Hooray! Fall! My favorite season of the year is almost here. Not because of football, but because it's the best time of the year to make major landscaping improvements. Plus, fall gardens are really starting to hum. We have all the details in this month's e-gardens. If you enjoy it, please share it with others.

Neil Sperry's Lone Star Gardening ($28.95, reg. $32.95) was published only four months ago to fabulous reviews. It's certainly not just a "revised edition" of Neil Sperry's Complete Guide to Texas Gardening (the "boot book"). Very different format. Tons more information. Two times the photos. And 23 years younger! And it's available only from our website store or by calling our office during business hours, 800-752-4769.

This is the place where you can send Neil your plant question. Each month he chooses six to eight questions of the greatest general reader interest to address here. However, please note that you must attach a photo with your question, and Neil also asks that you tell him the city where you garden so he can best tailor his answer. Click here to send your photo and question for next month's issue. Click to see Neil's answers to this month's questions.

I mentioned in the opening that fall is my favorite gardening season. It's also the busiest. All gardeners have a dozen or more things that really need to be done before the end of September, and we've assembled them for you. Please click. I think you'll agree with their importance.

When our Native Son headed east this month, he saw garden sights to remember. You'll enjoy Steven Chamblee's photos and tale of a Texas horticulturist in Pittsburgh.

Looking back over her summer successes, Jenny Wegley of the Dallas Arboretum shares the results of this year's experiment with a new firecracker plant. Click to read about Cuphea 'Vermillionaire'.

This column is going to take a little different direction this month. I've been seeing several common tree problems in recent weeks - a couple of them in our own landscape. My friend Russell Peters of Arborilogical Services in DFW sent me some notes of their customers' top inquiries, and there were two of my own. I'd like to share his notes with you now. Click to see them.

So you're seeing cracks in your soil several inches deep? Steve Houser of Arborilogical Services tells us they can benefit your trees. Take time to read his article on "vertical mulching."

Want to learn how to design your very own home landscape project? Steven Chamblee and Neil will teach you how. Saturday, Feb. 14 - all day at the Plano Centre, followed by a 30-minute consultation with a landscaping pro two weekends later. You'll complete a real, working plan of your own project! Best of all, it's on sale now! Click for details.

This month Mike Shoup of the Antique Rose Emporium writes about a rose with a remarkable history and many outstanding traits. Click to read about lovely 'Old Blush'.

The September/October 2014 issue of Neil Sperry’s GARDENS magazine features many ways to jazz up your fall garden. Our article this month is Steven Chamblee’s “Tropical Beauty at Its Best.”

You'll find Neil on the radio, on Facebook, in newspapers all across Texas, and working on several upcoming events for charities he supports (notably the Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinney Fun Run, 5-K and 10-K on September 27). And of course, you'll find him back here in our very next e-gardens, coming on the last Thursday of September at 6 p.m.

This month's pets are Delilah, Sam, Martha Rose and Sella, wonderful animals in need of loving new families and good homes. Please read about them here, and come visit your DFW-area SPCA!

It’s the month for getting back into action! The calendar for September features new exhibits, new classes, plant sales and more. Click to see what’s happening in your area of the state.

To share your daily newspaper, you have to carry it to your friend physically. With e-gardens, it's so much easier! Let your friends know that we've been coming to Texans' e-mailboxes for more than 10 years, and that we've been free all of that time. All it takes is one simple click. To pass us along, click forward at the bottom of this e-mail. You'll really be helping us share the good word, and for that I thank you!

We hope you enjoyed this issue of e-gardens, your free electronic gardening newsletter. Remember that 95 percent of all our sign-ups begin as referrals. So, as you prepare to close this issue down and start putting all our information to work, please do just one little thing more. Please tell your friends.

Until next time, thanks for reading...
And Happy Gardening!

Neil Sperry