AUSTIN — Now is the time to learn about ways to help landscapes and gardens perform in the hot, dry summer months that lie ahead while conserving, preserving and protecting water resources, said Daphne Richards, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist for Travis County.
“Even though it’s still winter, the well-prepared gardener should be thinking about choosing plants and trees and pondering how to best maintain them during the summer, especially under the drought conditions that tend to prevail here in Central Texas,” Richards said.
To help gardeners prepare, AgriLife Extension and the Travis County Master Gardeners will present a series of monthly seminars.
“Dealing with Drought in the Landscape” programs will be held monthly from Feb. to June. They will each be held from 10 a.m.-noon at the AgriLife Extension office, 1600-B Smith Road in southeast Austin.
The cost is $10 per seminar for early registration and $15 per seminar for late or on-site registration. To register, go to https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/TravisCounty.
Dates and topics for the drought series are:
Feb.12 – Landscaping Basics: Learn basic landscape principles and become familiar with the native and adapted plants to incorporate into your garden. Carolyn Williams, a long-time Master Gardener who holds both basic and advanced landscape design certifications, will share her experience in landscaping designs.
March 12 – Using Native Plants in the Landscape: Native Texas plants bring beauty and function to your garden while being well adapted to handle blazing sun, drought and other weather extremes. They also provide great benefits to pollinators and birds. 4-H Capital’s gardening specialist and Texas Master Naturalist Meredith O’Reilly will guide you in choosing the right native plants for your yard and garden. .
April 9 – Tree Care During Drought: Many trees are stressed by prolonged periods of hot, dry weather. Selecting trees that use water efficiently is one way to make your landscape more resistant to droughts. This program focuses on tree maintenance procedures such as mulching, proper pruning, limiting fertilization and supplemental irrigation. Lara Schuman, a certified arborist and acting program manager at City of Austin Urban Forestry will share her knowledge on caring for trees.
May 14 – Alternative Methods of Gardening: If you have limited garden space or limited time to garden, Master Gardener Pat Mokry will teach you how to raise carefree veggies, herbs and flowers using self-sufficient grow boxes. In addition, Master Gardener Marian Stassney will describe how to employ the ancient practices of keyhole gardening and hugelkultur.
June 11 – Preparing for the Fall Vegetable Garden: Imagine gardening without the heat, mosquitoes and daily watering. Master Gardener Patty Leander, a writer for Texas Gardener magazine who grows vegetables year-round in her Oak Hill garden, will discuss the benefits of cool-season vegetable gardening and address vegetable selection, soil preparation and the importance of timing for the fall and winter garden.
For more information, contact Richards at 512-854-9600 or drichards@tamu.edu
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