Garden Color Despite Drought
Garden Color Despite Drought

By William Scheick Contributing Editor As I wrote in another article, droughts are dreaded dragons that lay waste to our prized landscapes and gardens. In Texas, droughts can show up any season, not just during blistering summers. They can’t be slain, only endured. And the…

Beyond Bell Peppers: The Heat Is On!
Beyond Bell Peppers: The Heat Is On!

By Lee Franzel Freelance Writer The capsicum clan kinda snuck up on me. We all learned about jalapeños as kids and played tricks on each other, “Try that pickle,” laughing our tails off at the distress of the unsuspecting friend — Mexican food in those…

Making Sense of Pelargonium Scents
Making Sense of Pelargonium Scents

  By William ScheickContributing Editor Error is a hardy plant,” Martin Farquhar Tupper wrote in his long-ago popular “Of Truth in Things False” (1838). His sage metaphor seems especially applicable to so-called geraniums, enormously popular plants bearing an erroneous common name. Although these supposed geraniums…

Stargate Manor Arboretum
Stargate Manor Arboretum

By Suzanna Labry Contributing Writer George Coulam is something of a wizard. He makes things happen — big things. Eighty-one-year-old Coulam is also known as “King George” to the personnel of the Texas Renaissance Festival, the largest event of its kind in the United States,…