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March 2010 issue—
President's Message
Upcoming Events at ZBGBe sure to check our Hours when making your plans to visit! African Violet Society Show & Sale, March 20th, 1-4pm 53rd Annual
Zilker Garden Festival Violet Crown and Capital City Judges Festival Standard Flower Show, March 27-28th, 10 am - 5 pm Heart O’ Texas Orchid Show, April 3rd -4th Austin Cactus & Succulent Society Spring Show and Sale, April 10-11th Zilker Docents Presents (Identifying Trees), April 24th Golden Daylily Jubilee, May 21st-23rd Pond Society Tour, June 13-14th |
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March Kite Madness
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Volunteer with the Docents |
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Walk of Friends
It's easy! Select the size of brick you would like, choose your message and return the form with your payment. For more information, contact Sandra Holt at 512-345-3164, or visit www.zilkergarden.org/support/friends.html . |
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Violet Crown Garden Club |
Sign up for Austin Notes, the City's dynamic e-mail update system and get news about Austin neighborhoods, parks, road closures, and more. Read more>> |
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Saturday, March 27th and |
KLRU's Central Texas Gardener This weekly gardening show is a rich source of information for Austin and Central Texas gardeners. Check out their weekly show schedule for topics & air times, the "To Do List" for monthly gardening tasks, and much more...
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What's Blooming at Zilker Botanical Garden...
Even after a hard freeze of upper teens and snowfall this winter, this evergreen shrub continues to bloom with lavender blue salvia-like flowers through the winter months (but bloom sporadically during other seasons). To add to its desirability, it comes in bush and creeping growth forms so can be used as an ornamental shrub or ground cover. Read more » Plant descriptions are included in the City of Austin’s Grow Green informative guide, Native and Adapted Landscape Plants: an earthwise guide for Central Texas (4th Edition, 2009). This publication is available at local nurseries and at the Garden Center at Zilker Botanical Garden. You can also download the guide at www.growgreen.org.
Ask the Garden Guru
Question from Brent H: I hear that some citrus plants can be successfully grown in the Austin area. I would like to give some a try but what varieties do you recommend? Guru: Citrus can be successfully grown in out central Texas areas providing you stick to the more cold hardy varieties recommended below. Growing any other citrus plants will be very risky in our area. Most citrus that will endure the Central Texas area winters are grafted on trifoliate orange (Poncirus) root stock. Citrus must also have a slightly acidic, well drained soil (not limestone/alkaline based as is found in Texas Hill Country) and can be container grown if roots are protected from winter freezing. If you can give any citrus plants a protected but sunny area, that would be best. The best time to establish citrus is in spring so they have an entire growing season to adapt before the challenging weather of winter returns. Read more »
Recovering from a Hard Freeze — Both Gardener and Plants
Before despair leads to depression, let’s look at the bright side. Those dead looking plants most likely aren’t really dead – they’re just playing “possum” and waiting for spring conditions to revive. It’s their natural defense mechanism to shut down under such conditions. With shrubs, use the fingernail test – scratch progressively downward until dead brown tissue becomes green live tissue. Then they can be pruned back to just above that point for regeneration. Although we are advised not to prune back more than one third of a shrub at any time, hard pruning beyond that level may be required to remove dead wood.. Read more »
Top 10 Spring Tips for Central Texas GardenersThinking spring? Here are a few related thoughts for preparing for the spring garden. 1. Planning, planning, planning: Develop a garden plan for the coming season, both short, and longer term. Know what it is you want to do before digging - what goes where and why. 2. Select your plants for the coming season carefully. Research them on the internet or check with a non-commercial reliable sources for advice as to adaptability and growing features of plants that you are considering for your garden. Read more »
Thanks to our Festival sponsors and volunteers!Zilker Garden Festival has earned a reputation for being the best place to celebrate the arrival of spring in Austin and Central Texas. Our generous sponsors and enthusiastic, hard-working volunteers play a major part in the festival’s success. Let’s begin with our Sponsors…
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Whether you like bees, bats, or butterflies, The Chrysalis Gift Shop has a variety of styles and price ranges to choose from, with a 10% discount!
Read reviews from visitors to Zilker Botanical Garden on 
