VOLUME 12, ISSUE 34 • September 22, 2016

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Preparing e-gardens is inspirational. When I see something grand in a garden, I immediately think about sharing it with you here the very next Thursday. Such it was with three of our stories this week:

• Crotons. I've been seeing them in garden centers, and since they're some of my favorite plants anyway….
• Pride of Barbados and Orange Jubilee Esperanza in Allen,
• Our Question of the Week (photo from my own yard!)

• AND... our weekly list of things to get done,
• AND... Steven Chamblee returns!

I can't wait to read what we've written!

Photo: How much more colorful can several plants be! Crotons rock the season!

Gardening This Weekend

By now the pre-emergents should be down and chinch bugs should be history. So what's left to do? You might be surprised.

Photo: 'Goldsturm' gloriosa daisies are ready to be divided and replanted. It's one of our supreme late spring/summer perennials.

Captivating Crotons

My love of this plant dates back to my childhood. Only in the past 25 years, however, have they really come into their own. They're great in the fall garden, and I'll tell you how.

Photo: Crotons dazzle their surroundings in fall.

Native Son: Pawpaws

Our buddy Steven Chamblee has been doing his Texas Road Ramble, from the Piney Woods west to San Angelo. He starts out with pawpaws, but heaven only knows where he heads off from there.

Photo: Unusual flower of a pawpaw first cousin, the tropical cananga.

Question of the Week

"Neil, what's happened to all our bermuda? It looks like mid-winter."

Photo: Bermudagrass is completely brown compared to adjacent St. Augustine.

This is an encore visit by this problem from just a few weeks ago. It’s rampant right now.

Made Me Go Back!

Lynn and I were headed east on Bethany in Allen yesterday when we came on this median just a little west of Jupiter. "We've gotta go back!" I said. I love this! I'll tell you more.

Photo: Three great plants for Texas. Read on for details.

And, in closing…

That's all for this week, but we'll be back here next week. Join us! And bring some friends with you! Invite them by clicking the forward link at the bottom of this e-mail.

Looking for a fine gardening reference? I may be a bit prejudiced, but my grandkids tell me that this one is their favorite, and you can buy it (signed copy) from my website. (It's not in stores, and it's not on Amazon. Only $31.95, but it will save you many times that amount.)

Let our advertisers know you enjoy e-gardens. They make it happen! Click into their websites.

Join me on Facebook. I'm also on the radio every day of the week. And our podcasts are back up and running.

Until next week, thanks for reading!

Happy Gardening!

Neil