Just a quick update on the Somervell County Master Gardener’s Paluxy Heritage Garden at Heritage Park in Glen Rose. Progress is slow right now, but the gardeners are ready to go as soon as we are able to meet again. However, there have been some pretty major changes in the past couple of weeks. The perimeter fence has been installed, and two roses bushes have been planted. The Crepe Myrtles are leafing out, and a few other things have shown up! If you find yourself out driving around to escape your own four walls, make sure to check out the PHG and the beautiful Texas wildflowers everywhere!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
We have arrived at the middle of March in what seems like the blink of an eye. Trees are budding out, daffodils have been waving their yellow heads in the breeze, and the temperature has been slowly working its way up. The middle of March brings the traditions and celebrations associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Although some of us may be limiting gatherings with friends and family at this time, we can certainly still observe the day. Our fellow Somervell Master Gardener, Tessa Chenoa Ownbey, helps to mark the day with an informative article and memorable poem. So, whether you are of Irish descent or just enjoy a reason for the wearing o’ the green, please enjoy this addition of the newsletter and:
At the recommendation of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and in the spirit of keeping everyone healthy the Somervell County Master Gardener’s plant sale, originally scheduled for April 4th, has been postponed. We will stay in touch and let you know when we will be able to go forward with the event.
Snakes in the Garden
Tessa Chenoa Ownbey
Somervell County Master Gardener VP
In the fifth century AD, legend has it that St. Patrick chased all the snakes in Ireland into the sea after they began attacking him during a 40-day fast. According to science, however, Ireland is one of a handful of places which has never had snakes. During the last ice age, Ireland was too chilly for reptiles, and since then, being surrounded by the sea has kept Ireland snake-free.
Snakes have a long history and reputation in the rest of the world, however, including those places in which we choose to plant gardens. One of our oldest stories of gardens, the Biblical story of creation, features a snake in the original garden, the Garden of Eden. This particular snake has a nasty reputation, and the story is often used to explain the fear of snakes still held by a lot of folk.
Since the beginning of time, then, snakes and gardens have gone together like…well…peanut butter and jelly….chips and salsa…nuts and bolts…or Shirley and Donna. And since they do go together, as we have set up our gardens in places where snakes are native, as gardeners we do have to decide how to get along with them.
Donna has said that if she sees snakes in her garden, she knows she is doing it right. What she means is that snakes and other reptiles are a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Within the healthy ecosystem of the garden, snakes eat pests such as slugs, Japanese beetles, and rodents. Among the snakes that are good to have in a healthy garden are: gopher snakes, coachwhips, racers, and hognoses, which eat mice and rats; garter snakes (called “The Gardener’s Friend”) and ribbon snakes, which eat grasshoppers and other small insects, slugs and mice; coachwhips (mentioned above), king snakes, and indigo snakes, which eat other snakes (including venomous ones).
Some of my favorite snakes are those that inhabit my compost pile – the rough earth snake and the smooth earth snake. These are both a sign of healthy compost. And they are adorable.
Venomous snakes are also good for the garden, but dangerous for the humans who tend it or enjoy it. In Somervell County, we particularly want to be on the lookout for copperheads and rattlesnakes.
If you want to create healthy snake habitat in your garden, you can incorporate rock piles, large rocks for sunning, plant ground cover, and keep your pets out of the garden. A water source is also a good idea.
To get rid of snakes in your garden, though, you need to make sure that you haven’t created mouse or rat habitat. Clear any clutter, remove rodents, and capture slugs. Keep insects to a minimum using other methods. Things advertised as “snake repellant” are scams. The only real way to eliminate snakes is to eliminate the habitat of their food supply.
Although I prefer to live in harmony with the snakes in my garden, with six children and thirteen grandchildren running amok, I do think it’s prudent to keep the venomous ones out. An alternative to killing them is to have them removed. Mark Pyle and Michael Balderas, both Rio Brazos Master Naturalists, are also admins of the Facebook group “What Snake is This? North Texas,” and will remove and relocate your venomous snakes, or can recommend someone who will do so.
______________________
Internet resources:
- Geoff Stein, “Snakes in the Garden – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” Dave’s Garden, May 24, 2011
- James Owen, “Did St. Patrick Really Drive Snakes out of Ireland,” National Geographic, March 15, 2014
- “Snakes are Good for Your Garden,” A Healthy Life for Me
Toward Eden
A drop of sweat trickles down my back
And I gather my hair in a fist and
Twist it above my head, standing,
Turning to let the faint breeze dry the back of my shirt
Cool my neck
I pull my shirttail up to wipe my face
Sweat dripping off my eyelashes
“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.”
It’s true
But I’m addicted more to weeding than
To air conditioning
I retreat to the kitchen long enough
To pour tea into a mason jar
Then toss my shoes, fold up my jeans legs
And sit cross-legged on the porch swing
Idly watching hummingbirds
An uncoordinated swallow lets the tea run down my shirt and
I let it
It will dry quickly and meantime
It feels cool running across my collarbone
Sometimes I think about how odd I am
Out of step with time,
With people,
With common concerns
I’m comfortable in my solitude – in my gardens
In the woods – lost in my books –
I think about God a lot. Or with Him.
I study bugs instead of politics
I love the challenge in the simplicity of pulling weeds;
Coaxing life from seeds;
Creating with my hands.
I go barefoot more and more.
I’m growing backward, I think
And my eyes crinkle at myself.
Back I travel through the interests of centuries
Will I finally end up
In Eden?
I unbutton my top button
Press the sweating mason jar between my breasts
Drop my head back and feel my whole body cool
My mind goes back and forth between poetry and practicalities
As if there is a difference
Sit here for a few more minutes?
Grab my pen and write of Eden? Or –
Plant the seeds I just made room for and take advantage
of the coming rain?
I sigh, run the jar back up, alongside my neck
Then take a long swallow
This time it goes down right
I finish the glass, rattle the ice cubes
Retrace my steps through the kitchen,
Into my shoes,
Detour just enough to find a hair band, then I’m
Out the back door to my fragment
Of Eden.
Tessa Chenoa
©May 2019
Welcome to March!
“March is a month of considerable frustration – it is so near spring and yet across a great deal of the country the weather is still so violent and changeable that outdoor activity in our yards seems light years away.”
– Thalassa Cruso
March has indeed blown in like a lion. In fact, as I sit writing, it is storming up a storm! But, hang in there. I see nice, warm days in the 70s heading our way. This is the month when we can really get going in our gardens. Be cautious though. Those late March freezes and cold soil temperatures can rise up and catch the overly anxious of us. So, take a few moments, sit back, grab your favorite beverage, and enjoy some spring time reading.
Georgette Recker
Somervell Master Gardener
March Checklist
Planning
___ Get your lawn mower in good condition. Make sure the blades are sharp.
___ Make a final decision on vegetables to be planned for an early to midsummer harvest.
___ Gather dropped live oak leaves to use as mulch.
Planting
___ Start warm-season annual seeds in flats or pots. Seedlings may be placed outside for 6 hours a day during daytime temperatures in the 60s and 70s.
___ Starting this month, plant perennials, vines, groundcovers, shrubs, and spring-flowering trees.
___ Plant roses purchased in containers.
___ This is ideally the last month to plant balled-and-burlapped trees.
___ Plant by seed: collards, lima beans, mustard, radish, snap beans, Swiss chard, and kohlrabi.
Care
___ Remove faded flowers and developing seedpods from spring-flowering bulbs. Do not remove the green foliage.
___ Do not disturb or stress warm-season turf grass this month by aerateing, filling over or dethatching.
___ Keep an eye out for late frosts, and cover any perennials you think might be vulnerable.
___ Keep the area (1-2 feet) around newly planted trees free of grass and weeds.
Watering
___ Monitor newly planted bedding plants and seeds started in pots or flats for water.
___ Although irrigating this month is not usually required, water established turf grass, perennials, roses, and shrubs thoroughly if there has been insufficient rainfall. Newly planted perennials, roses, and shrubs will need special attention.
___ Water newly planted trees, vegetable transplants, vegetable beds, vines, ground covers, and ornamental grasses thoroughly as needed.
Problems
___ Stay on top of weeds, and keep beds well mulched with at least 3 inches of material such as dry grass clippings or leaves.
___ Prevent warm-season weeds in lawns and weeded perennial beds by applying a pre-emergent. Be sure to read and understand all label instructions.
___ Rake or mow (with bag attached) to remove leaves from lawns.
___ Evergreen trees such as hollies and Southern magnolias will drop leaves in spring. This is an event called natural pruning or shedding and is not cause for alarm.
Pruning
___ Prune roses now if you have not already done so.
Month-By-Month Gardening in Texas by Dan Gill & Dale Groom
Let’s Talk Perennials
by Shirley D Smith, Somervell County Master Gardener
I love Perennials. Just in case there is any confusion about the difference between an
annual and perennial, I recall the difference by remembering annuals actually get their
name because they only have a one-year life span. Perennials, on the other hand,
come back year after year. Since they don’t have to be planted each year, they’re more
permanent.
Some of my favorites would have to start with Purple Passion vine (Passiflora
incarnata). This beautiful vine is very hardy in our area in that it is extremely drought
tolerant and will grow in full sun in most any soil once it gets established. This plant is
the host for Gulf Fritillary butterflies. Each year I have hundreds of caterpillars that
practically devour this plant, but it just keeps on blooming. The flower of the Passion vine is one of the more beautiful ones in the plant world and has a lovely aroma.
Another winner in my flower garden is Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). The
pollinators love this plant as do hummingbirds. Even after it has quit blooming, I leave
the spent plants in my garden because they are covered with seeds, and birds will take
advantage of this free meal when nothing else is available. Again, they are easy to
grow in our area and love full sun.
I have a Texas Lantana (Lantana horrida) in the front of my house that is just beautiful,
even in the heat of summer. I do give it supplemental water if we have not had rain for
a while and it is extremely happy to bloom almost all summer. Again, the pollinators
love this plant and requires very little care. If you want to keep it more compact, then a
trim every so often will not hurt it.
Coreopsis will not disappoint you with its bright golden yellow-like flowers. These
will bloom practically all summer and are very low maintenance. They will reseed
themselves so you might want to thin them out in the spring.
Artemisia is another favorite. It is a small bush with intense gray, wooly foliage. I love
its gray color. I have a ‘Powis Castle’ that does well but does seem to need a drink
more often than some of my other plants.
I could go on further, but I will stop here. There are many wonderful native or adapted
perennials that do great here in Somervell County. If you need more information,
contact the Somervell County Extension Office and ask to be contacted by a Master
Gardener. We would be more than happy to share our experiences with you.
Meet the Gardener
Name
Julie Conner
What year did you become a Master Gardener?
2007
Do you hold a position in the group (officer, chair, etc)?
President
What are your gardening special interests?
Trying new techniques in the garden. This year my garden is in containers.
Is there a particular gardening book you enjoy?
Neil Sperry’s Complete Guide to Texas Gardening.
Have you had a particular gardening success?
Garlic and onions for well for me as they don’t require much of my attention.
What do you enjoy about being a Master Gardener?
Learning from others.
Do you have a favorite plant?
Perennial flowers
Paluxy Heritage Garden
Our friend, Master Gardener, Mary Ann Steele wrote a note to the Somervell County Master Gardener group to encourage us in our efforts to create a new garden at Heritage Park in Glen Rose, Tx. Please be sure to stop by now and then to check out our progress and enjoy a few minutes the park.
Just an update on the progress at the Paluxy Heritage Garden. The weeds have done really well! They seen to have enjoyed the mild winter.
The fencing has been ordered and should be delivered in a week or two depending on the weather. As soon as I know when it will be delivered, I will get with the County crew to see about installing it for us.
Section heads need to be deciding and preparing for what to plant in their areas.
We have several projects ahead of us, and we will get them done. We are, “Can do girls!”
How Do I Love Thee
The lesson I have thoroughly learnt, and wish to pass on to others, is to know the enduring happiness that the love of a garden gives. – Gertrude Jekyll
How Do I Love Thee
Georgette Recker
Somervell County Master Gardener
If you believe the messages put out on social media or even just walk through a store and smell the chocolate, you have already realized February is the month for love. And, although we love our friends and family, our pets, our homes, and even our morning coffee, the theme of this month’s newsletter will be the love many of us feel for our gardens. Whether they are vegetable, flower, or even rock, our gardens are in need of a little tender loving care this month. The sunny days we experience on and off in February are perfect for zipping up our jackets and stepping outside to assess how best to pour a little loving on our favorite spaces.