VOLUME 20, ISSUE 15 • April 11, 2024

Neil Sperry editor. Gretchen Drew design and circulation.

It's been a great week for Texas. Wildflowers. Total eclipse for many of us. Rain for many of us. More and more time to spend in the garden. Let's look to this weekend and the opportunities ahead.

In this issue…
• Neil's passion for purple,
• This weekend's important assignments,
• The latest on TARR,
• Diane Sitton's been given some signs, and
• Your questions and my answers.

NEIL SPERRY'S LONE STAR GARDENING
One book that covers it ALL
ALL aspects of gardening
for ALL counties in Texas.

Sale priced at $34.95

• Hundreds of pallets have been printed. Not many remain.
• 344 pages and 840 photos.
• I sign every copy as it sells.
• Satisfaction guaranteed or full refund. 87,000 copies sold to date and not one request for refund.
• Not in stores and not on Amazon.

Order from my website
Or call my office
weekdays M-F 9-5
(800) 752-4769

Photo: Pentas’ purples and pinks live harmoniously.

Gardening This Weekend

In a lifetime of gardening in Texas there have been a lot of distractions in springtime, but last Monday's eclipse ranks as the most memorable for me. Our family watched it together, and it was breathtaking. Now we're back to great April gardening. Here are the details.

Photo: Fertilize petunias to keep them at their prime for another 6-8 weeks.

Signmaking … in your own words

Comedian Bill Engvall is always announcing, “Here’s your sign.” Well, our own Diane Sitton has gone him one better with her great garden signs.

Photo: Use your creativity to come up with your own sign ideas.

Passionate for purple

I decided a long time ago that purple is the most functional color for Texas landscaping. I'm here to prove my point and to pick a few purple plants to perform perfectly in your gardens this summer. See what you think.

Photo: Purpleheart contrasts perfectly with Goldsturm gloriosa daisies late spring each year.

A Tune Up on Take All

Take all root rot has become a notorious problem with St. Augustine lawns across Texas over the past 30 years. Southern universities have done their homework, and I have a report of my findings. Click through to read a summary.

Photo: TARR results in lethargic, yellowed areas in St. Augustine lawns primarily in spring.

Q&A – Ask Neil

A guy named Forrest has asked for sources of orange fall color in shade trees. Seems reasonable. And a couple of questions on turfgrass that’s not feeling so great this spring. Betty is overrun with spiderworts. You just never know what’s going to get left on your doorstep here.

And, in closing…

That's it for another episode of our e-gardens journal. Be back for more same time next week. I'll be waiting for you.

In the meantime, join me, please, on the radio live this weekend.
• Statewide on 33 stations Saturday 11:06-noon (888) 256-1080.
• KLIF 570 AM and 96.3 Saturday 1-2 pm (888) 787-5543.
• WBAP 820 AM and 93.3 FM Sunday 8-9 am (800) 288-9227.
(Podcasts of these programs will be on my website by Monday evening.)

Again, thanks for reading. And until next week…

Happy gardening!

Subscribe to Neil's Podcasts!

Available for both Apple and Google Play

Click here to listen on Neil's web site »