VOLUME 20, ISSUE 19 • May 9, 2024

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Such a busy time of the year, capped off by a very special day for your mom. Celebrate it with plants and plantings.

In this issue…
• We gotta have goals! Here they are for this weekend.
• What a crazy week!
• Confirmation of cedar bark beetles.
• Diane Sitton tours Kingwood.
• You asked me, and I answered.

NEIL SPERRY'S LONE STAR GARDENING
Still available at only $34.95

• That's my baby! The best work I've ever turned out (in my opinion).
• 11 chapters. 344 pages. 840 photos. An entire year of my life.
• I wrote it for every county in Texas.
• It covers every aspect of outdoor landscaping and gardening.
• Hardback and printed in Texas so I could go to all 42 press checks.
• I sign every book as it sells. That's why it's not in stores and not on Amazon.
• I guarantee your satisfaction, or I'll personally refund every penny. (87,000 sold, and no requests for refund yet.)

Note: This is the final (6th) printing of my book. If you've been wanting to buy it, I hope you'll do so now.

ORDER FROM MY WEBSITE
OR CALL MY OFFICE WEEKDAYS
(800) 752-4769

Photo: 'Eclipse' hydrangeas have been featured the past six weeks at Calloway's. Hydrangeas are a popular Mother's Day gift plant.

Gardening This Weekend

First and foremost, do something special this weekend to remember your mom horticulturally. Plant a tree in her honor. Plant flowers for her to enjoy. Take her to a botanic garden or park. But don't overlook the other tasks of the time.

Photo: Profusion zinnias cheer the summer.

Sharing highlights from GardenScapes

Our faithful and fabulous friend Diane Sitton recently visited the 50th annual home and garden tour of the Kingwood Garden Club. You'll enjoy her photos and report.

Photo: There's nearly always something in bloom in this butterfly- and bee-luring garden.

What a crazy week…

I have several things I really want to tell you about, but I don't want to shove them all into the space on this page of e-gardens. They're personal, and they're good news, but I'm going to ask that you click through to see them.

Photo: Just two of the places I've been in the past 7 days.

Cedar Bark Beetle Re-emphasized

Having made the journey from Dallas to Houston along I-45 and back this week, I can attest to the impact cedar bark beetles have had on eastern redcedars this spring. I wrote about them last week, and I want to add a bit more plus give you a link back to that story. Please click through to see.

Photo: Everywhere I go now I see evidence of cedar bark beetle attacks.

Q&A – Ask Neil

A yaupon with partial dieback and two gorgeous Eagleston hollies. A lot of iron deficiency symptoms and salt spray doing damage. This popular part of e-gardens always has variety.

And, in closing…

That's it for this week's e-gardens. The ink isn't even dry on this one as we send it - I was still typing mid-afternoon. I hope you've enjoyed it, and I'll look forward to seeing your eyes back here next week.

Until then, thanks for reading…

And happy gardening!

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