Growing beautiful and bountiful gardens

When it comes to gardening, speaker Jason McKenzie, owner of Pineywoods Nursery and Landscaping and Habitat Gardening Expert, believes in getting back to the basics with what he calls a habitat garden.

“We’ve gotten trapped into formal gardening. Everything is evergreens and perfectly trimmed hedges. It’s pretty, but what does it do for you?” he said. “I want to create something that is less complex and more bountiful. Something along the lines of what our grandparents would have had.”

McKenzie touts the planting of fruit trees and bushes and herb gardens. He said what homeowners will reap in delicious, edible plantings they will not lose in aesthetics.
“It will still be pretty,” he said.

He recommends planting blueberry bushes, strawberries, satsumas, peaches, Mexican limes, and Republic of Texas oranges. “I try to mix up my garden with perennials and Texas natives,” McKenzie said. “If you bring in those types of plants, they’re going to attract pollinators which will pollinate your fruit trees.”

What’s more, McKenzie said it is best to use simple organic fertilizers to keep the garden ‘green.’ “You can use molasses, compost, alfalfa or kelp.” McKenzie also stressed that planting a habitat garden does not have to dominate a home’s entire landscape. “It can be in one small corner of your lawn,” he said.

Speaker John Ferguson of Nature’s Way Resources will educate his listeners about the economical and environmental benefits of a naturally grown garden.

“You can get a better looking garden with less work and less cost than a traditional garden, where chemicals and pesticides are used,” he said. “It’s also safer for children and pets.”

Randy Lemmon of GardenLine on KTRH 740 AM will discuss plant freeze recovery, a timely topic considering Houston’s recent low temps. “People want to talk to experts so they can come to grips about what plants can go and what can stay,” he said.

During his presentation, Lemmon will be evaluating samples from his audience members and offering specific advice about how to bring their plants back to life. “It might take a while for a plant to recover but things are seldom as bad as they seem,” he said.

Lemmon will be broadcasting GardenLine, KTRH 740 AM, live from the show: Saturday, 6 a.m. – 10 a.m.; and Sunday, 7 a.m. – 10 a.m. Each day he will follow his broadcast with a presentation on the seminar stage and a book signing of Gulf Coast Gardening with Randy Lemmon.

Ask-the-Expert Booth
Stop by for a Q&A session and a one-on-one visit with Kathy Huber, Houston Chronicle gardening columnist and Brenda Beust Smith, “The Lazy Gardener” and Houston Chronicle blogger. These gardening experts will be on hand Saturday and Sunday to answer your all gardening questions.

Gardening Exhitors at the show – don’t miss these!

• AAction Mulch
• Lawn Ranger Company
• The Green Lawn System
• Nature’s Way Resources
• American Tree Farms
• Southeast Texas Trees
• U.S. Trees of Texas
• The Pineywoods Nursery