VOLUME 20, ISSUE 30 • July 25, 2024

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

For many of us this has been a delightful weather week (as July weeks go here in Texas). I hope you've found time to get out into the landscape.

In this issue…
• Very timely tasks for the weekend,
• Dancing ladies in the garden,
• Could you spare me some water,
• Diane Sitton's great story on Talavera pottery, and
• As always, your Q's and my A's.

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Photo: Devil's ivy (pothos) has been one of our favorite houseplants for more than 100 years.

Gardening This Weekend

There was something psychologically refreshing about the slightly cooler weather some of us encountered last weekend. Let's bring on some more of that between now and the end of the summer! In the meantime, I've collected this weekend's assignments.

Photo: Pothos out of my greenhouse finally took its place on our wall this past week.

The tradition of Talavera

You’ve seen this highly decorative pottery but you may not have known its full story. Well, leave it to our friend Diane Sitton to bring us the back story on Talavera.

Photo: Talavera pottery is available in an array of pots, planters, and wall art; not to mention animal and bird figures, sun faces, and tiles.

Lovely ladies dance in the garden

Their flowering time varies by several weeks, and they always seem to catch me off guard. The "naked ladies" (in polite terms, Lycoris squamigera) were back in bloom this week in our landscape. It's a great bulb. Let me tell you about them.

Photo: You'd hardly recognize naked ladies as sisters to the more common spider lilies of fall.

Oh, for a little water!

It looks like this should have worked. Two water lines, one on either side of each new juniper. But they’re goners already. It might be transplant shock, but those lines also would have trouble getting enough water down to the critical roots. Hollies are even more commonly hit.

Photo: Junipers have gotten too dry one or more times.

Q&A – Ask Neil

Newcomers for list this week: Burkii juniper, silver maple (instead of red maple), and root knot nematodes. Always nice to have something different.

And, in closing…

Thanks for reading clear to the end of this week's e-gardens. It's been quite a week. I've enjoyed putting it together between interludes of watching the news and trying to figure out American politics.

I'll be on the air on my statewide program Sat. 11:06-noon, then on KLIF (570AM) Sat. 1-2 p.m., and WBAP (820AM and 93.3FM) Sun. 8-9 a.m. Give me a listen, and give me a call! Podcasts of my programs are available on my website.

Click image for larger view.

In the meantime, Happy Birthday coming up to granddaughter Lauren. She and her siblings have treated their dad to a wonderful Father's Day gift - a trip for them all to Adrian Beltre's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown NY last Sunday! Sweet kids! (L to R: Audrey, Lauren, Nolan, Brian, and Ella)

That's what I have. It's a great life. Use it well!

Until next week,

Happy gardening!

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