- Howdy.

I'm John Hart Asher.

This week on "Central Texas Gardener," let's make beautiful gardens that make a difference.

On tour, James Truchard's vision and respect for Hill Country resources guided his response to climate changes.

Ted Maas of Maas Verde Landscape Restoration outlines easy steps to get started on diverse and resourceful gardens.

Daphne answers your questions, and Leslie Uppinghouse from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center prunes mealy blue sage.

So let's get growing right here, right now.

- [Announcer] "Central Texas Gardener" is made possible by the generous support from Lisa and Desi Rhoden.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) (air whooshing) (wildlife chattering) (upbeat music) (air whooshing) (birds chirping) - James Truchard loves the land he stewards.

Over decades, his vision and respect for Hill Country resources guided his response to climate challenges.

- I pretty much have flowers blooming every time of the year except after very hard freezes.

Always native plants or cutting down the need for resources, keeping as much green as possible.

Hi, I'm Jim Truchard.

Back in 1995, I was looking for new lot and a new home, and I selected this lot, which was bare rock.

And over the years, I've added soil and the plants that we now see in my garden.

I grew up on the farm.

We had a very low carbon print.

We did not, footprint.

We didn't have electricity.

We grew our own crops.

We used composted manure to fertilize the crops.

My shirts were made out of feed sacks literally.

There was feed sacks that had, one I remember had monkeys on it, so, and we made balls with the string that you got.

And so it was very much conservation and saving things and recycling and reusing.

Now, things like having the garden with lots of growing plants can move you back in that direction a little bit.

Pretty much started with bare rock, and I researched native plants and primarily used natives, but I do add others from time to time.

I like well-adapted things.

I also love the rocks, the natural stone.

Like Willie Nelson would say, "Old folk, Fords, and natural stone," so I've used stone generously around the property to make trails, to build retaining walls, to give the character I like and the feel of the Hill Country.

The retaining walls, at first, I was trying to find stones from other properties, but then I realized I could dig up the stone on site.

It was sitting right on the surface, and some of 'em appealed to me potentially as art, so now, I've made 'em into art pieces.

What I do have is stones that were carved by nature and maybe represent some animal or bird, even a Loch Ness monster, for example.

So basically, we have nature's art.

And then, I scrounge for soil from a variety of places to backfill the walls and create the depth of soil I needed to grow plants.

I follow a fairly casual approach.

Plants will come up in variety of places, and also, I have rock squirrels here who love the big rock walls to build their homes, and they bring buckeye, scarlet buckeye, which is one of my favorite plants, very slow growing.

They bring buckeyes up here and plant 'em for me.

So over the years, a combination of plants finding their own spot and me learning where to plant 'em.

I found the best spots, whether it be purple coneflower, whether it be columbine, whether it be many other kinds of plants.

We'll find their favorite spot with the right amount of shade.

Of course, with time, the trees have grown, so I've got more shade than I did when I started.

Well, the river fern, I've plant it in what I call the forest, but now, it's surrounding the house, so it found its own place.

I did not plant it there.

One of the things I tried to grow was the Nuevo Leon sage, and it, when it gets wet feet, it dies.

It just cannot stand our combination of rain and then heat afterwards, so that's one that I did not have luck with.

Growing up on the farm, I think, is a good lesson about how to deal with setbacks and in business as well.

So on the farm, you got the adverse weather conditions that may, the crop may fail, or you planted too early, and you have to replant.

These are the kind of lessons that help you in business to be adaptable to adverse things and take 'em in stride.

In the dead of winter when a lotta the plants have died back and I can see the stones, so the stone's always there, and they're always beautiful.

It makes winter a better time of year than it would be otherwise 'cause the stones don't mind the cold.

Then, there's a little hiatus for a month or two.

And some of my favorite are the plants that already were growing here like the rock roses, the twisted-leaf yucca, the red buckeye, the cedar sage.

These are all local natives, and they're some of my very favorite plants, and they bloom different times a year.

I wanted to have pretty much blooms all year.

Even in the summer, we have Texas Star hibiscus, which are just lovely, and the hummingbirds and the, love, love the star hibiscus.

So I pretty much have the same level of blooms in the summertime that I have year-round.

The Batface is another of my favorite, another hummingbird's favorite as well.

When the hummingbirds come through in September, especially in dry years, the Batface is one of their favorite flowers.

I suppose they're familiar with it since it grows in Mexico, and they'll stop and enjoy those flowers.

And I also, to some extent, wanted one of every kind of thing, a pond, a fire pit, and given that I started with a side-of-the-hill lot, it made a lot of sense to layer and terrace it in the way which would create different natural habitats.

Of course, there's the armadillos that come.

They're our neighbors, so we live with 'em even though they dig holes and dig out plants you just planted, so.

But they're our neighbors, so we live with 'em.

So creating habitats, creating spaces like the space that we're sitting in here, as an example.

Have a hammock here too so I can doze and watch the hummingbirds on the bee balm, or we might say, "Let the world turn on its own for a while."

We had a requirement that all the water needed to go to the front, subdivision development requirement, and so the rainwater tank is part of that, to capture rainwater instead of letting it run downhill on the neighbors below.

The dry bed is designed to carry the water to the front of the house.

The book is a dedication to my first wife, who passed away.

Had something like 125,000 pictures, so I could select.

I didn't even have to Photoshop 'em.

I could find one.

I call it the monkey and the typewriter strategy.

With enough pictures, there's a good one in there somewhere.

All were taken in the garden over a 10-year period of time.

The soil is still under our fingernails, so back to the soil even though I did a lotta high-tech work, getting out, and it's relaxing.

Things that used to be work when you're a kid and you're shoveling whatever now become relaxing, a way to escape.

- We can all make beautiful gardens that make a big differences as climate challenges impact our resources and habitat.

To learn more, today, I'm joined by Ted Maas of Maas Verde Landscape Restoration to walk us through easy ways to get started.

How's it going, Ted?

- Good.

- Thanks for being here.

This is a, you know, a big subject for a lotta people because we've had so many sort of curve balls thrown our way with the climate.

If I'm a client, and I've a got a yard, and it has just crashed.

We've got brown stuff.

We've got bare soil.

How in the world would I fix that?

How would I go about getting started?

- I think getting started with defining your goals is really important, and how you wanna use the space, and then, we can focus on site conditions and soil conditions and planting areas and then how to kinda move forward from there as far as design goes.

- Okay, so well, let's dive in a little bit to the plant part because use, that'll be per the clients, and everybody's gonna be a little bit different in that aspect, but what about plants?

So should we just go with a really simple palette, or should we maybe look at a diverse plant community that consists of, you know, different species?

- I think focusing on a diverse plant palette is a good way to go for our changing climate and changing conditions.

The freezes, the droughts, you know, it's good to have increased diversity for creating a resilient plant community.

So if one species drops out, you've got another one that can fill in a niche, an ecological niche there.

- So you're essentially suggesting that we're mimicking what happens out in nature, right, because.

- Correct.

- There aren't a lotta big, single, monoculture turfs out there.

There's these diverse plant communities that are actually able to react to these challenges.

- Correct, and in someone's landscape, I think it's the art that you're balancing aesthetic and functionality and trying to make it a usable space for the person, for, you know, the community or the person.

- Right, and so you mentioned the word function, so in case there are viewers that don't really understand, I mean, when we're talking about landscape function, there's certainly the use, but that's not necessarily what you're addressing there.

You're talking about actually the landscape performing for us somehow.

How would you elaborate on that?

- Historically, we tend to wanna move stormwater away from a landscape and into a storm drain and shoot it out from the landscape.

So one function is to slow down that stormwater.

Use that stormwater as a resource on the property and not get rid of it.

It's usable water.

It can help with irrigation.

So rain gardens are a popular concept for that.

Nutrient cycling, trying to focus on, when you create a plant community, you're really setting it up for moving it into a new direction and kick-starting these ecological processes to help the soil start to restore itself through time and increase humus, organic material, and then, therefore, aiding in water retention and all that through time so that you're not using as many inputs like water, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, that sorta thing.

- I've heard the terminology for some of the older school of thought of design is landscapes on life support.

So you're talking about a whole new way where the yard or the landscape is actually able to heal itself and to hold on to resources as opposed to requiring a lot of input.

- Correct.

For instance, leaf litter is a great.

You know, historically, we wanna take that off the landscape.

We're kinda adding it back into the landscape.

That's a really simple, no cost to the client way to increase organic material in the soil and therefore water retention.

- And so when we talk about plant communities, you're talking about different types of maybe grasses, flowers, shrubs, trees.

So how do you go about thinking about planting in layers?

For someone who isn't familiar with this, what are plant layers?

- Plant layers, I like to think of it as structure, ecological structure.

So you can have your ground covers, your grasses, your shrubs, trees like you were saying.

- That plays a role in habitat as well, right?

So if some people's goal would be, "I want to attract more birds or a single species of bird," or butterfly or something like that, that structural, or that layering is important too, right?

Because that essentially sets up habitat for those species.

- Yeah, you have different resources for different wildlife that all interact with that space.

- And so before we do all that, though, I think you've mentioned this a number of times, though, we've got to become familiar with the soil.

How do we go about doing that?

- I always like to suggest a soil test if that's in somebody's budget.

It's always good to have a baseline of what you're working with as far as organic material and macro, micronutrients, and then that way, you can also use that as data to track over time.

So as you plant the space, as you increase organic material, you can track that through time with soil testing over a couple years.

- And then soil tests, what are your primary?

I mean, there's a lot you can look at, but what are sorta the primary things you're looking at when you're doing the soil test?

- Organic matter is a pretty big one.

Acidity is also a pretty significant factor that influences cation exchange capacity and available nutrients for plants.

- And then, as far as the plants, I know, you know, there are native plants or adapted plants.

Can you tell me a little bit more about why we might wanna focus on native plants that could perhaps help certain other species and then, well, the benefits of adapted plants as well?

- Adapted plants versus native plants is kind of a pretty big debate, and I'm kinda more of the mindset is that as long as something isn't non-native invasive, that it's gonna move into our more natural areas and create a monoculture in our wild areas and be invasive, it's okay by me.

It's part of that increasing diversity in a changing climate, really, and in changing environmental conditions.

- And when you say invasive, you essentially were talking about a plant that essentially will just take over and push out.

- Correct.

- All other species.

- [Ted] And then create a monoculture.

- Timing is always key, right?

You're not gonna go in there and install a design in July, are you?

- No, no, no.

(John laughing) And that's a great point, that tree planting, the best time of year is in the fall.

- Okay.

- Fall through midwinter or so.

With these super-hot summer that we've been having, it's kinda earlier and earlier.

Any herbaceous species, you could probably get away with later in the season and into the spring, especially if you have irrigation, supplemental water.

But if you don't, just earlier's the better, and in fall, just to give 'em a head start.

- When you're looking at establishment, that's something that takes some time, right?

So that's where we're talking about that first year, it's not, you know, sort of what I call.

- Set it and forget it.

- That just, "I'm gonna install it in one weekend, and then, it's done."

It's really about starting that process.

And then, with these communities, that should translate into, native or adapted, that all should translate into less dependence on fungicides, right, and other things like that that typically, we see associated with non-native and invasive plant species, correct?

- Correct, more diversity will bring in more insects and different organic structures in the soil that all just kind of help balance each other out, I feel like, and especially with pests.

You know, wiping out, if you have just one row of trees, and they all get decimated, you know, you have nothing to replace it.

- Right, and then with these native landscapes, though, if they're getting munched on, that's not necessarily a bad thing, right?

- No, no, it's not.

- That's one reason why you don't need those pesticides.

We want the critters.

- Right.

- In there, enjoying that landscape.

- Because that has the trickle effect through the whole food web.

- Right.

- Yeah.

- And then, you, I know you're a big proponent of sourcing locally, correct?

- Correct, yeah, so yeah, please do not buy plants from the big box stores.

Most of the folks that work in our local nurseries, they are more aware of right plant, right place, what's working.

They can give you really good insight into when to plant and that sorta thing.

- Well, that's great.

Well, Ted, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy, wonderful schedule to come and share with us some of these tips for how to approach, you know, maybe redoing your yard after you've been hit by the drought or freeze.

We certainly appreciate your insight and love having you here.

Well, now, let's check in with Daphne Richards.

(upbeat music) - Our question of the week comes from Laura Zebehazy, who sent these pictures of her afflicted tomato plant late last summer.

She had the same issue the year before, but it was more widespread.

Laura says the issue starts mid-canopy and travels up and down the plant, causing leaves and flowers to die off.

Well, as we answered last June, this is blight, which is just a general term that we use to refer to several different fungal diseases.

Texas is a prime location for fungal diseases in tomatoes due to our heat, humidity, and because the growth habit of tomatoes inhibits air movement within the plant canopy.

Because these conditions are ideal for spreading diseases, if this is a recurring issue for you, it's suggested to use a fungicide protectant on a regular basis once every seven to 10 days if air is humid, and every 14 days if the air is relatively dry.

For this type of situation, fungicide should be used as a protective measure prior to symptom development and not as a curative measure.

Once the blight shows up, there's really no reversing it.

Generic copper sulfate fungicides will do the trick, and you could also try planting fewer tomatoes farther apart to encourage air circulation between plants.

Also, be sure that the plants are getting full sun for at least six to eight hours a day and that you're only watering the root zone at the base of the plants, not the leaves.

And be sure to remove any infested plants right away before the problem spreads.

In March, Jennifer Loeffler noticed something interesting on the mountain laurels at her office.

This odd development is in an area of malformed tissue know as fasciation.

Most often found in the tips of stems, leaves, and flowers, fasciation occurs at the site of cell division.

It's not contagious and is usually only found on one area of an individual plant.

Reoccurrence the following year is also rare, and ultimately, this is not an issue to worry about.

We still aren't sure exactly what causes fasciation, although the current consensus is that there are multiple causes, including both bacterial and viral infections, damage from insect feeding, spontaneous genetic mutation, and environmental anomalies like frost or herbicide damage.

Mountain laurels attract so many wonderful pollinators from bees to butterflies.

Near Houston Jay Donella sends a picture of his gorgeous mountain laurel.

In his National Wildlife Federation-certified backyard, he layers plants for all seasons.

Summer cannas join American beautyberry in fall, and in every season, birds and other animals get a drink from the pond.

We'd love to hear from you.

Head to CentralTexasGardener.org to send us your questions, pictures, and videos.

- On "Backyard Basics," Leslie Uppinghouse shows how to trim back mealy blue sage in winter and summer.

(upbeat music) (wind whooshing) (birds chirping) - Hi, this is Leslie Uppinghouse, and I'm here at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and today, I'm talking about cutting back herbaceous perennials.

And the plant I have in front of me is a mealy blue sage.

The beautiful thing about a herbaceous perennial is it will very clearly tell you visually in the winter where and when to cut back.

So this nice, brown stalk of this plant is clearly this year's growth, this past year's growth.

We're still in January, but the bright green at the very base of the plant is this upcoming year's growth.

All different types of salvias will bloom pretty much all summer long.

The mealy blue will bloom for a very long time, so very late spring all the way through summer, through fall, so you can cut this plant multiple times a year, and I'll talk a little bit about that.

But for right now, I'm gonna show you the process for cutting it back in the winter.

It's pretty easy.

It tells you right and where to cut it.

There is no reason to cut this plant here in the winter because you still have that brown stalk.

So what I'm gonna do, and I'm gonna kinda try to do it from the side so you can see it, is I'm just very quickly gonna cut all those brown stalks to the ground.

(shears snipping) Technically, I'm gonna kinda try to hit it above the node, the node meaning the little junction on the stem where new growth would come from.

So I'm gonna hit it right above that, but because I have a big bunch of these plants, I'm not really looking too hard at it.

If I had a big field of this plant, you could do a first cut with a pair of shears.

If you were very brave and very technically accurate, you could maybe hit it with a weed whacker, but I don't have too many to go on, and it's pretty quick work.

(shears snipping) I'm using a sharp pair of pruners that are not terribly big, but this is all just dead growth, so you're not harming any tissue.

All salvias will produce green growth every time you cut 'em.

I do wanna talk about when this plant is leggy in the summer, (plant rustling) a neat trick is, let's say it's all blooming.

You're mid-summer.

You know it's getting kinda leggy, but you wanna keep it blooming, so one of the things I like to do is I'll cut about every other stem to the ground, and I'm gonna leave the blooms at the top.

So what I'm kinda doing is tricking the eye into thinking that the plant blooms and blooms and blooms and blooms and blooms continuously, but what I'm doing is I'm actually thinning.

By removing about every third stalk, I'll get nice, new growth that will bloom in a couple of weeks, and then I cut those old blooms back to the ground.

But for the winter, I'm gonna start fresh, and I'm gonna cut it all back (shears snipping) so I have that nice, green growth that will come up and bloom, depending on the season, quite early.

So for "Backyard Basics," this is Leslie Uppinghouse.

- Find out more and watch online at CentralTexasGardener.org.

Until next time, remember, "Adopt the pace of nature.

Her secret is patience."

(cheerful music) (birds chirping) (cheerful music continues) (birds chirping continues) (cheerful music continues) (birds chirping continues) - [Announcer] "Central Texas Gardener" is made possible by the generous support from Lisa and Desi Rhoden.

Thank you.

(cheerful flute music) (no audio)