The gifting season is fast approaching and many people are wondering which plants make the best gifts for their plant-loving friends and family.

The biggest benefit of growing your own vegetables is that you get to eat them. It is no wonder that some of the best cooks are also gardeners, and Victoria County Master Gardener Association members are no exception.

If you really ever do “stop and smell the roses,” I bet you have discovered just how interesting, wonderful and just plain unbelievable nature can be. On a recent trip to the Texas Hill Country, I was again reminded of all this as I walked the banks of the Guadalupe River. Huge cypress trees…

Vegetable gardeners in our areas still have time to plant beets, carrots, spinach, turnips and mustard. Keep a close eye on all your garden vegetables because worms and caterpillars will come from far and wide to feed on all these delicious, sweet and tender vegetables. In just one night, th…

As cooler weather and shorter days arrive, gardeners change their focus from harvesting fruits and seeds to harvesting and eating flowers, stems, leaves, and roots.

Fall weather brings lots of beneficial items to us that can make great additions to our compost piles. Fallen leaves can be found in most yards and adding them to your compost pile, instead of your trash can, can help to limit what goes to our landfills.

Driving through local neighborhoods, it becomes obvious that some trees are more popular than others. I conducted an unscientific poll of several local nurseries and asked what trees were the most requested in the nursery and on landscape jobs.

Many gardeners have started referring to October and November as our second spring. The past few years our fall and winter months have been fairly mild and a perfect time for planting shrubs, trees, perennials and many other new landscape plants.

One log at a time, Victoria County Master Gardeners create artistic ways to demonstrate stumpery concepts at Victoria Educational Gardens. Traditionally, a stumpery garden uses stumps, logs and pieces of wood as its main feature. It can be an excellent habitat for shade-loving plants and org…

Three Asian giant hornet specimens have recently been discovered in the U.S.

My friend Helen who has become a gardener since sheltering at home, asked me “What do I need to do in my yard in October?” My answer is simply “Many things. Your choice.”

Having a tree or plant with small stems growing out of its lower trunk or a spot higher up the trunk, is not really healthy for trees or plants. These small limbs are called suckers.

Yes. You are invited to the Victoria Master Gardeners’ Premier Virtual Plant Sale.

It appears that scorpions have recently become a major pest problem in our area. Many people are reporting major infestations of scorpions inside and outside of their homes. These scary-looking creatures are one of the planets greatest survivors, having the capability to have existed for ove…

Gardening is an engaging hobby that can provide a host of benefits, some of which may surprise even the most devoted gardeners. For example, the Harvard Medical School notes that just 30 minutes of gardening activities burns 135 calories, making gardening a fun and simple way to incorporate …

October is here, and that usually means pumpkin time. Pumpkins for seasonal decorations, jack-o’-lanterns and pumpkin pies.

When I visit nurseries, especially locally owned businesses, I’m always on the lookout for unusual (at least for me) plants. I’ve found anacacho orchid trees in Smithville, Mexican olive trees in Rockport and sunshine ligustrum in Victoria. Several years ago, I was checking out a nursery in …

The bark on trees is very similar to the skin on our bodies. Both are very important in many ways and essential for the life of both.

Today, I decided to write about bark — tree bark that is. You know the skin of trees. I imagine this probably doesn’t seem like a very interesting topic to many people but I’m going to put it out there anyway. Maybe, someone may find the topic of tree bark to be interesting. I find it to be …

Lately, I have been thinking about color and how it affects us. Think of plants and how they are predominantly green.

Do you remember having sleepovers with friends and telling ghost stories? Then you would be so frightened you couldn’t sleep? When my favorite teacher, Mr. Philip Anthony Bianco, would read Edgar Allan Poe stories to us seventh-graders, such an atmosphere was created. I still use the lessons…

Just a reminder for anyone growing poinsettia plants that would like for them to be blooming this Christmas season — now would be the time to start providing them with short days and long nights. Poinsettia plants will need to have increasingly longer periods of darkness each night to encour…

Fall zinnias are multicolored Superstar beauties and make a wonderful mixed border or a mass bed of color in your landscape. They also work well in containers.

September is typically when most die-hard tomato growers have to have their tomatoes in the ground. Hot temperatures or not, they are already busy planting and hoping this season will produce big, beefy, delicious tomatoes for them to eat and brag about.

In today’s world, artificial intelligence and computers are a huge part of our lives. Every day, it seems, we become more and more dependent on corporations and the government to provide for us.

The Texas Master Gardener program is one of educational volunteer instruction conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service of the Texas A&M University System. Victoria County Master Gardeners are residents of Victoria and surrounding counties who take an active interest in lawns…

I imagine most gardeners are well aware of the fact the number of home gardeners has skyrocketed this year. Being homebound because of COVID-19 has certainly encouraged more people to garden.

Oh my goodness; it is so hot. Perhaps, you are reading this from Quebec. Perhaps, you own a bubble suit with a personal cooling system. Perhaps you have not ventured out of your home in the last few months. If not, you will most likely agree with me on the overly hot temperatures we are havi…

When discussing plant or lawn problems with some people, I often ask how often they feed that plant or lawn. Once in a while, the answer is, “I water every other day” or “I sometimes only water when the soil gets dry.”

At the end of school years, students are recognized for their achievements over the past nine months. This is always an exciting time for students, parents and teachers. The winners and leaders are identified for their academic success and for their contributions in other areas. Sadly, award…

I think we all realize how important water is for all living things, including our plants. Without water, we would not be able to grow plants.

A recent, newly announced 2020 Texas Superstar is blue daze (Evolvulus glomeratus). This plant was not familiar to me, so I asked gardener friends how to describe blue daze.