September 12, 2013

Commander Ben, Teenaged Invasive Plant Warrior + Benini

When I started gardening, ligustrums, nandinas, and Japanese honeysuckle were common garden fare. No question that they thrive under tough conditions, but they also swallow up diverse native plants that support our wildlife. Even before destructive exotic invasives hit the radar of public perception, I ventured into natives that are equally durable. Two of my first were rock rose (Pavonia) from Barton Springs Nursery in its baby days, and Turk’s cap, a passalong from KLRU engineer and ACL editor Dan Martaus. It’s quite astounding how fast butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds showed up!

Daphne makes rock rose (Pavonia lasiopetala) her Pick of the Week, since this tough-as-nails perennial fuels butterflies, bees and other beneficial flying insects.

Here’s another of mine with native Calylophus berlandieri that also serves wildlife.

Now, it’s prone to powdery mildew in warm humid days and cool nights, especially in spring.  Daphne says to just ignore it, which is what I always do!

Our house came with a hedge of ligustums along the back chain link fence. We seeded mountain laurels after we chopped the ligustrums to the ground.  At the time, we didn’t have a ton of money, and new-to-nurseries mountain laurels were pricey.  Indeed, this was not instant gratification, but well worth the wait. And fun, actually. A big part of gardening for us is the adventure and watching it enfold.

The front bed also had a ligustrum too large for me to unearth. I chopped it, too, and planted my first native Salvia greggii and asters.

This week, we’re delighted that a new voice has tackled the mission to banish exotic invasives. Joining Tom is high school student Benjamin Shrader, known as Commander Ben the Invasive Hunter, who wields his mighty sword of knowledge.

Find out what inspired him (at age 12) to pursue this mission and speak to kids and adults, support the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and have fun with his dad, Ted, producing fun and fabulous videos!  On his site, watch them, learn more about Commander Ben’s projects, his Invasive Hunter Academy, and his adventures with dyslexia.

I’ll admit, this was the first time a CTG guest was driven to KLRU by his charming mom, Mary, who home schooled Benjamin until this year, his first in high school.

Find out more about invasive plants.

Of course, native plants can be aggressive, like rock rose, ruellia, passion vine, inland sea oats, and others. But they are plants geared to serve our native wildlife.

Get your wheelbarrow ready to fill up with native plants at The Lady Bird Johnson’s Fall Plant Sale and Gardening Festival on October 5 & 6 (members day is Oct. 4 and you can join at the door).

We all know that natives can stand up to drought, but they’re not exempt from recent years of above average temps and below average rainfall. We’ve lost many established native trees. This week, Daphne analyzes what happened to this cedar elm.

It’s not what you think, even though drought contributed.  Get her answer.

Indoors, we cultivate gardens too, and many viewers ask: how can I fertilize naturally? John Dromgoole shows how to make a mini compost tea in a recycled water bottle (3 tablespoons or so of compost to a bottle).  Plus, he has a dandy idea to water your plants when you’re on vacation, like during holiday season.

On tour, we head to The Benini Galleries & Sculpture Ranch in Johnson City, where native plants mingle with Benini’s sculptures and those from international artists.

Inside, step into Benini’s gallery that depicts his artistic journey in vibrant acrylics and assemblages.

Watch the whole magnificent experience!

Viewer picture of the week comes from Hella Wagner. When her Agave americana bloomed and died, she replaced the gap with soft leaf yucca (Yucca recurvifolia). Even though it bloomed this spring, it’ll be around for years to come.

Thanks for stopping by! See you next week, Linda

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