Hands-on Garden Design

The Show

Hands-on Garden Design

air date: May 4, 2024

Creativity, art, outdoor living and inventive solutions unite gardeners on the Travis County Master Gardener 2024 Inside Austin Gardens tour. Two gardeners turned rough land into charming gardens, artistic fun, wildlife habitat and home to fluffy chickens and gregarious donkeys! Laura Brennand, cut flower grower at La Otra Flora, shows how to grow and dry cut flowers. Extension entomologist Wizzie Brown explores caterpillars and their importance in garden ecology.

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Episode Segments

On Tour

Rough Land into Wonderland

How did two Travis County Master Gardeners turn rough land into charming gardens, artistic fun, wildlife habitat and home to fluffy chickens and gregarious donkeys? Julie Nelson and Kay Angermann brought creative collaboration, muscle-wielding grit, and problem solving to rocky, flooding ground to sentimentally-dubbed Katie Bird Farm.

Watch more "On Tour" videos on YouTube →

Interview

Hands-on Garden Design

Creativity, art, outdoor living and inventive solutions unite gardeners on the Travis County Master Gardener 2024 Inside Austin Gardens tour. Master Gardener JoAnna Benko previews the four gardens and what you can learn in each one.

Watch more CTG Interview videos on YouTube →

Question of the Week

Caterpillar Conundrum: Keep or Control?

Caterpillars come in all different sizes, shapes, colors, and patterns. As larvae for beautiful butterflies and moths that pollinate our gardens, caterpillars feed on plants. Some feed on vegetable crops, like cabbage loopers, tomato hornworms, and cabbage worms. So, should you manage them or not? Extension entomologist Wizzie Brown explores why to leave them alone as contributors to healthy gardens.

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Backyard Basics

Grow and Dry Cut Flowers: Laura Brennand

Bring spring and summer’s garden bounty inside to enjoy all year! Laura Brennand, cut flower grower at La Otra Flora, shows how to grow and dry flowers from your garden for beautiful indoor arrangements.

Watch more Backyard Basics videos on YouTube →

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CTG Episode Archive

December To Do List

Plant: ornamental & wildlife

Hardy perennials, shrubs
Trees
Roses (best time!)
Winter annuals, including calendula, snapdragon, pansy, viola, dusty miller, ornamental kale and cabbage, alyssum, stock, cyclamen, dusty miller, flowering kale and cabbage
Avoid planting cold tender plants like Pride of Barbardos, Esperanza, lantana, plumbago

Plant: herbs

Perennials thyme, oregano
Avoid planting rosemary
Cilantro transplants, parsley, dill, fennel , chervil, summer savory, borage, rue, chives
Be prepared to cover in case of deep freeze

Plant: food crops

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Vegetable Planting Guides (Central Texas) http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/home-landscape/edible-gardens/growing-vegetables/

Prune

Prune freeze damaged plants or not? Best to leave seeds on plants for birds and protect root system. If picky relatives coming, okay to prune
Avoid pruning shrubs right now unless you see damage
Do not prune oak trees unless you have damage: paint wound immediately
Okay to prune trees other than red oaks and live oaks

Divide/Move

Shrubs, roses, trees, evergreen spring-blooming perennials while dormant
Asters and other fall-bloomers which are dormant

Prep

Select spots where you want fruit trees, grapes, or berries to plant in January; for now, prep with compost
Mulch cold tender plants like gingers, Esperanza and semi-tropicals
Keep that row cover ready! Do not protect plants with plastic!

Lawn

Pluck out early weeds.

Other tasks

Rake leaves into beds to mulch over winter and return nutrients to the soil
Mow leaves on grass (if not raking to beds or compost) to break them down
Collect leaves from neighbors to add to compost pile!
Deeply water new plants; keep new seedlings moist but not drenched

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