VOLUME 20, ISSUE 7 • February 15, 2024

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Busy, busy time of the gardening year. Thanks for opening us up. Take a few minutes to browse on through. I think you'll find some very helpful gardening guides.

In this issue…
• One of my favorite shade shrubs
• This weekend's top tasks
• Steven Chamblee is loving’ his live oaks
• A map around which you can plan plantings, and
• You ask and I answer.

NEIL SPERRY'S LONE STAR GARDENING
Still only $34.95*

(*Cover price $38.95)

• Took me a year to write it. Took me a lifetime to learn what I wrote.
• 11 chapters covering lawns, landscapes, fruit, flower, and vegetable gardening in full detail.
• A perpetual 48-page calendar that answers every question beginning with, "Neil, when should I ___."
• 840 photographs. 344 pages. Hardback. Printed in Texas so I could sign off on all the press checks.
• Satisfaction guaranteed or full refund.
• Not in stores and not on Amazon.

Order from my website
Or call my office M-F 9-5
(800) 752-4769

Photo: Petunias planted now will be lovely throughout the spring.

Gardening This Weekend

For a week that began with 10 inches of snow in parts of the Panhandle, things have turned out better most of the week. Now it’s going to get cooler again. But we’ll peek toward the second half of the month and what you should be doing to get it all started.

Photo: This was the first Ice Follies daffodil to bloom, but they’re all in flower at the Sperry place now.

Native Son: Live Oak

Our buddy Steven Chamblee muses over (or under) his favorite tree – the one he feels should have been named our State Tree of Texas. Although I agree with him, I’ll let him take the idea to Austin.

Garden Tip: Last Killing Freeze

Why does it matter when the last killing freeze happens? Because that’s when the starting gate opens so that spring can officially begin in the landscape and garden. I have important details as well as a larger version of this map to print and save.

Photo: Your success as a gardener may rest in this map.

Leatherleaf mahonia

You don't take more than five or 10 steps into the Sperry landscape without seeing leatherleaf mahonias. It's one of my favorite go-to plants for the shade. It's in full bloom right now, but that's a small reason why I grow it. Let me tell you more.

Photo: Showy flower clusters of leatherleaf mahonia.

Q&A
Ask Neil

A boatload of aphids and an old camellia out of its element. Amending clay soil along the Red River and grassburs in Rockport. We got around this week. Take a look at the questions!

And, in closing…

That's it for this week's e-gardens, but another one is already underway.

A couple of quick notes before I leave:

Texas star mushroom (Becky Fogel)
Click on image for larger view.

Did you know that Texas has an official state fungus? It's a rare one, and a lovely one at that. I ran across it on Facebook. Texas star mushrooms. They're found only in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and (ready for this?) Japan. The American ones are found only in rotted-out stumps of cedar elms. Check out this story from Texas Standard, which is where I found the lovely photo by Becky Fogel.

https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/texas-star-mushroom-austin-inks-lake-state-park/

And, finally… You've probably put the Superbowl ads in the rear view mirror by now, but please permit me one last visit. For personal reasons, I have chosen as my favorite Pfizer's cancer-fighting commitment. Look at this ad again, and stick around to see the brilliance with which it was produced. Wow! Just BRAVO!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBanWqvE-hI

Thanks for reading (and watching).

Until next week,

Happy gardening!

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