air date: April 13, 2024
As climate change impacts our wildlife, Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón from the National Wildlife Federation explains how native plants help them adapt. A young family greets every day with hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies since they removed turfgrass for wildflowers and blooming perennials all year. Learn how to prune native autumn sage and why soils aren’t all the same.
New parents Mansi Parikh and Aditya Prasad (and pup Tina) had big plans for their first garden in 2021 until harsh weather and novice mistakes sent them back to the drawing board. They rallied in fall 2022, adding more Texas-tough native perennials and annual wildflowers. By spring 2023, their toddler frolicked in flowers, along with butterflies and bees. Read the blog post.
As climate change impacts our wildlife, Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón from the National Wildlife Federation explains how native plants help them adapt.
Soil, compost, mulch: What’s the difference?
Daphne breaks down the difference in soil, compost and mulch. Plus, your soil type matters when selecting plants, due to the water holding capacity that sand, silt, and clay offer. Well-draining soil, required by many plants that are considered low-water-use, will have a lower percentage of clay, or might even be “rocky,” depending on where you live, while soil that has poor drainage usually contains a lot of clay. Due to its nature, clay has a much higher water-holding capacity than sand. If you’ve ever heard that a particular plant doesn’t like “wet feet,” that’s your directive that you shouldn’t plant it in your yard if your soil has a lot of clay.
Evergreen woody shrub/subshrub autumn sage (Salvia greggii) really benefits from late winter pruning, both for looks and long-term good health. See how to make the cuts with Leslie Uppinghouse, horticulturist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Plus, learn when to tip prune and why to leave it alone in summer droughts.