals who need loving new homes. They are waiting at DFW Metroplex SPCAs for adoption. Please read about them here, and pay them a visit!

Share Us With Others

Maybe we're biased, but we think that a free monthly newsletter filled with timely horticultural information is a bargain. If you agree, please let others know about us. Tell them beside the water cooler or over the backyard fence. Better yet, click forward at the bottom of this e-mail to send us to them right now. (We thank you!)


In Closing ...

That's it for another e-gardens, and we hope it's been useful to you. If so, please take a moment to share it with a gardening friend.

We'll be back here same e-mailbox, same time next month. Until then...

Happy Gardening!

Neil Sperry

Neil Sperry's e-gardens newsletter
400 W Louisiana St
McKinney, TX 75069
Neil Sperry - Publisher
Carolyn Skei - Editor
Gretchen Drew - Administrator