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Fall
Herb Days and 6th Annual Tea Off
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Reap
the rewards of your herb garden now! Prepare your favorite herbal
tea (1 gallon of it) and/or herbal dessert and enter our annual
competition on Saturday, September 29. Entries must be received
between 9 a.m. and 12 noon on Saturday. They will be judged by some
of the most discriminating herb fanciers in the Metroplex. The winners
will be announced and prizes awarded on Saturday in the retail store
at 2 p.m.
The First Place Tea Winner receives a pitcher and a $50 NHG gift
certificate. The First Place Herbal Dessert Winner receives a platter
and a $50 NHG gift certificate. Second Place Winners (both categories)
will each receive a $25 NHG gift certificate.
The Herb Society of America members will present lectures during
the weekend. Herb expert Mary Nell Jackson will present “The Meaning
of Herbs — Myth, Language, and Lore.” Herbalist Becky Watts will
present “Homemade Herbal Harvest Condiments.” Becky will include
information in her presentation so you can enjoy your favorite herbs
year round! Fresh herbs are featured in this program’s collection
of sweet and savory condiments including jellies, chutneys, mustards,
butters, and more.
Members from the local herb societies will be in the store to answer
your herb questions from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Mark your calendar!
Enter the competitions! Sample herbal tea and learn more about herbs!
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Time to Plant Your Bulb Gardens!
By Judy Fender
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Bulbs are extremely
versatile, even here in Texas. They can be planted outdoors for
spring and other seasonal bloom, creating colorful displays that
demand attention. They can be planted in containers and moved about
the yard and patio. Take them indoors and force winter blooms, using
them as houseplants or cut flowers. Plant daffodils in your lawn
to create a naturalized “meadow garden” effect. Use bulbs in mass
plantings for vibrant displays. Put them in borders or rock gardens
to delight visitors.
“Bulbs” (including true bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes, and tuberous
roots) store food to carry them through their dormant periods —
either winter or summer, depending on the plant. There are so many
different types of bulbs to choose from; so you can have color emerging
in your garden throughout the year, as well as indoors. Layer different
bulbs with different bloom times in pots or in the garden and enjoy
their rotating blooms throughout season after season. We have bulb
experts on staff to help you make your selections to enhance your
established gardens and create new looks and accents of color to
enjoy in the seasons to come.
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our book rack… You might want to add a copy of Garden Bulbs
for the South by Scott Ogden. Two hundred species are covered
with beautiful photos for identification. These are bulbs that
can spend the winter in the ground! Also, Bulbs for the Rock
Garden by Jack Elliott will give you ideas for selection so
every season in the garden will be filled with blooms. |
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September
Plant
cool weather color — petunias, alyssum, dianthus, cyclamen,
primrose, flowering kale.
Select and purchase spring-blooming bulbs. The best selections
are available now: paperwhites, tulips, hyacinths, and specialty
bulbs. We will store bulb purchases of $100 or more in our
cooler until planting time (mid– to late December when soil
temperatures are 50° or colder).
The fall is a great time to plant (and transplant) trees and
shrubs. Consider adding some natives.
Fertilize lawns, trees, and shrubs at the beginning of September.
Between mid-September and October 15, apply corn gluten meal
as a weed pre-emergent to grass areas only; use 20 lbs. per
1,000 sq. ft; water after applying. Keep it out of the gardens.
(If you apply the corn gluten, you don’t need to fertilize
the lawn also.)
Plant leafy green vegetables such as Swiss chard, spinach,
lettuce. Also plant onions, broccoli, cabbage and kale.
October
Plant cool weather plants such as mums, pansies, snapdragons,
dusty miller, and fragrant stock.
Sew native seeds for spring bloom.
Pick pumpkins for Jack-o-lantern carving and mini-pumpkins
and gourds for fall decorating.
Compost those falling leaves! Mulch flower beds in preparation
for winter.
Purchase frost cloth to be prepared for unexpected cold weather.
Feed the birds! Safflower seeds are great; squirrels don’t
like them!
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September-October
2001 Newsletter