Plant Addicts Blog

The Texas winter freeze that was unofficially named Winter Storm Uri caused a lot of damage to places that aren't meant or built for the cold weather. Unfortunately, that includes a lot of the plants that grow in the region. Ice, snow and freezing temperatures caused many plants to die. This impacted live oak trees, palm trees, Indian hawthorn, abelias, loropetalums, Asian jasmine, purpl … read more

The first line of defense is to choose plants that are hardy down to your average low winter temperature. These plants might look dead in winter, but they come back as spring warms the air and ground. We can’t control the weather, however, so when exceptions to your typical low hit or you really want a plant on the border for your temperatures, you can help that prized plant make it through the wi … read more

Gardening with raised beds is great for several reasons. Growing carrots in raised beds are no exception.The benefits include: Warmer soil temperatures for a short season. Flexibility in design and crop rotation. Ability to control and amend soil for better weed management. Shorter distance to bend over for aging backs. And tops on the list, as always – critters, especially gophers.Fre … read more

We love to repurpose old objects, especially for use in the garden. Ten years ago this Christmas, my husband, daughter and I helped gather old fence posts at my in-laws’ ranch on an unseasonably warm day. The ranch in southeastern New Mexico is on land homesteaded by Tim’s ancestors back in the late 1800s; they were among the first families to move to this part of the West to make a home and livin … read more

People who love gardening know that winter and early spring can drag on and on. So it’s good to have a project in your back pocket to get outside and improve the garden during the off-season. I’ll share our experience and give a few tips on creating or replacing your own garden path.Panoramic view of the completed path in March. Now, to just get rid of the protective buckets and watch the flowers … read more

As fall temperatures drop, there’s still plenty to do in the garden. In most areas, freezing temperatures start to hit in September or October. But there are still plenty of sunny days hit in fall, so gardeners can get outside and take care of these chores before winter arrives.1. HarvestIf you still have any vegetables ripening, better harvest them now. Tomatoes and winter squashes can finish rip … read more