There is nothing better than fall in North Texas. Warm, sunny days and cool, crisp evenings are a welcome relief from the triple digit temperatures of late summer. Here are fives ideas for how to take full advantage of this glorious weather.
- Visit the Farmers Branch Rose Garden.
Yes, as the name would suggest, this garden features a large number of rose plants, but it is also home to many beautiful perennials as well. When monarchs are passing through, this is a wonderful place to see them in large numbers. (The garden is open to public and completely free to visit.) - Take a “garden research” walk around your neighborhood.
Walk around your neighborhood (or take a new route during your normal walk), and make an effort to observe different gardens. Snap photos with your phone when you see particularly interesting plants, plant combinations, or design features. Make a mental note of plants that look particularly good or bad following this summer’s intense heat and drought. It’s amazing what you will notice when you are being more intentional. - Shop for perennials.
This is the best time of year to plant new perennials or move and divide existing perennials in your garden. This weekend we are having a member meetup to shop for plants and have a picnic. You can get more info about becoming an All-Access member here. - Sow some seeds.
The vegetables that you can start by seed right now include lettuce, radishes, turnips, collard greens, kale, and spinach. If you took my cottage gardens class in August, you can direct sow most of the flowers on the cold hardy list right now, but hurry. This is your last chance for a fall direct-sowing. (Next cold hardy flower direct sowing will be Jan 15 – Jan 31.) - Fertilize your vegetables and annual flowers.
Brassicas like kale, cauliflower, and broccoli are very heavy feeders and need consistent fertilization. It’s easy to forget to fertilize when weather is mild and we arewatering less frequently. If I didn’t amend my beds or containers before planting with Micro Life 6-2-4, I will fertilize weekly with 5-1-1 fish emulsionfertilizer .
Founder of The Dallas Garden School, Callie is an expert garden educator with 17 years of personal and professional gardening experience. She specializes in growing food, small-space gardening, managing community gardens, and plant propagation. She has an MBA from Southern Methodist University, a bachelor's degree from Skidmore College, and served as a horticulture intern for the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. Callie is a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, The Herb Society of America, the National Garden Bureau, and is a Certified Texas Master Gardener.
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