Once again winter has painted the outdoors with an abundance of grayish brown, forcing us to take notice of the exterior entryway to our homes. Now is a good time to reflect on those changes we’ve considered, or for that matter, changes we haven’t considered.

I have happily started seeing bees in my gardens and am hoping to find lots more as temperatures rise.

Many years ago when I first began collecting house plants, my Great-Aunt Jo told me “Plants are like people. They need their caffeine fix every week or two.”

Spring is coming soon. Now is the time to get your gardens ready.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, the winters were anything but mild. It was bundle up, and put your head down to brave the cold. I am so very thankful for the usually mild winters we experience here in South Texas. However as gardeners we need to be prepared for anything.

The weather patterns we have been experiencing in our area seem to have our plants very confused.

The pecan tree became the official state tree of Texas in 1919, credited to Governor Hogg’s love for the tree. Pecans are native to about 150 counties in Texas and capable of growing and producing in all of Texas.

Most gardeners, when asked about bugs, will usually think of garden pests that happen to be in their garden and would probably be ready to kill the insects.

I imagine right now is yard and garden cleanup time for most everyone especially gardeners.

I never thought of becoming president of Victoria County Master Gardener Association. In 2022, the president-elect needed to move from the area and someone had to take his place. The membership voted me in as president-elect at our general meeting July 26.

Poinsettias are one of the most popular Christmas flowers used each year in most homes and businesses.

The main difference between a brown thumb and a green thumb is knowledge plus lots of sweat and hard work.

The 2021 winter freeze devastated many of the Crossroads’ established trees. A local garden club became curious about the best small trees for the Victoria area and asked me to present a program on this topic.

If your lawn is looking a bit thin, it’s not too late to plant temporary rye grass seed that would fill in any spots you don’t want to stay bare until next spring.

As cold weather will soon become a daily issue, gardening and working with our outdoor plants will more than likely be put off for a while.

When my daughter was in high school, her cross-country training route took her by a beautiful tree covered with tiny orange fruit.

Using winter berries and evergreen foliage to decorate homes in the winter has a long and revered history, especially in Europe. Ancient peoples found comfort and a symbolic promise for the coming spring in the evergreen foliage and red fruits of locally available plants like hollies.

Even though most of us in our surrounding areas have been getting plenty rain lately, this wet period could come to a screeching halt any day now.

This is a time of year when pumpkins are usually very popular. Whether it’s for carving or decorating at Halloween or for decorating and eating during Thanksgiving.

Christmas time is the most magical and possibly the most expensive time of year. I remember as a child waiting with uncontained anticipation for the Sears Wishbook, as well as the Montgomery Ward and the J.C. Penney gift catalogs to come in the mail.

For this week’s column, I thought I’d write something to help you identify some of the common insect pests often found in gardens. Knowing what pest you’re battling can help you to control the problems. I’ll go through many of the pests and popular vegetables I usually get questions about.

Oak trees are an important part of our landscape. Looking around, it is obvious that the live oak is dominant both in nature and in our yards. There are many other native and adapted oaks that have qualities that may make them a better choice for our landscapes. Here are a few that are worth…

As a gardener, I would assume we all deal with insects of all kinds. I bet most all new gardeners soon discover that not all insects are beneficial.

Aah, herbs. Not only do they smell good, but they are pretty, add flavor to foods, attract pollinators and contain vitamins and minerals. I love cooking with herbs.

Now is the time to start your fall onions. They should be arriving in your local garden centers and feed stores very soon. Keep watching for them.

The Victoria County Master Gardener’s second annual Meet and Greet will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Victoria Educational Gardens (VEG) Pavilion, 263 Bachelor Drive in Victoria.

Autumn is hands down my favorite time of year with all the different colors of the leaves, flowers and pumpkins. As a child, I remember going with my family to choose our pumpkin at a local nursery. We would walk around the area trying to choose the right pumpkin. We might even have a sample…

Fall has officially arrived, which my calendar confirmed last Saturday.

Laurie Garretson is taking a break this week. Her column will return next week.

For several weeks, I have been observing a patch of goldenrod at the Victoria Educational Gardens (VEG), eagerly waiting to seeing it in full bloom. Monday, I was not disappointed.

When I think of vegetable gardens, I always think of broccoli. I love most vegetables, but broccoli has to be my all-time favorite vegetable.

One of the big challenges for gardeners in South Central Texas is finding shrubs that will grow in the shade.

Here are a few more gardening tips to go along with those tips from last week.

As the calendar says, it is autumn and a wonderful time to start your fall vegetable garden. As always, think about where you want to plant your garden. I find it best to put your garden in plain view, that way you will not forget about your garden chores. Important tasks like watering and h…