By assuming the City of Austin will shut off outdoor watering by June, I’ll have a head start on the collective depression our region will feel come August, when just about everything is dead.  But I’m a big fan of balance, so I’m fighting off that inevitable depression by planting lots of trees this winter. [...]

Oof, the gauge of public reaction to drought rots in the in-boxes of landscapers all over Austin.  ”My grass is dead, we need help replacing it with something that won’t die in drought.  How?” There are no easy answers.  Austin is not Phoenix or Seattle, with predictable rainfall and temperature patterns.  2011 was El Paso [...]

TREE SALE! It happens every year.  We get all gushy thinking back on another year of hard work, great clients, good times, and want to celebrate.  But instead of breaking out the 60% ABV Dutch brew, we’re gonna do something much more productive and announce our annual Tree Sale!   All native trees come from [...]

Native Plants Don’t Save Water, People Do Even though we consider ourselves as low-impact landscapers, it’s a struggle for me to be excited about landscaping in this horrific drought.  I might as well be bulldozing garbage into the Guadalupe River. We use alternative fuels in our equipment, but propane and waste veggie oil and biodiesel [...]

Hello Lovers of Slow Living! The Heat We haven’t turned on the A/C at the house yet, and it hit 100 this week.  Princess Winecup does not tolerate discomfort, but she’s discovered a benefit to the heat that outweighs her greatest intolerance:  the heat gives you an excuse to slow down.  So in the evenings, after the heat has accumulated in every [...]

  Hello Lovers of the Plumber! Shattered pipes, energy shortages, and dead Agaves: all indications that Spring is near.  Normally, Redbuds announce the new season with their bright pink blooms around Valentine’s Day, but I have a hunch they’ll hold out a little longer this year.  Which gives you a some extra time to plan [...]

A quick seasonal note as we bundle and hunker and hum quietly to ourselves ”I told you so” to all those who like palm trees and other tropical plants.   CORN GLUTEN Mid February is usually the time to apply corn gluten, as an organic pre-emergent for several broadleaved weeds.  But we are shying away from this [...]

  Hello Lovers of the Reflective Season!   Winter is my favorite cold season.  The beers are dark and thick, the fireplaces crackle and flicker, and work slows down, all creating the perfect occasion to reflect on another great year.  It’s also time for a little action in the landscape, and for some pro-action in anticipation of the upcoming [...]

Hello Hibernation Lovers,   The dormant season is upon us, though a little less extreme this year, and we are grateful.  Just like native plants and wildlife, we enjoy the summer weather as an excuse to slow down and take it easy, have a little seasonal nap, and save our resources for the inevitable burst of activity that comes with cooler weather and more rain, which [...]

Farmer Mike gave us a great tip this week on how to know when it’s time to harvest watermelons, so you aren’t just wasting them until you finally get it right: Mike says, to know when an indivual watermelon is ready for harvest, look at the first two tendrils (little flexible things that grow from [...]