VOLUME 19, ISSUE 32 • August 24, 2023

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

It's been interesting assembling this week's e-gardens. Lots of fun and useful information. I hope you'll agree.

In this issue…
• This weekend's assignments;
• Whopper begonias;
• I revisit four important topics;
• Update on pre-emergents; and
• Some unusual questions this week.

NEIL SPERRY'S LONE STAR GARDENING
Only $34.95 (limited time)

Click image for larger view.

One more week I offer this great deal on my book. 344 pages. 840 photos. Covers everything about gardening for the entire state of Texas.

I'll sign your book and guarantee your satisfaction.

I'm helping Lynn pay off the last of her campaign bills from the May 6 election for McKinney ISD school board.

A wealthy, hard-nosed PAC intent on taking down public schools backed her opponent and many others in Collin County. Lynn and most of the others won decisively!

LYNN’S IDEA: Let’s have The Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinney give every fifth grader in McKinney ISD a crape myrtle to give as a gift on Mother’s Day. That’s 2,100 plants given to happy kids annually for 17 years! (Neighbor Mike Spiotta in photo assisting Lynn and me in loading my truck – one of 20 trucks.

LYNN’S IDEA: Let’s develop Serenity High – the nation’s first public high school for kids who have completed drug and alcohol rehab and who don’t want to go back to their old school surroundings. Serenity is 24 years old and still going strong!

I thought you'd want to know who you're supporting by buying your book. Lynn and I support Public Education!

Book is not in stores or on Amazon.

Order from www.neilsperry.com
Or call my office M-F 9-5
(800) 752-4769.

Photo: Whopper begonias look great wherever they go.

Gardening This Weekend

In this most-read part of e-gardens I try to keep you updated on the important tasks before us gardeners each weekend of the gardening year. This week is no exception. Click through for a peek.

Photo: Leaf lettuce is growing alongside carrots in this fall garden. All can be seeded right now.

Whopper Begonias Come to the Rescue

I've been a charter member of the Wax Begonia Fan Club since I was 13 or 14. (No, there is no such organization.) And they keep getting better. The 'Whopper' series has saved me a couple of times in the past several years. Let me tell you about them.

Photo: Whopper Red begonia. Gotta love it!

Neil's Nagging Again

I'm going to go back over old ground in quick order to cover four of the most critical topics of this late summer 2023. Hopefully you didn't miss them. Hopefully you heeded them. Hopefully you'll look at them now just to be sure.

Photo: Clockwise from upper left – chinch bugs, pre-emergents, sun scald of tree trunks and really deep soaking for new plants.

Winter weed prevention - an update

When you write or call to ask about grassy weeds that show up in your lawn from January on into March, I always tell you to mark the calendar for application of pre-emergent weedkiller granules the last week of August or the first week of September. Has anything changed for this year?

Photo: If this looks like your lawn in early spring…

Q&A
Ask Neil

Some really unusual questions this time, friends. Can you say "Phyllody?" How about helping with muscadines? Or control one of the most tenacious uncommon weeds in Texas? Those were my assignments. Take a look.

And, in closing…

That's what we have in the e-gardens toolshed this week. I'm already starting on next week's assignments. I hope you'll let others know about us.

In the meantime, tune me in on the radio Saturday and Sunday - or at least check out podcasts of the programs. We post them to my website by Monday evening.

I'll be in a dozen newspapers in the next four days, and Lynn and I will hope to see you in church this Sunday.

Until all that, thanks for reading…

And happy gardening!

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