VOLUME 13, ISSUE 11 • March 16, 2017

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

It's amazing how rapidly buds pop open and leaves emerge. If you're away from your garden for one or two days, it's as if everything has changed when you get back. That's why e-gardens is now weekly - so we can react to those changes. This week…

• One of my favorite bulbs;
• Common lawn questions of spring;
• Machine Gun Kelly meets Texas live oaks;
• Your list of weekend activities; and
• Steven Chamblee visits Tyler and finds a Children's Garden.

Two ways to get a signed copy of Neil Sperry's Lone Star Gardening:
★ Order it now from my website (or call my office M-F 9-5:30 at 800-752-4769), or
★ Come see me March 24 from 11 until 2 at the Ellis County Master Gardener Expo at the Waxahachie Convention Center. (I'll also be speaking at some point during that time.)

And now, let's see what e-gardens holds for this week.

Photo: "Summer" snowflake blooms in March. Think about that one.

Plant of the Week: Summer Snowflake

This great little spring bulb is as dependable as they make 'em, yet it's under-appreciated by Texas gardeners. Maybe we can help change that.

Photo: Summer snowflake in flower in the Sperry gardens this morning.

Gardening This Weekend

Many gardeners in Texas saw temperatures down into the 30s a few mornings ago. Those times, it appears, are behind us now. Let's look at the jobs we all have in our yards and gardens this weekend. I've made a list.

Photo: Dichondra is revving up for spring growth in Texas lawns.

Native Son

Our buddy Steven Chamblee visits our pages once a month. He also visited Tyler just a few days ago, and he found a delightful garden for children.

Photo: Our own personal teddy bear ran into some of his kin in a garden in Tyler.

Question of the Week: March 16, 2017

"Neil, what is happening to my live oak's trunk, and how can I stop it? Is this going to kill the tree?"

I get this question several times weekly, and I'll answer it.

Photo: What causes this regular pattern on tree trunks?

Lawn Care Questions of Spring

These three questions don't rise to the level of my most-asked questions of the week, but together they're three of the questions I hear all the time when the subject is lawn care in spring. Click to see if you've asked them.

Photo: Some lawn questions keep coming up.

And, in closing…

Done. That's e-gardens, and we hope you've enjoyed it. If you did, please tell your friends. You're our Chamber of Commerce ambassador for this e-gardens village.

Stop by your favorite nursery sometime this weekend and remind them that you still love them. (Take cash!) And then join me on Facebook, on radio, in my newspaper columns across Texas, at my website and via our podcasts. (I'm like a bad debt - I keep popping up everywhere!)

Until next week's next masterpiece….

Happy gardening!

Neil