October 11 , 2012
On tour with the Travis County Master Gardeners
How can you cut back lawn , coalesce edible , blossom for wildlife , bread and butter space , and art ?
The best ideas come in from fellow gardener ! That ’s why you wo n’t want to overlook theTravis County Master Gardeners ’ “ Inside Austin Gardens ” touron October 20 . This yr highlights hand - on gardeners who tuck in food with their salvias and succulent , like Ann & Robin Matthews , who even take it all out front .
They merge their garden with neighbor Donnis Doyle , also on tour .
In back , find out how they got rid of sens in favor of course , cove , and a labyrinth - style veg garden .
See how they sort a view with Hardiboard imprint with ancient aboriginal American rock art they ’ve seen on excursions throughout Texas .
On enlistment , you may also see how Donnis screened her vista of a daycare pith for a soothing spot to hang out with her neighbors .
Here ’s a sneak preview with CTG ’s video visit .
I love the natural blind the Matthews chose on one side : bay laurel !
Daphne makes bay laurel her Pick of the Weektoexplain how to produce this Central Texas evergreen as a screen or accent . Why buy expensive bay allow when you’re able to deplume some of your own ?
When I got my true laurel laurel in a 4 ” flock , I pot it up as a patio container . It barely grew ( though it ’s ok in a pot if you have just a little space ) . Then , I ran into large true laurel hedges in recollective - term gardens . I saw Trisha ’s huge one at her Lake Austin Spa garden . So , I stick to mine in the footing to shield a so - so shed . It shot up like a ogre in blasts of red-hot sunlight ( not all day ) and very little water supply . In 14 ° , it suffered a little leaf hurt , but spring pruning flushed it right back out . The Barbados cherry in front died to the ground , but returned , too .
I just pluck a leaf when I need it for the pot . When I prune to clean up and flesh , I bring in some to dry . If you miss Trisha ’s section on how to dry and ground tackle herbs , and the ones to choose , look on it now !
To preview the other garden on tour , Tom meets with Travis County Master Gardeners Carolyn Williams and Holly Plotner .
Here ’s just a prickteaser of the variety on tour this class !
Renee Studebakerisn’t officially a Master Gardener ( though she ’s a master at it ! ) . If you ’ve ever wanted a closer look at her garden , here ’s the hazard ! She ’s even going to be serving homemade dainty from her harvest .
And find out where Daphne hang out with a visit to theTexas AgriLife Extension Officedemo gardens ! She and Augie will be on hand ( paw ) all day to answer your questions !
Not only will you have a hazard to sing with the gardeners to see how they did it and where they got it , each site include educational talks and plant and book sales . All this for just $ 20 or $ 5 per garden , to support their many free workshops throughout the year . Find out workshop and details of the tour .
Since we all care to reuse , a watcher asks : “ Can I spread used puss litter on the pasture or non - edible gardens?”Get Daphne ’s answerabout why this is n’t a good idea — it ’s not what you might imagine . Telo and Camille Farber already watched this on their iCatfonz to pass along to their moms , babe Galia ( KLRU ’s production coordinator ) and Naomi .
In the next few weeks , it ’s time to plant wildflower seeds like Indian blanket ( Gaillardia pulchella ) .
Andrea DeLong - Amaya from theLady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centershows how to seed for the in force success . Since bluebonnets are summit on the list , she explain how to improve sprouting the first twelvemonth .
Note : the inoculant she mentions has become very hard to find , so go with one of her other techniques to embark on your bluebonnet spell . Trisha sometimes propel bluebonnet plants to a new orbit ( or you may buy transplants ) to inoculate the soil , too . I ’ve always had great luck without the inoculum .
Happy planting until next week ! Linda
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