VOLUME 13, ISSUE 7 • February 16, 2017

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

The balmy weather returns, and spring is hot on its heels. We have a fun and informative e-gardens this week. (Of course, I think they all are!) Let's get it all underway.

In this issue…
• Why I don't recommend weed-and-feed fertilizers;
• Has the pre-emergent date shifted?
• Fabulous forsythias;
• Gardening This Weekend; and
• Steven Chamblee and his cats find beauty in the late-winter wildscape.

So, in honor of the start of baseball spring training, that's the wind-up. Now here's the pitch.

Let's get it all underway!

Photo: Reseeding larkspur adds uncommon colors (shades of blue) to the spring garden.

Gardening This Weekend

Mid-February is like a hinge on a door. A lot pivots on it. It marks the psychological beginning of the growing season and the turn from late winter into very early spring. I have the critical tasks of this time.

Photo: Annual reseeding larkspurs can be transplanted if you do so now.

Native Son: The Awakening

My buddy Steven Chamblee of Chandor Gardens in Weatherford muses over the late-winter prairie behind his house. Fun read!

Photo: Standing Cypress in winter.

A Personal Favorite: Forsythia

It's confessional time here at e-gardens. I love forsythias and wish more people would try them. Their bloom time is quickly approaching, so maybe this is your year to include one. I'll share my own details.

Photo: Forsythia blooming in the Sperry home landscape (2016).

Question of the Week 1: February 16, 2017

"Neil, why do you never recommend weed-and-feed products?”

Because there are much better ways to make your lawn better. Let me explain!

Photo: This lawn might be considered as a candidate for a "weed-and-feed" product.

Question of the Week 2: February 16, 2017

"Neil, has all this warm weather changed your recommended date for applying pre-emergent weedkiller?"

I don't believe I've ever been asked any question more times in one week than this one this week.

Photo: The time is here to prevent grassburs for much of Texas.

And, in closing…

I hope you've enjoyed this week's e-gardens and I hope you'll tell all your friends about it. Click here to refer it along.

And as we part, if you're interested in getting a signed copy of my book Neil Sperry's Lone Star Gardening, go to my website or call our office during business hours at (800) 752-4769. It's only $31.95 plus tax and postage. It's not in stores or on Amazon. Satisfaction guaranteed.

I'll meet you on Facebook, my website, via podcasts of my radio program and ushering with my grandson at church.

Until next week, thanks for reading and happy gardening!

Neil