Volume 31, Issue #05 – May 2021
BCMG President
What a difference a few months can make. It is now 2 ½ months since the Big Freeze of February and what a difference that has made in my garden! Most plants have made a great comeback. The autumn sages and Henry Duelburg salvias are in full bloom. My Knockout rose and old bearded iris have never looked better. Red yuccas and native zexmenia are starting to bloom. Hummingbirds and butterflies are back. Life is good!
A few things, like two of my oldest Texas purple sages, I have cut to the ground. While they survived, they had multiple dead branches and looked really awful. They are now sprouting new growth from the base and will look great by the end of the year!
I am in the process of digging up the stumps of my viburnum. Again, there is a tiny bit of new growth at the base, but I am using this opportunity to replant the area with shrubs that will be better suited to the area in size. I am tired of shearing these shrubs several times a year just to keep them under control so that I can park my car in the garage, see out my bathroom window, and not have them engulf my air conditioner unit.
Time will tell if my firebush, which is just beginning to sprout at the base, will form it usual glorious mound. And I am still on the fence about my thryallis’s recovery.
Patience has been key. That, and enjoying what has survived!
Happy gardening,
Lynn
Scion Index – Click and Go!
You can now print or download Member Articles to your computer. Just click the Blue Button beneath the article you wish to save, and a pdf version of the article will pop up on your screen. From there, you can print or download using the indicators at the top right of your screen.
Please check out the dozens of FREE classes and webinars listed in this issue.
- This Month’s Presentation– Potting Soils by Bill Swantner
- Water Wise Words by Anna Vogler
- Superstar Spotlight – Gorizia Rosemary
- May Tips For Your Garden
- Peppers by Bill Swantner
- Nurtured By Faith – Texas Tribune
- Gardening Webinar Series
BCMG offices are open at 25%. You must have an appointment to go in. Call before going over. Offices will be closed for Memorial Day May 31, 2021.
All monthly meetings and classes for 2021 will be on-line webinars held on Zoom, until further notice.
And they are all FREE.
Monthly meeting presentations are always free and open to the public
The first time you use Zoom, allow a few minutes extra to get set up. Zoom can be used free on home PCs, Macs and on smartphones.
Pre-Registration on Zoom is required for each webinar. (Equivalent to the “Sign-in sheet”). Register weeks ahead of time or even just a few minutes before the webinar and the link will be sent to you in email .
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Gardening Education Opportunities
Register for the FREE webinars below by clicking on the link. You will receive an email with link to join the webinar.
May 4, 2021 12 noon – 1 pm – Garden / Landscape Live Q & A Chat
By David Rodriguez, Bexar County Extension Agent. This is a great opportunity to Listen Live and “chat in” your gardening or landscape questions and to learn about other people’s issues and concerns at the same time! Join Webinar Here
May 18, 2021 12 noon – 1 pm. Chores For The Garden / Landscape Before The Oven Turns On
By David Rodriguez, Bexar County Extension Agent. Learn what you should do now, to get your landscape / garden ready for the season. Join Webinar Here
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AgriLife Extension to present Water-Wise Ways webinar on May 25
Plant a pollinator garden to supply immediate food in response to freeze setback
Back to the Basics series on Beef Cattle Production
Early spring lawn to-do list a little different this year
Basics of raised garden beds
How To Plant Shade Trees in Texas
Frequently check the BCMG Calendar, as that is where all the new, upcoming programs will be posted. Click Here
Past webinars are posted on YouTube for your viewing (or reviewing) pleasure! Check often for new postings! Click here for the list.
- April Live Q&A Webinar
- Things To Do” In The Landscape and Garden in April /May
- What’s Making Holes in my Lawn?!
- Spring Lawn Management
- Growing a Home Fruit Orchard with David Rodriguez
- Gardening and Landscape Q&A Chat with David Rodriguez
- Fly Management
- Pantry Pests
- Dragonflies of Texas
- Arachnids of Texas
- Where Do Insects Go When It Rains? by Molly Keck
- 12 Months of Vegetable Gardening by David Rodriguez
- Pests of Tomatoes by Molly Keck
- 12 Months of Pollen and Nectar Producing Plants for Pollinators
- Turf Grass Basics: Surviving Summer and the Rest of the Year
- Vegetable Garden Basics
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fblive/https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fblive/
Just a few of them are:
- Fall Blooming Flowers and Biennials Planted in Fall
- Growing Muscadine Grapes in Texas
- Toys (tools) For Gardening
- Compost versus Mulch
- Planting Strawberries
- Harvesting Pecans
- Raised Garden Beds, Location, Soil Mixtures and more!
- Home Fruit Production – Tips for Success!
- Small fruits for the backyard
- Floral Designs from your backyard – Growing, Cutting, Using your flowers and shrubs!
- How to Prune Your Trees
- Indoor Gardening
Get the full list of FREE classes here
- Landscape Water Conservation
- Low-Volume Irrigation
- Irrigation System Auditing
- Safe Use and Handling of Pesticides
- Safe Use and Handling of Fertilizers
- Composting
- Designing an Earth–Kind® Landscape
- Landscaping for Energy Conservation
- Creating Native Habitat
- Earth–Kind® Roses
- Integrated Pest Management
BCMG is on YouTube! Watch Bill Swantner classes on a computer (or on your smartphone)!
- Plant Propagation Intro
- Plant Propagation Stem Cuttings
- Earth-Kind Soils & Plants
- Native Plants for Native Birds
- Crape-Myrtle Bark Scale
- Herb Gardening
- Rainwater Harvesting with Lou Kellogg
- Texas Superstars
- Starting Vegetables from Seed Indoors
- Organic Gardening
Check often for other new videos! The whole list of available videos is HERE.
Call in to Live Radio on Saturday mornings, with your gardening questions for David.
Call in: 210-737-1200 or 1-800-383-9624 on Saturdays from 7 am to 10pm
Or just listen to the show, and learn from everyone else’s questions!
WOAI 1200 AM – Lawn and Garden Show
Host: David Rodriguez, Bexar County AgriLife Extension Horticulturist.
Past shows are archived here, for easy listening on your computer, tablet or phone, anytime! Listen on your phone while you drive!
Ask a Master Gardener
Master Gardeners are available to help you with your gardening questions. We provide unbiased, research-based, locally relevant gardening information. Free service. You can reach us:
By phone: 210-631-0400 (Ask to speak to a Master Gardener)
Mon-Fri 9 am – Noon, 1-4 pm (Closed on county holidays)
Even during Covid-19 precautions, the phones and the Hotline are being operated from home telephones; hotline calls are being directed by AgriLife Extension receptionist Nick Vasquez.
