By Jackie Sledge
Big Country Master Gardener Association
It’s been officially fall for over a week now. The temperature highs have been anywhere from the 80s to around 100, but it looks like the high will be in the 80s for the next week. What a relief, and what wonderful weather for being outdoors and working in the yard! I’m always reminded that Neil Sperry says, “Enjoy what is probably the finest gardening weather of the entire year as you implement the changes you dreamed about all summer.” Those words encourage me to take advantage of the fall weather and get busy on that list of changes I want to make in my landscape.
Whether you need to make changes to your landscape because of weather, repairs around your house, or changes for the sake of change, the Big Country Master Gardener Association is here to help you. We are having our annual Fall Plant Sale this week and will have plants to make your landscape beautiful and enjoyable.
All the plants available for the Fall Plant Sale will be advertised online where you can see pictures and learn about the plants, make your selections, and pay for the plants. You can place your order online beginning at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday morning October 8th and ending at noon on Friday October 10th. Pick up time for your plants is on Friday afternoon between 2:00 and 6:00 at the Modern Living Mall on the Expo Center grounds. A schedule of pick-up times will be on the order confirmation as well as on the Master Gardener website and Facebook page.
On Saturday, October 11th, we will have an in-person sale in the Modern Living Mall from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon – just like we have had for years. During the sale on Saturday, you will have the opportunity to see the plants in person, select the plants you want, pay for them, and take them home. Master Gardeners will be there to help you find some wonderful plants and be available to answer your questions.
We will have plants in all categories for you to purchase – annuals, perennials, shrubs, grasses, vegetables, shrubs, trees, etc. The plants selected for the sale are cultivars that do well in our hot, dry West Texas climate, but these plants can survive the freezing temperatures, too.
Here are some of the wonderful plants we will have:
- Salvia – Salvia greggii, Salvia nemorosa, Salvia farinacea, and Salvia microphylia. We will have several varieties and colors of salvias that will be hardy, easily grown pollinator plants.
- Flame Acanthus – Anisacanthus. This is a hardy perennial that you normally see in red, pumpkin, or orange. This year we have Benny’s Gold that will be a wonderful pop of color in the landscape.
- Daylily – Hemerocallis. Everyone needs some daylilies tucked in flower beds, and we will have several varieties to provide lots of color to enjoy.
- Iris. There will be several varieties that will be outstanding additions to any landscape.
- Annuals. There will be an assortment of cool-season annuals to provide color and interest in the landscape during the fall and winter months. Some examples of annuals we will have are pansies, snapdragons, dianthus, flowering cabbage, and flowering kale.
Do you need a new tree in your landscape? Here are some you don’t want to miss:
- Desert Willow – Chilopsis. Bubba, Sweet Bubba, and Bubba Jones varieties will be available in addition to the regular Desert Willow. These are wonderful trees with darker blooms than the Desert Willow with pink flowers.
- Texas Sage – Leucophyllum. Likely you are familiar with the beautiful shrubs that have been in full bloom with pink/purple flowers on silver or green leaves. They are barometer plants for rain and humidity, so everyone needs at least one in their landscape. You will definitely find one you like since we will have 8 varieties for the Fall Plant Sale, including the Baby Yoda dwarf variety!
- Oak Trees – Quercus. Every yard needs a beautiful oak tree because they are wonderful places for our pollinator friends to visit.
- Vitex – Vitex agnus. These are very hardy trees that grow well in our area.
- Yucca – We will have several varieties of this hardy plant, including the wonderful yellow yucca.
Remember that fall is a great time to plant so the new additions to your landscape have time to establish strong root systems and be ready for you to enjoy next spring.
Please watch the Big Country Master Gardener Association website and Facebook page for the entire list of plants as well as online and in-person sale information. There will be a link to the Fall Plant Sale that allows you to place orders at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning! Plants may be added to the sale late Wednesday or Thursday so be sure to check out the sale all day Wednesday and Thursday plus Friday morning to be sure you see all plants that are available. You do not want to miss this opportunity to purchase plants that will do well in our area.
If you have any questions, call the Taylor County Extension Office at 325-672-6048 or email us at mgardeners@yahoo.com. We hope you visit bcmgtx.org for all Big Country Master Gardener information and events, like us on BCMGA Facebook, and check out training presentations on BCMGA YouTube. We are here to help you.
We hope to see you at the online or in-person Fall Plant Sale!