can you dig it...
Yes, we can! No, I’m not singing the theme from "Shaft"...I’m talking about digging in the dirt and planting stuff. Now, we all know about the super-sites and books that cover the very broad subject of gardening, but we in Texas also know that all of those suggestions for growing "lilies of the valley" in our cotton-fields-turned-suburban-sprawl dirt are just a waste of time. The true test comes around mid-June, when the Texas sun starts to bear down for real. Yep, the summer sunshine here can turn your entire garden into a sun-dried pack of raisins, so you have to choose and grow accordingly. So, in my search for the most relevant and credible gardening info, I have come across the following...
| Texas Aggies | Garden.com | Best Local Plants |
| Neil Sperry | Water Landscaping | Heritage Herb Club |
| Farmer's Almanac |
Texas A & M Aggie Horticulture
This website is fairly extensive, and includes practical, every-day information for planning and producing a garden. This isn’t just "science fair" data, it is designed purposely for informing the public. I have culled through their vast website to get to specific topics, but you might want to "graze" around further to see what you can harvest...
Planning the Home Landscape: detailed and illustrated, thoroughly covering all aspects of your landscape usage and other considerations.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homelandscape/home.html
Easy Gardening Series:
You name it – tomatoes, onions, mulching, composting – detailed information on each subject here. Try the "Gardening Resources" topic for how-tos on each different type of vegetable listed. Family note: under "Composting Resources" there is a slide show presentation just for kids on the whys and hows of composting.http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/publications.html
Garden.com
I know this is a giant mega-national-site, but it also includes good information that is specific to the region that you live in. Here are the garden.com links pertinent to us:
Regional Gardening - Texas & Oklahoma: set up in magazine format, leading to articles on a variety of subjects relevant to gardening in Texas and our neighbor, Oklahoma. Click
HERE.Zone 8 To-Do List: From the Texas & Oklahoma page listed above, go to "Find My Zone", the green link at the top of the middle column. After typing in your zip code, it will bring up a "to-do" list for Zone 8, the gardening zone for Plano. The "To-Do List" is a current list of garden maintenance chores suggested for the month.
Best Local Plants, Trees & Grass and Organic Gardening
Howard Garrett, Dirt Doctor
: Hey, I didn’t give him that title. Way back when I first set up a homestead in Plano, I bought a Howard Garrett book: "Plants of the Metroplex". I mean, I took that book with me to the nurseries and pretty much had it memorized. Outstanding resource for finding out which plants, trees & grasses do the best in our area. Yippee! He has a website! Howard has gone on to greater fame and fortune since I bought that book...he is now a radio personality and has evolved into organic gardening. The information on the website will not take the place of the book, as the book includes a photo of every single plant so that you can identify it when you see it. If you are interested in organic gardening, this website is a great starting point. Check out the "Texas’ Best Plants" list.Neil Sperry
I am including the Neil Sperry website because he is well-renowned as a Texas garden specialist, but the website itself does not have a lot of advice to share – mostly information about how to order Neil Sperry products and when/where to find him on TV and radio. Neil Sperry followers should go here:
Water Landscaping & Backyard Habitats
Lake Big Fish:
Ha! Can "water landscaping" and "Plano" be used together in the same sentence?? Apparently so, especially if one is located in east Plano or some of the older neighborhoods that actually have TREES. Believe it or not, I found this website - owned by a Plano area resident - which was actually enlightening to me about the subject of water landscaping and how to go about it. This is where I learned about the Heard Museum Natural Plants Sale...read about that on the "current events" page on this website. This is also a great place to find out about making a wildlife habitat in your back yard, should you have the real estate for it. Besides all this, it’s a great website! Kids will enjoy the critters...check it out for fun!http://www.cirr.com/~gensie/pond/pond_index.html
Heritage Herb Club in Plano
OK, the name can conjure images either of a very quaint group discussing ornamental basil OR a bunch of baby-boomers recalling psychedelic times...but I visited the Heritage Herb Club and really, it is for anyone that wants to learn about all aspects of local gardening. Organic composting was the topic of discussion at the time of my visit, complete with an expert from Dallas. Here is the vital info:
Heritage Herb Club
meets the 3rd Sunday of each month
2:30pm @ Haggard Library
for info call: 972-596-0299
The Good Ole Farmer’s Almanac
The Farmer’s Almanac is with the times! After all, they do have an URL! The time-honored information that folks have relied on for generations is shared on their website. You can personalize it to display information of interest to you, such as local weather info. The upcoming week’s weather for Dallas, with radar maps, is available on the 5-Day Forecast page.
For the long-range forecast for the Texas-Oklahoma region:
http://www.almanac.com/weather/region12.html
Interestingly, Farmer’s Almanac may also be reached at this second web address. This website includes Astronomy info. Click on the "Weather" icon on the left side of their home page for their regional weather overview, which is grouped with all regions of the US and Canada.
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/