Sunday, May 15, 2011

Love Your Plants? Just Make More.


Propagate Your Own Plants
May 21, 2011, 10am-12pm
Sunset Valley City Hall
3205 Jones Rd., Sunset Valley TX  78745

Learning how to propagate from existing plants is a great way to fill your garden or pass along favorites to your friends. Join Master Gardeners Tommie Clayton and Susan Jung who will teach you how to make cuttings and divisions and successful strategies for starting plants from seed. You’ll also get tips on how to transplant and care for your new plants to get them off to a good start when placed in the garden.

This seminar is free and open to the public.  It is presented by the Travis County Master Gardeners, a volunteer arm of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Travis County. www.tcmastergardeners.org

What is Wrong With My Plant?


How to Read a Plant
Saturday, May 21, 2011, 1:00-3:00pm
Reagan Community Garden (at Reagan High School)
7104 Berkman Dr. , Austin TX  78752

Discover the needs of your vegetables by observing the physical condition of the plant.  Need water, has a disease, infested with pests?  Many practical tips will be shared by master gardeners to improve plant health and vegetable production.  Park at Nelson Field stadium and enter Reagan HS grounds from St. Johns Ave fence opening and proceed to garden near Berkman and St. Johns Ave. side of campus.

This seminar is free and open to the public.  It is presented by the Travis County Master Gardeners, a volunteer arm of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Travis County. www.tcmastergardeners.org

Monday, May 9, 2011

Don't Miss This Great Garden Tour!


Inside Austin Gardens Tour
Water-Wise Gardening
Saturday, May 14, 2011
9am - 4pm

The Travis County Master Gardeners Association in cooperation with the Travis County AgriLife Extension Service will host the Inside Austin Gardens Tour 2011 on Saturday, May 14, 2011, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. This year, the tour focuses on water-wise gardening.

Gardening through a Central Texas summer can be trying. At the same time, escalating water rates and mandatory restrictions have made a water-sapping plant palette or a grass lawn a luxury or impossibility for many.  The Inside Austin Gardens Tour 2011 will include gardens that feature rain-water collection systems, drip irrigation, xeric and native plant selections, rain gardens, shade gardens, and water-conserving practices. As in years past, the event will include gardening demonstrations and education sessions at each location.

The tour will feature the work of Master Gardeners Sheryl Williams, Sue Nazar, Rebecca Matthews, and Joe Posern, each of whom uses a variety of water-wise techniques in creating their distinctly different spaces. A collaborative effort between Master Gardener Link Davidson and neighbor Wendy Brennan demonstrates that cooperation can have some pretty nice consequences, including a more efficient use of rainwater. Jeff Pavlat, president of the Austin Cactus & Succulent Society, joins the group, opening his phenomenal succulent and cactus garden to tour visitors. Finally, the LCRA's Redbud Center completes the group as a corporate participant, opening their grounds to share with visitors the importance of the Colorado River and water conservation; the gardens teach water-wise practices while offering suggestions for plant selection.

Tickets will be available at each garden on the day of the tour; a single-garden entry costs $5, or visitors can buy a $10 pass which gives access to all tour sites. More information at www.insideaustingardens.com

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Preview the Inside Austin Gardens Tour with Central Texas Gardener

The Inside Austin Gardens Tour is coming up on May 14th.  Want to see what fabulous gardens the Travis County Master Gardeners have put on the tour this year?  Check out a preview of the tour on KLRU's Central Texas Gardener which will be broadcast May 7th at noon and 4pm and repeats on Sunday at 9am.