May 12 , 2025
Petals for Pollinators: New Episode
My trusty repeated squad — through drought , freeze , escargot , and drama queen mole rat temperature swing — carry on its May - as - usual . Out beyond the front window , yucca pallida ’s tumescent soft balloon recognise us even from inside . No - name daylily trumpet golden - yellow blossoms front and back , this one against aboriginal zexmenia . Mostly evergreen , it ’s been through unvoiced freeze , drought , and floods , and still convey on . prompt line : bring down inspiring gardens and ponds and meet their makers at the30th Annual Austin Pond Society Tour on June 7 and 8!This week on CTG , we pop in lots of coloration , from groundcovers to shrubs , with Robin Norton - Carranco ofRainbow Gardensin San Antonio ( two locations ) . She joins John Hart Asher to plunk aboriginal and adapt flora for container and beds in sun and shade . All attract pollinators and are cervid insubordinate . Robin ’s an invigorate dynamo and pollinator specialist who gives us the fact and the playfulness behind each industrial plant . She bring along bumble bee faves include ‘ Mystic Spires ’ salvia and two varieties of esperanza ( Tecoma stans).She includes shrubby duranta that dangles odorous purple flowers all summertime . aboriginal to Mexico and South America , like many of our adapt reliables , it ’s not always frigid hardy , depending on our microclimate or winter ’s severity . Perennial cracker fern lives up to its name , defying the hot days , while sparking hummingbird and butterfly care . ( For part shade , she includes shrimp plant for those hummers and butterflies.)Native Gregg ’s ageratum , a rich groundcover , is blooming now for many of us , moderate the heat with fluffy lavender blossoms beloved by butterflies . Its prime time is fall , but late spring and even summer pop a few flowers . That lavender is especially luscious against the silvery ‘ Powis Castle ’ artemisia .
Here ’s Robin ’s planting list .
Note : When planting now , consider specter fabric for a workweek or so . Lightly layer mulch around them , and when lacrimation , avoid saturate the dirt . If a plant is wilt in the evening , that ’s a natural reception . assure the soil before watering more . Next , there ’s a “ new ” destructive pest in town : the crape Vinca minor bark scale , here on viewer Marie Dahmer ’s tree . Texas A&M AgriLife entomologist Wizzie Brownexplains its life cycle and how to describe it . “ Once settled , they fertilise on phloem which lead to plenteous sum of honeydew melon , ” she tell us . “ Honeydew is an excrement from various works bloodsucking louse that prey on bast such as aphids , mealybug , scale of measurement insect and others . Honeydew can lead to growing of coal-black mould , which is a black fungus that can block photosynthesis from occurring . ”This clip of yr , we may also see bunches of cherry microbe on our prickly pears . These are cactus coreid bug that suck up juice from plants , conduct to those mottle yellowish fleck . wear upon gloves and squelch them or drop into a bucket of hot soapy weewee or isopropyl alcohol . Or , suck in them up with a garden - dedicate mitt - hold cordless vacuum .
We can also practice a mellow pressure level piss spray to take away soft - bodied insects , honeydew , and pitchy cast at the same time . For crape myrtle bark ordered series and/or the tree diagram ’s sooty mold , moisten down the trunk with oleaginous water and lightly scrape away scales with a flaccid - briery brush . observe : Avoid spray horticultural oil or soap - ground Cartesian product now that it ’s above 85 ° since they can burn off plant leaves . With 100 ° + staring us in the face , rent ’s chill off with delightful herbaceous plant infuse beloved and sun tea!Caroline Riley from Mutable Earth Botanicalsand Whole Life Learning Center heads to the garden for wonderfully redolent and healthful tulsi , mints , lemon balm and hibiscus . dry out herb go into honey and when it ’s quick , take up some of the strained herbaceous plant and honey into a orotund shock . sum up urine , sky in more herbs and flush , and let summertime ’s warmth make your novel tea!On tour from our November garden visit , musicians and family - schoolersLisaandShaneLamb turn their garden goal one weekend at a time . They started with homegrown vegetable and yield Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree — including thing from the Asiatic grocery — tally native plants for their woodsy wildlife home ground . To attract even more creature with water , they worked withHill Country Water Gardens and Nurseryto build a pool in 2021 ( formerly on the Austin Pond Society hitch , but not this year).Their tike Jay and Ella love their with child backyard where everyday ’s a nature excursion of discovery aright at home . “ I think being outside just pep up creativeness . They have some fairy houses they ’ve been build . They ’ve got another fort that they have in the back , ” Shane said . Read more and watch our floor .
Thanks for stopping by ! Next workweek , join us for clear up Scripture from Benjamin Vogt , author of A New Garden Ethic and Prairie Up !
tags :
