What is Mother Nature doing?!?!?
This crazy weather has kept us hopping. Put plants in the greenhouse…haul them back out. Cover the birds…uncover the birds…do it again! Here is a link to the Old Farmers Almanac https://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/TX/Houston If they are right, we may have a tolerable summer. It’s probably ok to plant okra and eggplants now. Replant anything that resented getting cold like cucumbers, squash and melons.
Leaf miners
Is it just wishful thinking or was there a lot less leaf miner damage this spring? Perhaps the crazy weather worked magic and slowed their breeding down. No matter what, our citrus trees are prettier than usual.
Leaf Footed bugs (aka stink bugs)
These guys are also late this year (YEAH!!!). Be ready for battle! Read more about them here. https://rcwnurseries.com/?p=433
Atrazine…
I could be wrong, but it seems to me that Magnolias show the effects of Atrazine poisoning faster than any other tree. Read about the effects of Atrazine on frogs. https://rcwnurseries.com/data/stories_rcw/other/31_sex-lies-and-herbicides.pdf and how it works at https://agron-www.agron.iastate.edu/~weeds/Ag317-99/manage/herbicide/triazine.html Atrazine is in the same family of chemicals as Simazine (what the railroads use to keep the tracks clear). Atrazine and Simazine are monitored in our water (check for report in your water bill), which you can read at https://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/utilities/consumer-confidence.html
Our Turtles
Our turtles are settling into their new home and at least one of them is a girl. She quickly made herself busy digging and laying eggs (we think)…. only time will tell, since she dug lots of holes and filled them back in.
Faerie Gardens
We just got in another shipment of Faerie garden houses and accessories. Who could have guessed mini gardening could be so fun!
Kinetic wind sculptures
We just got a shipment of very cool spinners and pinwheels in.
Sports Stones
https://www.sportsstones.com/ Has started making U of H stones!! On the other hand stopped making UT stones (some one should talk to the school about the $15,000 per year they want, to grant permission to use their logo…it is a Texas company after all).
Plumerias
…..are starting to bloom!