January Newsletter from Tom's Thumb Nursery & Landscaping

JANUARY 2017

January Hours

Monday - Saturday 9am to 5pm

Sunday 10am - 4pm

Introduction

In this newsletter you will find.....

After Christmas Sale 50% off All Holiday Decor
Seasonal Ideas & Information for January
How to prepare for upcoming cold weather
Landscape Dept: "Incorporating Edibles into your Landscape"
Seaside Casual Furniture 2017
Bailey's Coupon
Mardi Gras February 2017
Pottery
Events

Seasonal Ideas & Information for January

The following are a list of activities to consider for your January gardening:

Plant vegetables from transplants.
Plant seeds.
Plant rosebushes.
Plant fruiting plants.
Plant pansies, snapdragons, violas, alyssum, cyclamen.
Plant those bulbs that you put in your refrigerator to provide for a chill treatment. They won't flower in the fridge!
Plant spring flowering trees and shrubs.
Fertilize established trees and shrubs.
Water newly planted transplants. Containers need more frequent water than plants in the ground. Water well before a freeze to protect roots.
Plan ahead for cold weather. At some point it will get cold enough that tropical plants will need protection. Decide which plants you will choose to protect. Make sure you have enough materials on hand.....frost cloth, blankets, cardboard boxes, stakes, etc. Each plant needs to have a covering large enough to extend to the ground.

How to prepare for upcoming cold weather:

1. Cover all of your tender plants with frost cloth.

Do not use plastic to cover your plants.

The plastic will harm your plants.

2. Water all of your plants and containers before the cold weather arrives. This will help to protect your plant from frost damage.

3. Mulch your flowerbeds and plants well to keep plant roots insulated

From Our Landscape Architect:

" Incorporating Edibles into your Landscape"
by Janielle Guzinski

The new year may make you think about the changes you want to make to your landscape in 2017. Have you considered adding edible plants into your gardens? I'm not talking about creating a vegetable garden or creating an orchard in your side lot. But about incorporating edible alternatives into your landscaping beds. This can be done either when designing a new landscape bed or when updating existing plantings.

There are a great many ways to use edible plants in your landscaping. 1) Change out a plant in your landscape with one that produces food of some sort, like using a pecan tree instead of the ash tree you were thinking of as your shade tree. 2) Choose an edible plant right from the get-go. If you want to cover your fence in a vine use a fruiting passion vine. 3) Keep an eye on edible plants when you change out your seasonal color. Swiss chard has attractive and edible leaves. Many flowers including nasturtiums and pansies/violas are edible.

Some of my favorite edibles in Galveston

Trees: Pecan, Loquat, Fig, Pomegranate, Citrus

Shrubs: Pineapple Guava, Berries

Vines: Passion Fruit, Grapes, Peas/Beans

Annuals: Swiss Chard, Violas/Pansies, Nasturtiums, Kale, Purslane

Herbs: Rosemary, Lavender, Oregano

Resources

http://hortsciences.tamu.edu/galveston/publications/Edible-Landscape.pdf

http://www.tamupress.com/product/Landscaping-with-Edible-Plants-in-Texas,8327.aspx

http://www.hgtv.com/remodel/outdoors/edible-landscaping-growing-your-own-food

https://garden.org/ediblelandscaping/?page=designing-your-landscape