Today’s episode takes 10 years of my summer garden success and failure and offers you 5 Must Haves that will grow from late spring to early fall and survive through summer for a continuous garden with zero gaps in food production.

If you’ve lived in the Houston, Texas area or a similar zone 8-9 climate, you’ll agree that it gets really hot in summer. I like to joke that our climate consists of spring, summer, second summer, and fall. As a year-round gardener, I want to make sure I am successfully growing and harvesting even in extreme summer heat without additional chores and water use.  These 5 plants have been great options for my gulf coast summer garden, and I hope they will be for you, too!

Follow Along on Instagram @turnyourheadandscoff

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If you're a first time gardener in the Texas Gulf Coast or other warm weather climate, you will likely be confused when your cool season plants barely produce food if at all before flowering. This is called THE BOLT! 

I stopped getting frustrated trying to grow cool crops in a warm weather climate, instead I found solutions to growing 365 days a year in the Texas Gulf Coast, and you can, too! 

This quick episode will give you a ton of tips to changing the way you garden during the cool season.

To see what's bolting in the garden, follow along on  Facebook or Instagram! (links in the bio - @turnyourheadandscoff or  Homestead Gardening for the Texas Gulf Coast Facebook group)

In this episode, I will talk about complimenting colors and hues but I’ll be explaining and describing how color can be used to evoke emotions such as sadness, cheerfulness, excitement. I’ll tell you how to use color to make a bold statement or as a focal point. I’ll explain how to use greens appropriately in a landscape and how to backdrop your brighter color. Landscape design is art, horticulture, and architecture rolled into one. So, you may hear some mention of horticulture plants, architectural styles, or other design elements that should enhance your understanding of how to use color, but we won’t be going in depth on any topic since I’m not your professor here to lecture you.

As a landscape designer, I work with architecture, people, and plants to create a harmony between them. Most of my clients come to me wanting a specific style of landscape design but have no idea how to achieve it or if they can. Knowing how to apply the principles of design is the key to making a style work. And some design principles that you need to know about include unity, balance, rhythm, texture, proportion, lines, and of course color. Instead of being overwhelmed with learning the principles of design at once and how to apply them effectively, it’s easier to start with one principle, master it, and then add in the next principle to start honing your skill.

I find color to be the most exciting principle of design to work with, and I can learn a lot about a person by asking them to show me inspiration photos of landscape designs they like looking at. This is because color can evoke feelings, and most people don’t know why they like something but can tell me how they feel when they look at something they like.

To get the most from this episode, I suggest you listen once through, and then create a list of goals for your yard and specific areas in your yard, and then listen to the episode a second time to design for those goals.

This week’s podcast is separate from the Sister YouTube episode, but you can see my personal goals of year-round color and how I experience and see color on my Instagram @turnyourheadandscoff.

If you have any other questions, keep in mind that I do a complimentary Q&A on Fridays exclusively on my Instagram account. Q&A Fridays are a great opportunity for basic questions or clarifications on topics from past podcast or YouTube episodes, and your question and answer are shared with other followers.

If you need more in-depth consultations for your garden, I offer phone consultations and on-site property consultations including landscape and site planning design services. You can visit my website at https://prolandscapedesign.com/ to learn about more services and options available.

Did you know that yearly pruning at the right time and regularly scheduled garden upkeep is all you need to do for amazing roses in your garden?  The right time of year and the right technique is key!

Pop on your headphones and get ready to take a few notes. This info packed episode will have you growing roses like a pro!

My rose care program prevents me from buying expensive pest control products, and I get to enjoy beautiful blooms without a ton of work or hassle!

To see how my roses are doing in the garden, follow along on Facebook or Instagram! (links in the bio - @turnyourheadandscoff or  Homestead Gardening for the Texas Gulf Coast Facebook group)

Have you ever heard of the Cucurbitaceae Family? You probably haven't, but maybe you've heard of the Squash Family or Cucurbit Family? This family includes squashes, pumpkins, watermelon, cucumber, and gourds to name a few of the 950 species belonging to this family. The good news is...they all grow in about the same conditions, and once you know about 1, you almost know them all!

Pop on your headphones and get ready to take a few notes. This info packed episode will have you growing food in the squash family like a pro!

I’ll tell you which varieties I’m growing this year so you can work smarter, not harder in your garden and save a ton of money by avoiding expensive pest control products and increasing your food yield.

To see how my Cucurbits are doing in the garden, follow along on Facebook or Instagram! (links in the bio - @turnyourheadandscoff or Homestead Gardening for the Texas Gulf Coast Facebook group)

I'm sharing my foolproof method to starting finicky warm season seeds  from the nightshade family including peppers, tomato, and eggplant.    Indoor seeds starting gives you control to create the micro-climate  these seeds need to thrive. 

This practice will help extend your growing  season, and in the long run, you can save money by no longer buying  expensive adult plants year after year.   

The tools you need to start these seeds includes a heat mat, deep  containers that can hold water, a lid for your container or plastic wrap  , 4” landscape pots, fully hydrated soil-less medium, garden marker,  outdoor labels, and of course, seeds. It’s a good idea to set up your  grow light in advance because you’ll need this ready about a week after  starting seeds.   

To see how my nightshades are doing in the garden, follow along on  Facebook or Instagram! (links in the bio - @turnyourheadandscoff or  Homestead Gardening for the Texas Gulf Coast Facebook group)

Have you ever heard of propagation? 

This is the fancy horticulture word meaning you can multiply your plants for free, and there are several simple techniques you can use to multiply your plants that are described in this episode along with examples of plants that work perfectly for that technique. 

Additionally, I'm going to give you step-by-step instructions on how to easily propagate herb plants in water so you can grow roots for a brand new plant in just 2 weeks!

Don't forget to check out the companion YouTube episode for a visual aid to go along with these detailed step-by-step instructions. 

Did you know you can get free seeds just by collecting from the heirloom plants you grow in your garden? I always thought seed collecting wasn’t worth my time until I found out that the second generation of plants is actually better adapted to my climate. This means the chances are going to increase that my next crop is going to resist pests and stressors and produce more food in a smaller amount of space. So what does this mean for you? Well, hopefully fewer chores in the garden and more time actually enjoying what you grow.

For seed collecting and saving tips, watch the sister YouTube episode! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK-zr8FD_aAUnSEvc9Ns-7w

Q&A every Friday on Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/turnyourheadandscoff/ ) & the Homestead Gardening Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/348535343748901 )

I love citrus. With so many culinary uses and a surprisingly wide variety of flavors, it’s hard to not grow as many as possible. Before the 2021 Texas Freeze, I had owned 20 different varieties of citrus, but through various weather events, most did not make it to today. So, I had to get smart and re-evaluate my garden and culinary goals to accommodate the weather.

In this bonus* episode, I’m going to share with you exactly which citrus varieties made it to the top of my list and are growing now in the citrus & herb garden, which citrus survived the 2021 Texas freeze, how and where I grow my citrus, fertilizing tips, and how I protect my citrus in the winter.

I hope today’s episode will give you confidence to start or restart a citrus tree in your backyard! If you have any questions about citrus, such as other varieties not mentioned in this episode (there are many still on my wish list), when or why your citrus is flowering, or when fruit ripens, follow me on Instagram for answers to these questions or to ask your question on Q&A Friday.

*This episode does not have a YouTube video companion. 

Do you have a new shrub or ornamental plant for the garden but have no idea how or when to put in the ground? Maybe your potted plant is getting a little too big, and you don’t know what to do next. Or, perhaps you have an older plant that is just in the wrong place, but you are too afraid to move it?  

In this episode, I’m going to share with you the #1 planting myth and tell you not only how but when to plant and transplant your garden shrubs.