VOLUME 20, ISSUE 22 • May 30, 2024

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Happy last Thursday of May. That's momentous, because our next e-gardens will propel us into the summer.

Here's what I have this week…
• This weekend's checklist.
• Return of the Rio Grande Chirping Frog.
• Not 1, but 2 sets of your questions and my answers!
• Tips on choosing a tree care company.

While it's still on sale…
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• 840 photos and 344 pages. Hardback. High-quality paper. Printed in San Antonio, not China.
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Photo: Variegated tapioca is a stunning hot-weather foliar annual.

Gardening This Weekend

One more Thursday evening in May to alert you of your late spring gardening responsibilities. I know you're busy with many other activities, so I've condensed the list down to the precious few. Most will probably apply. Take a look.

Photo: Variegated tapioca makes a striking show in summer landscape.

Choose Your Tree Service Carefully

It's been a rough week to be a shade tree here in Texas. If your trees were hit by high winds and hail, I have some tips on choosing the best tree service company. These are important nuggets. Click to read what's on the next page.

Photo: Huge limbs and entire trees were ripped loose by the winds early this week.

A Fun Guest in Our Landscape

I first reported on these new sounds to our gardens a few years ago here, and the rains of 2024 have brought them back in big numbers. Rio Grande Chirping Frogs. What a great story they have to tell, and they tell it with joy every night of the summer. But I have yet to see one. Read on!

Photo: Here it is, but it's not my photo. I've never seen one.

Q&A – Ask Neil: Part 1

As a bonus this week, I have twice as many answers to twice as many of your questions. In this group, "The cow ate my pecans," What crape myrtle smells like a lilac, and How do I prune my Heritage raspberries?

Q&A – Ask Neil: Part 2

More great questions, and I hope more great answers. Is this rose rosette virus? What's wrong with my Texas sage? What is eating the leaves of my Little Gem magnolia? Should I cut this crape myrtle to the ground?

And, in closing…

Thanks for checking in with e-gardens this week. I decided I'd give you a bonus extra set of Q&A questions because of the holidays, and I'm glad that I did. Every week is a new and exciting challenge, and it was fun to see the many different questions.

I'll be live on the air this weekend as always. Give me a listen, and give me a call:
• Statewide on 33 stations Saturday 11:06-noon (888) 256-1080.
• KLIF 570 AM and 96.3 Saturday 1-2 pm (888) 787-5543.
• WBAP 820 AM and 93.3 FM Sunday 8-9 am (800) 288-9227.
(Podcasts of these programs will be on my website by Monday evening.)

I'll look forward to seeing you on my website, in a nursery somewhere, maybe at a hamburger joint, or in church this Sunday morning.

And, of course, right back here for the next e-gardens next week.

Until then, thanks for reading…

And Happy Gardening!

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