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.
Plants available for the Fall Plant Sale will be advertised online, allowing you to see 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 7th, and ending at 12:00 noon on Friday, October 9th, and you pick up your plants on Friday afternoon between 2:00 and 6:00 at the Modern Living Mall on the Expo Center grounds. A schedule of pickup times will be on the order confirmation as well as on the Master Gardener website and Facebook page.
On Saturday, October 10th 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 have the opportunity to shop in person to select and pay for your plants. 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, trees, etc. The plants selected for the sale are cultivars that do well in our hot, dry West Texas climate.
Here are some of the wonderful plants we will have:
Perennials:
- Salvia – Salvia greggii, Salvia nemorosa, Salvia farinacea, and Salvia microphylla. We will have several varieties and colors of salvias that are hardy, easy-to-grow 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. We will have several varieties that will be outstanding additions to any landscape.
What about adding color for the fall and winter months? The answer is annuals, and we will have:
- Check out the assortment of cool-season annuals that will be available during the Fall Plant Sale.
- Some examples of annuals we will have are pansies, snapdragons, dianthus, flowering cabbage, and flowering kale.
Do you need a new tree or shrub 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. You are familiar with the beautiful shrubs that have been in full bloom with pink or purple flowers on silver or green leaves. They are barometer plants for rain and humidity, so everyone needs at least one in their landscape.
- Oak Trees – Quercus. Every yard needs a beautiful oak tree because they are wonderful places for our pollinator friends to visit.
- Vitex – Vitex agnus. The Shoal Creek variety will be available this year, and it is a very hardy tree that grows well in our area.
- Esperanza – Tecoma stans. This is a wonderful shrub/tree that is a Texas Superstar®. It has beautiful green foliage and is covered with golden yellow trumpet-shaped flowers that attract pollinators.
- Yucca – We will have this hardy plant, including the dwarf yellow Little Miss Sunshine variety.
Plus, it will be Superstar® Saturday! If you want plants that survive – and thrive – in our climate, think about plants that have the Texas Superstar® designation. They have been trialed and were successful in a variety of Texas climates across the state and proven to be tough, beautiful plants. As a result, the average homeowner can experience success when using these plants in their landscape because of their superior performance in tough Texas environments. Check out the Texas Superstar® selections online and also watch our website for information about Superstar® Saturday. Maybe some surprise plants?
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 beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning! Plants may be added to the sale later Wednesday or Thursday, so be sure to check out the sale all day Wednesday and Thursday plus Friday morning to be sure you see what plants are available. You do not want to miss this opportunity to purchase plants that will do well in your landscape.
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’ll 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! The online shopping link will be posted at 8:00 am Wednesday, October 7th at: https://bcmgtx.org/
Until next week, happy gardening!