Category: Garden

Garden

Managing Your Garden Through Heat and Drought

Gardeners across North Texas can only look at their landscape and sigh as the heat wave refuses to break and rain refuses to fall. Plants that thrive most summers are withering and dying under the stress of week after week of 100-degree-plus temperatures. Gardeners struggle to balance watering enough to keep their plants alive with responsible behavior during a drought–and the prospect of budget-busting water bills. What to do? “The first step is to not give up,” says Sr. Horticulturist Steve Huddleston. “You do have options.”

BRIT Staff August 4, 2022

Garden

Learn How to Stop the Spread of Invasive Plants through Smart Shopping and Native-Friendly Gardening

Readers of this newsletter are savvy and environmentally aware—most know that invasive plants threaten the environment and native plants support a healthy ecosystem. But it’s not always easy. You might go to your local garden center looking for a native plant like lantana, take it home and plant it in your garden. You’ve done a good thing, right? Maybe. Maybe not. How do you know that the variety of lantana you purchased is native lantana?

BRIT Staff July 8, 2022

The distinctive white pincushion flowers of buttonbush

Garden

Find a Home for the Distinctive Pincushion Blooms of Buttonbush in Your Garden

A fascinating shrub is currently in bloom in the Garden, one that Senior Horticulturist Steve Huddleston suggests North Texas gardeners should consider for their landscape: buttonbush. “This plant will dazzle you with its form, foliage and flowers,” says Huddleston. “And it thrives in locations that many plants find challenging.”

BRIT Staff June 8, 2022

Blue plumbago - pale blue flowers against a dark green background of leaves

Garden

Plants that Take the Heat and Fill Your Summer Garden with Color

One of the major goals of gardening in Texas is finding colorful, high-performing plants that add drama to our summer landscapes and hold up to Texas heat. “Fortunately, there are many to choose from, including both perennials and annuals and both native and adapted plants,” says Sr. Horticulturist Steve Huddleston. “In fact, you might find you have more options that you realized.”

BRIT Staff May 4, 2022

Purple flowers cover the branch of a redbud tree

Garden

Look to Native Plants for a Drought-Tolerant, Ecosystem-Friendly Garden

As FWBG | BRIT celebrates National Native Plant Month this April, we invite you to bring more Texas natives into your garden. “Gardening with native plants is an easy way to support local wildlife, cut water consumption and reduce your reliance on pesticides,” says Sr. Horticulturist Steve Huddleston. “And I think you’ll find the results can be beautiful.”

BRIT Staff April 6, 2022

Garden

Promoting Beneficial Insects in Your Garden

Insects and gardeners: it’s a long relationship, and all too often, it’s needlessly antagonistic. Very few insects are actually the enemy. Successful gardeners should learn the difference between good insects and pests, as well as how to encourage the beneficial bugs and sustainably manage the harmful ones.

BRIT Staff March 2, 2022

Arched wooden bridge accented by Texas fall colors

Garden

Garden To Begin Major Renovations—Plus, How to Plan Your Own Garden Updates

This year, guests to the Botanic Garden will notice construction work underway as we embark on several major projects, thanks to the support of the City of Fort Worth and many generous donors. Read on for a rundown of what we have planned for 2022, plus tips on planning a new flower bed in your garden

BRIT Staff February 4, 2022

Garden

Look to Winter-Blooming Shrubs to Bring Color to Your January Garden

Many people regard winter as a bleak and barren time in the garden. Deciduous trees have lost their leaves, perennials have died back and the garden has entered its period of rest. Such a setting, however, provides the perfect foil for the “gems of winter”—those shrubs that put forth their blossoms in January and February and enliven the winter landscape with beauty.

BRIT Staff January 7, 2022

Garden

For Brilliant Spring Color, Plant Your Bulbs Now

December is bulb-planting month in the Garden. This year, nearly 150,000 bulbs, including tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, are being planted by grounds staff and volunteers. “It’s a lot of work to plant this many bulbs, but the results will be stunning in March and early April,” says Sr. Horticulturist Steve Huddleston. Home gardeners should also get their bulbs in the ground this month for the best results come spring. Learn more about the best bulbs for north central Texas to get started.

BRIT Staff December 1, 2021

Garden

For Brilliant Fall Color, Look to the Living Fossil, Ginkgo

Every autumn, guests to the Japanese Garden frequently stop and marvel at a magnificent tree located just inside the east entrance. In the fall, the leaves turn bright lemon yellow. The color is so brilliant the leaves almost appear fluorescent, as if a bundle of yellow highlighters had taken root and sprouted. This is one of the Garden’s Ginkgo biloba trees, and it holds a remarkable story. “If you are looking for a tree to add to your landscape, consider the gingko. It is not only a reliable performer and beautiful tree but also a unique horticultural specimen,” says Sr. Horticulturist Steve Huddleston.

BRIT Staff November 4, 2021

Category: Garden

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