A native plant garden in Midland, Texas, that provides habitat, reduces water demand, and inspires joy. Photo by Emmy Ulmschneider By Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardener I love native Texas landscapes; you don’t have to sell me on the value of a sense of place. My fondest memories are exploring natural wild spaces and undeveloped lands across the state. Even with that perspective, I don’t recommend setting the goal of planting 100% native species in your yard and garde

Photo by Amanda Green By Amanda Green, Permian Basin Master Gardener Now that spring is here, you may be thinking of planting your patio planters. Some do vegetables, some do ornamentals, but we do small native butterfly gardens. As we’re trying to move towards more native plants, we had trouble finding a good fit. Texas native plants are known for having deep roots, some up to 15 feet long, so they wouldn’t work. Would they? Through trial, error, and lots of practice, we’ve

Native plants, Blackfoot Daisy, Melampodium leucanthum, and Zizotes Milkweed, Asclepias oenotheroides, up and growing for Monarchs Photo by Emmy Ulmschneider By Emmy Ulmschneider, Permian Basin Master Gardener It is March, and for me, March means Monarchs. I am fascinated by the epic journey that Monarch butterflies make. We summarized last fall’s southward migration in a September blog post: https://www.westtexasgardening.org/post/monarch-migrations. So, at the start of

Sage in Bloom Photo by Barbara Porsch By Barbara Porsch, Permian Basin Master Gardener It doesn’t take much browsing on social media to see that home vegetable gardens are a hot topic. Lots of people are putting raised and in-ground beds in their landscapes. I have even seen some of those metal raised beds in some front yards. I am not here to tell you how to grow vegetables, but to urge you not to forget to plant herbs in the mix. They are beautiful and useful too. He

Datura is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family. Shown here volunteering out of a crack in the patio—attracting sphinx moths at night. | Mary Sirgo By: Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardener As the weather warms here in Texas, I find it increasingly difficult to focus on the demands of daily life. The garden calls my name a bit louder each time, and I grow to resent the obligations that keep me staring a

A White-Lined Sphinx Moth visiting our Iris early one morning. Photo by Amanda Green By Amanda Green, Permian Basin Master Gardener When you turn off the porch light and get ready for bed, do you know your garden has a second shift that comes in? At night, you will have moths, Texas blind snakes, and toads that take over when your daytime wildlife goes to sleep. I rarely get to witness this, but when I do, it’s always an experience. Having night-blooming plants such as Datura

Photo by John Cappadonna By John Cappadonna – Permian Basin Master Gardener If I could only give you one gardening tip, what would it be? There are so many gardening hacks out there that it can be bewildering. There are really no silver bullets, but the most important thing you can do to improve your vegetable gardening experience is to improve your soil. The best way to improve your soil is with compost. Compost provides organic matter to the soil, which feeds the microorg

John's Herb Garden Photo by John Cappadona By Debbie Roland, Permian Basin Master Gardener Are you a coffee or tea person? Let’s talk about growing herbs for tea, and maybe that will become your new thing. Many gardeners find that if you grow your own herbs , they are more flavorful than store-bought . It is also a great way to enjoy fresh blends while connecting with nature and getting in your daily exercise! Whether you have a spacious yard or just a patio, growing he

A pollinator haven in Midland, Texas, thrives due to native plant selection and water-wise irrigation. Photo: Emmy Ulmschneider By Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardener Twice a year, the Earth tilts into balance. On the spring equinox, day and night are nearly equal in length. Light and dark hold the same space, if only briefly, before the rhythm shifts decisively toward longer days. Many of us may not even note the date on our calendars. We are more likely to notic

Attached photo courtesy of Tasa Richardson - Midland Health By Barbara Porsch, Permian Basin Master Gardener It is always around this time of year that people start talking about, or at least thinking about, growing some good tomatoes, peppers, and other fresh veggies. But what is a person to do if they live in an apartment or someplace without a yard? Boy howdy, do I have a deal for you. Check out the Midland Health Community Garden behind the F. Marie Hall Outpatient Cen

By Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardeners It’s 2016 in Lubbock, Texas, and the sky has fallen, blanketing the ground in bright white snow. Younger and disinclined to prepare for even the mildest of weather, I found myself without food in the house and hungry. After layering up in my warmest clothes, I set out on foot to the nearest grocery store. Major roads had been cleared for business, but driving out of my neighborhood wasn’t in the cards. As I walked a quiet route,

By Amanda Green, Master Gardener When choosing plants for landscaping, I’m usually drawn to soft and delicate foliage, which isn’t always the best choice for our West Texas Climate. When I was choosing new trees for my property, I knew I needed something small, drought-tolerant, and that would protect the songbirds from neighborhood cats and other predators. What I kept coming back to was native desert trees with prickles (thorns), and realized they were perfect for my needs.

Greens Photo by Sara Moran By Sara Moran, County Extension Horticulture Agent for Midland and Ector Counties. Welcome to the middle of summer, yes! Still hot and sunny; however, it is an excellent time to start planning for your cold-season greens. Growing greens can be a rewarding and relatively straightforward process. Here are some general tips to help you successfully grow greens: 1. Choose the right greens: There are various types of greens you can grow, such as lettuce,

Starting Seeds Indoor Photo by John Cappadonna By John Cappadonna – Master Gardener It is time to start seeds indoors for spring planting. When you get seeds from a supplier, they are dry and dormant. Typically, moisture and temperature are the factors that break that dormancy, but sometimes light or darkness play a role. Until the seedling forms true leaves, the endosperm portion of the seed, along with oxygen in the soil, furnishes the nutrients for the seedling to grow

November Blackberries Photo by Emmy Ulmschneider By Emmy Ulmschneider, Permian Basin Master Gardener Gardeners use numerous abbreviations, and we have previously written about a few of them: NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) and IPM (Integrated Pest Management). However, I am coining a new term for my 2025 gardening year: NQR, or Not Quite Right. And I am using what I observed in my 2025 garden to plan for my 2026 gardening year. I have been growing fruits and vege

Prickly Russian Thistle/Picture by iNaturalist stock By Mary Sirgo Despite ongoing development in Texas that leaves many landscapes altered beyond recognition, a strong gust of wind and a tumbleweed can knock you back to reality. The infamous flora connects us to the Old West, reminding us of where we are and how we got here. But did you know this iconography of cowboy culture is one of the most prolific invasive species in North America, introduced seemingly by accident? In

By Amanda Green, Master Gardener gulf fritillary emerging from chrysalis- ● Photo by Amanda Green When you think of a butterfly garden, I’m sure you picture a flowerbed of big, bright blooms, a few butterflies, and sunshine. What happens when you get down to the plant level and look a little closer? You will see caterpillars munching, a chrysalis hanging from a stem, maybe a cocoon bundled up in the leaf litter. It really is a magical experience to see all the life stage

by John Cappadonna By John Cappadonna, Master Gardener If you have struggled to grow large tomatoes in the past, then listen up. The problem with tomatoes is that they are tropical plants and pollinate effectively only within a specific temperature range. That range is above 50˚F but below 65˚F at night and below 85˚F during the day. These numbers are not exact; they may vary by a few degrees due to factors such as humidity or moisture levels . In the spring, those tempera

Master Gardeners work together to maintain a community garden. | Photo Credit: Alan Hale By Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardeners When we talk about gardening, most of us picture spring wildflowers, summer storms, and the Texas sun warming our shoulders. But anyone who’s spent time in a community garden knows its impact stretches far beyond one season. These spaces don’t just grow plants, they grow connections. And that work doesn’t stop when winter settles in. Even as t

Tiny sprouts peek through the soil surface. | Mary Sirgo By Mary Sirgo In Umeå, Sweden, a team of researchers examined how organic matter breaks down during cold seasons, particularly when snow cover is reduced. The researchers removed snow from plots of land to simulate the predictions of their region’s trending weather forecasts. While the results of their study were not surprising, the scale was. The removal of the snow cover made the soil much colder and drastically reduc