VOLUME 15, ISSUE 46 • November 14, 2019

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Welcome to e-gardens! At least we're on a warming trend. Hopefully you'll be able to get a little gardening done over the next several days.

Here's what I've included…
• Crazy about chrysanthemums;
• Best of the fall color trees;
• Gardening tasks for the weekend;
• Explaining plants' crazy behaviors; and
• Diane Sitton's hay-bale-orama.

In your mailbox…
(Holiday special - but only if you order soon. Limited time offer.)

Neil Sperry's Lone Star Gardening
1st copy $33.95 plus tax and postage
2nd and 3rd copies to same address $28.95 each

• My latest book; self-published so I could have it just the way I thought it needed to be.
• 344 pages of high-quality paper; 840 photographs
• Hardback and printed in Texas (not China)
• Covers everything related to gardening in all parts of Texas.
• I sign every book as it sells.
• Satisfaction guaranteed or full refund.

Not in stores and not on Amazon.
Order from my website or by calling my office M-F 9-5. (800) 752-4769.

Photo: Mums have brightened fall gardens for many decades.

Falling for Mums

They've been the stars of the fall garden since our great-grandmas' time and we still love them dearly. Best of all, you can still find them in garden centers across Texas to spruce up your entries and patios in time for Thanksgiving. We have a craving for chrysanthemums, and I'll tell you a couple of my stories about them.

Photo: Garden mums are jewels of autumn.

Hay, let's celebrate

Our friend Diane Sitton, always with an eye for art in the garden, has found turkeys roaming around. You’ll enjoy seeing them.

Photo: Diane and her new friend wish you a happy holiday!

Great Sources of Fall Color

Texas isn't exactly known for its fall color. At least not to the level of New England. But we do have some dependable performers that deserve inclusion in our landscapes, and I'll share them with you.

Photo: Ginkgo leaves in the fall.

Gardening This Weekend

For much of the state this is about the time of the first killing frost, yet we've been plunged into what seems like the middle of Montana. Warmer weather is on the horizon. Let's see what we ought to be doing.

Photo: When I suggest that you "remove erratic shoots," this is what I'm talking about.

Explaining plants' behavior

Ever wonder why one plant pouts and looks puny while another of the very same species growing right beside it is thriving? I'll try to shed a little light on some plants' erratic behavior. Forge on for the details.

Photo: What's going on with this lilac?

And, in closing…

That's it for e-gardens for another week. I'll be back next week with more stories of importance to the plant people of Texas. (You're one of them!)

In the meantime, join me on Facebook, or please tune in one of my radio broadcasts. I write for a dozen Texas newspapers including the Fort Worth Star Telegram (since 1978) and the San Antonio Express News (since 1995). My website is where you'll find podcasts of my radio programs, and my church is where you'll find our family on Sundays.

Have a great week, and until next time…

Happy gardening!

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