VOLUME 22, ISSUE 33 • August 13, 2026

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

Hopefully you're sitting somewhere cool and comfortable while you enjoy this week's e-gardens. We're just a couple of weeks away from better fall weather, so let's stay optimistic.

In this issue…
• Our pastor's advice on attracting hummingbirds;
• This weekend's time-sensitive tasks;
• Stapelias - my favorite succulents;
• Diane Sitton creates garden signs; and
• I answer your questions. Some good ones.

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Photo: How delicate can seeds from a fly-pollinated plant from a succulent be? Read our stapelia story.

Gardening This Weekend

The middle of August is a watershed time for several prime gardening activities. I'll put them at the top of each of our four categories. You'll want to click through to make sure you don't miss the deadlines.

Photo: Interested in succulents? Nurseries have great selections. Pot up a few for your patio this fall.

Spelling it out - garden style

Signs in the garden are ways for us to show our fun side as we tend to our plants. Diane Sitton has great ideas.

Photo: Gardens accommodate signs large and small.

Attracting hummingbirds to your garden

Among all the birds we'd like to invite to join us in our backyards none are as popular as the tiniest - the miraculous hummingbirds. Pastor Tommy Brumett, avid birder from our home church has tips on how best to bring them into your life.

Photo: Ruby-throated hummingbird feasts on nectar of a beebalm.

Strange plants, those stapelias

When I was a kid, these were some of the first plants I just had to have. Oh, I mowed lawns to get daylilies. But I loved cacti and succulents - and none more than stapelias. Let me tell you what got 12-year-old Neil hunting everywhere for them.

Photo: Stapelia gigantea, giant hairy starfish flower. Who could argue that name!

Q&A – Ask Neil

A couple of you lost new plants mysteriously. One of you has a 2-year-old oak tree that's on its last roots. And strange things have happened to an Esperanza. An SOS for a 35-year-old plumeria, and webworms that are way out of reach. See how I answered.

And, in closing…

That's it for this week's e-gardens. If you've enjoyed it, please take 5 minutes and let our advertisers know. And share it with a friend as well.

I'll be on the radio live this weekend with gardening tips and answers to your questions. Click here for the times and the stations. Many of these stations broadcast via live stream, so I'm as close as your phone in more ways than one. And podcasts of my programs are available on my website by Monday evenings.

Have a great week. Be vigilant in your watering - of you, your pets, and your plants. Wear your sunscreen and see your dermatologist annually (at least).

Thanks for reading.

Until next week…

Happy gardening!

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