Remember at the end of this month, March 28th is the Eleventh Annual Highland Lakes Garden Show. That’s right, the last Saturday of March is a great Lawn and Garden show at the Burnet Community Center east of the Square in Burnet 401 east Jackson Street.

The entire show, including the speakers, is free to the public and the hours are 9:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. Come early to find the best selection of plants and products.

This is an opportunity to learn, observe, purchase and enjoy all aspects of gardening. It is one of the most successful shows in The Texas Hill Country. Each year I see several of my friends from Taylor at the show. It is always fun to visit with them and sharing gardening ideas.

April 4th is the Llano Lawn and Garden Show at the VFW Hall in Llano. Mark your calendars now so you will not forget these two wonderful opportunities.

Are You Strolling?

Are you keeping your souls and your soles in your gardens and your properties? Every day we should be in our gardens, greenhouses, and if larger property, some part of your property. If you happen to live in the country as I do, then we need to section off our property and visit each section on a regular basis. By observing what is taking place to the plant life, we are able to keep track of what is happening and what we need to do to assist the landscape. Whether it is foliar feeding, top dressing, mulching or checking the drip systems in the gardens and flower beds, we don’t know what is needed if we are not on and in the property or our garden.

Don’t Be Fooled! Apply the Test. I know that we have had several warm days, but we have had freezes right after the warm days, such as this past weekend. Remember the last freeze test has multiple questions. First, have the Mesquite trees fully leafed out? Secondly, have we passed the average latest last freeze? When is Easter? The answers to all three questions is no. I know it seems like Spring has sprung, but it has not sprung yet. Easter is not until April 12th, Mesquite on our place has not begun to bud, and the average latest last freeze is March 31st. Just be aware of what is taking place. We have been fooled in past years.

March Duties:

Watch your plants closely and carefully and water deeply and slowly. A drip system is ideal for the drought conditions we are experiencing. The weather records show that these are the worse conditions we have had in the last 100 years. However, we are one day closer to the rains that we so desperately need and we will get those rains.

Time to foliar feed your Roses with Hastogro. It is planting time for all hot weather herbs and perennial herbs, such as basil, catnip, chives, lemon grass, mints, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.

Aerate your lawns, but don’t fertilize them yet it is too early. By feeding (fertilizing) the lawn now, you will be helping your weeds grow instead of the grasses. Grasses need the morning temperatures to be 70 plus and the afternoon in the 80s.

Allow the foliage of the bulb plants to yellow and die before removing. Plant a new Strawberry bed or restore the existing bed by adding compost and other soil amendments.

You can plant from Early to mid month, Asparagus Crowns, collards, and Turnips. You can plant all month lettuce, mustard, radish, and tomato plants.

Wildflower Season:

Wildflowers are going to be interesting with the lack of rain. If you want to know where they are the best, log onto:

www.dot.state.tx.us - they will tell you where the best is for viewing. If you would rather call then 1-800-452-9292 is the source to call. Each year TxDot spreads over 33,000 pounds of wildflower seeds over the highways and byways. Each pound contains some 170,000 seeds and some 30 different varieties of species.

My favorite trip for the Bluebonnets and other wildflowers is the Hwy. 16 going south from San Saba through Fredericksburg and Kerrville and all the way to Medina. There is not a prettier drive to see wildflowers in the Hill Country. Remember: The success of a seed depends upon the quality of the soil.

Till Next Month!

Keep your souls and your soles in your garden!

Remember the True Master Gardener: Jesus said, “I am the vine; my Father is the Gardener.” John 15:1

Have questions or comments? Contact Bill Luedecke at The Luedecke Group Realtors, P.O. Box 1632, Bertram, TX. 78605 (no Post Office in Oatmeal) or email bill@texasland.net. For additional gardening web sites, go to his web site; www.TexasLand.Net