Have you been to Mercer Arboretum? It’s located in Spring Texas near FM 1960 and Aldine Westfield, about 6 miles east of I-45. The garden is known all over the world, and we have it in our back yard. I love suggesting people go there to get great ideas for their landscape. Take a bottle of water, a camera and your time. Here is a link to their website: http://www.hcp4.net/mercer/
Photo: Have you been to Mercer Arboretum? It’s located in Spring near FM 1960 and Aldine Westfield, about 6 miles east of I-45. The garden is known all over the world, and we have it in our back yard. I love suggesting people go there to get great ideas for their landscape. Take a bottle of water, a camera and your time. Here is a link to their website:http://www.hcp4.net/mercer/
The time is coming in southeast Texas that the need for and the use of rainwater harvesting is going to be huge. The Texas Agrilife Extension Service, http://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/, a division of the Texas A&M system, has really endorsed this as a well needed fixture in the life of Texans. The system that is installed does not have to be expensive or fancy, a simple rain barrel is a great beginning. You will find that your plants love the water and its quality far more than “city water”. Most of the water that comes from a tap has been purified to the point for human consumption that there is very little nutritional value for plants. For a more extensive system, my recommendation is to hire a qualified professional to design and install it for you. ARCSA, the American Rainwater Catchment System Association, http://www.arcsa.org/, certifies professionals to do the bigger and more expensive systems. You can go onto their website to find a certified professional in your area.
We are beginning to see a lot more dead pine trees in the area. A lot of this has to do with the pine beetles taking advantage of drought stressed trees. If you see a tree that looks like this one, it is toast.
Rainwater collection is fairly simple with a device like this. You insert the device in a gutter downspout and it serves as a diverter to your rainwater barrel. Check out this website for more details: 
A really good tree to plant is a Mexican Plumb. It has very fragrant flowers this time of the year. It produces an edible fruit in the summer, if you can get to it before the squirrels. It’s native to Texas and is a great tree to plant in a sunny area in your yard.
Have you ever seen something like this on one of your pines? It’s called Fusiform rust. Typically formed on juvenile pines, it can be an issue when the tree is mature. Fusiform rust can cause a weak point in the stem, therefore being a potential pivot point in high wind force. If the tree is near be target, it could be an issue. If the tree is in an open area and doesn’t have a target if it fails, then it has a reprieve. If you have a tree that might be an issue like this pine we’d be happy to help. Please let us know.
If you see your neighboring cutting off a limb like this, you might want to give him Grandiflora’s phone number.
It’s time for the beautiful wild flowers of a Texas spring. Where is your favorite place to take pictures or just enjoy the beauty of blue bonnets or indian paint brushes? Please share this post so we can all know the secrets of Texas’ beauty.
