Indian Summers in Houston

As the months turn towards fall in Houston, we usually expect the weather to start turning chilly by around the first of October. However, this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes, we get an usually warm fall that lasts up until early November. When this occurs, it’s called an Indian Summer or, in some areas of the South, this period is called the dog days of summer. This is because Sirius, the dog star, is one of the brightest star in the northern hemisphere during this time.

Indian Summer is a fairly informal expression, and the definition of what is and what isn’t an Indian Summer varies. Generally, however, it is used to describe a late fall when the weather is very sunny and the temperature is above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. It occurs before the first snow fall but after the leaves have turned and fallen.

If you live in the Houston area and experience one of these Indian Summers, you’ll find that some of the local flowers continue to bloom. These flowers may include roses, lilies, irises, and carnations, among other flowers. Other plants and flowering bushes may also continue to bloom late into the season if the weather doesn’t turn. If the fall remains warm, don’t let this opportunity pass you by—head outside and enjoy the extra time with your beautiful flowers while you have the chance.

Using Fall Flower Colors for Decoration

With the autumn season upon us, it’s time to start bringing in those glorious reds, oranges, yellows, and other fall colors into the house. Incorporating fall flower colors into your home’s décor is a great way of highlighting your fresh flowers while at the same time making sure they don’t clash with the rest of your decorations. Here are a few ways you can use fall flower colors in your home.

One way of accenting your fall flowers is to use small squash, pumpkins, and gourds. You can surround your vases with these little items, plus you can bring in some fall leaves to scatter around the table. Another great idea is to add things like wheat and cattails to your arrangements. These interesting fall items will give your flower bouquets a different type of look while still letting the blooms themselves take center stage. You might even want to see how a few twigs look as frames for your fall flowers. Pine cones, pine needles, and some fruits also make nice compliments to your fresh flowers.

Want to do something really fun and different? Cut open the top of a pumpkin, remove the seeds, and then use it as a vase for your flowers! If the pumpkin is large enough, you can sit your entire vase down inside it. If it’s not, you can use the pumpkin itself to hold your flowers. You can do the same with gourds. Small pumpkins and gourds can also be used as candle holders. Likewise, baskets make great fall decorative items since their brown hues compliment fall flowers very well.

Fabric and fabric items are also great ways of bringing fall colors into your home. Change out your summer table runner and placemats for those done in fall colors. You may also want to change out some of your small throw rugs for some that feature more oranges, browns, and reds. Small fleece blankets, afghans, or quilts tossed over the backs of chairs or placed along the back of your sofa can be a nice way of pulling in color while at the same time providing some warmth against the coming chills of late fall. Don’t forget that you can place small swatches of cloth underneath vases to add a colorful base to your bouquets.

These are just a few ideas for bringing fall flower colors into your home. Remember to get creative and use your imagination when decorating. You never know what something’s going to look like until you give it a try!

How to Prepare your Flower Beds for Winter Weather

Colder months are approaching, and while it may seem a bit early, September is actually a good time to start preparing your flower beds for winter weather. October is often an unpredictable month—sometimes it can be very cold. If you want to be certain your flower beds are ready for the colder months, now’s the time to start working on weatherizing them. According to most experts, it shouldn’t take you more than a day to have your flowerbeds ready for the snow.

Start your winter weatherization by cleaning up your flower beds. Get rid of any weeds that have popped up, and remove any annuals that have bloomed and moved on. Don’t simply assume that the cold weather will kill off the weeds for you. In some cases, it won’t, and these weeds will then compete with your flowers for the diminished resources. Remember not to prune that much since this can encourage new growth, which is especially vulnerable to the cold. However, you do want to cut back your perennials, including any dead foliage. Leaving only a few inches of the plant is perfectly fine.

If you’ve got any bulbs that aren’t really hardy, such as gladiolus, you should take them out of the ground, let them dry for a few hours, and then store them in a cool location (a basement or garage are good choices). Note that if you don’t have a compost heap to add your clipped weeds and annuals to, now’s a great time to start one.

Preparing your roses for the cold is very important. By the end of August, you should stop pruning them so no new growth will appear. For climbing roses, either tie the stocks together with something like straw to provide some insulation or take them off their trellises and lay them on the ground. Otherwise, there’s a chance that either severe ice or strong winds could blow them down. After the first real frost of the season, be sure to water your rose bush so that there is plenty of water in the ground. Once the ground has frozen over, your roses will have to deal with whatever moister they have in the ground.

You may want to add a new layer of mulch to your flowerbeds if it looks like they need a little extra warmth. Mulch will keep the temperature of the soil more even, plus it will keep the roots of your plants warmer during the cold weather.

If you have any outdoor flowerpots that won’t deal with cold weather very well, remember to bring them indoors. Some cheap pots will actually crack if it gets too cold, and once the roots are exposed to the ice and snow, your flowers aren’t going to last very long. If you don’t have room for them in your home, at least put them in the garage.

Finally, although you’re preparing for winter, don’t forget that the fall is also a good time to plant for the spring. It’s a great time to plant new winter annuals, shrubs, perennials, and trees. Some plants, like snapdragons and pansies, thrive when planted in the fall. Remember to plant them before the soil gets too cold, though.

Wildscape Workshop to be held in Houston on September 26

The Houston chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas will hold its twelfth annual Wildscapes Workshop on Saturday, September 26. The speakers at the workshop will cover a variety of topics, although the emphasis of the workshop is going to be on using native plants to create diverse, brilliant environments that can be easily sustained and will attract many types of butterflies and birds. Other topics will include how to lower the amount of water used to maintain your garden, how to reduce pollution, and how to make your garden more green (in the environmental sense).

The workshop will have four different sessions focusing on natural environments. Each will give attendees an idea of how to tailor their gardens to be biodiverse and attract local birds and insects. The sessions include the following:

• Jack Brady, a research assistant at the Texas Agrilife Research and Extension Center, will talk about native pollinators. His discussion will include information on native bees and how to attract them to your garden to help pollinate your plants

• Mark Bronstad of Doremus Nursery will present “Great Plants for a Wildscapes Landscape.” He will discuss how to make use of many of the native plants that will be available for sale at the workshop’s native plant sale.

• Jaime Gonzales of the Katy Prairie Conservatory will speak on prairie rescues and biodiversity. The Katy Prairie Conservatory has helped protect native plants that were on the verge of being destroyed because of construction and other projects.

• Farrar Stockton, President of the Butterfly Enthusiasts of Southeast Texas, will give a presentation on local butterflies that live in the Houston area. He will also talk about monarch butterflies and their migration patterns.

In addition to the four presentations, the workshop will also include a native plant sale where attendees can purchase many of the flowers and plants featured in Mark Bronstad’s presentation.

Decorating Using Flowers and Things You Have Around the House

When you receive fresh flowers from a friend for whatever reason (or when you cut your own flowers from your garden), you want to show them off. Sometimes, this means making them the centerpiece of your table by themselves. However, sometimes you may want to put a few things with your bouquet of flowers to make a larger display.

Accenting your flowers’ colors is one of the most dramatic things you can do. While you obviously can’t change the blooms colors, what you can do is change the colors of everything around them. Place your vase on a colorful table runner or on several swatches of colored fabric. For a Christmas arrangement, for example, you could use overlay a red and green cloth napkin on the table and then place your bright poinsettia arrangement on it.

During the fall months, think about accenting your flowers with different squash and other produce. Red, gold, and yellow flowers can be complimented by golden squash, pumpkins, or even a smattering of fall leaves from your yard. Just place your produce in a nice arrangement around the vase.

For something really different, wait until your flowers are on their last two or three days (or remove them from the vase if you don’t want to keep them for as long as you can). Cut the stems short. Next, take a glass-covered cake stand and flip the lid upside down. Fill it with your flowers, then place the bottom on it and flip the whole thing right-side up. You now have a glass-covered arrangement that will make a very different kind of centerpiece.

You can also remove your flowers from the vase and put them in something different. A wooden bowl, an antique bowl or glass, or a pitcher can make an interesting vase when filled with water. Just be sure it’s deep enough if you want to keep your flowers looking fresh for as long as you can.

If you have a lot of candles around the home, place some of them around your vase to add a bit of color to it. While you may not want to light these candles, they do look very nice. You can spread small votive candles across the table to expand your centerpiece.

If you have a large arrangement that just seems to big for your table, think about breaking it up. You can use other vases you happen to have around the house or use glass bottles or jars as vases. By making three or four arrangements out of one, you can effectively create a decorating scheme throughout your home. Place one of these arrangements on the dining room table, one on your coffee table, and one or two around the rest of your home to make a cohesive theme. Accent it with coordinating placemats and napkins.

Have a tall, plain vase that you don’t really like? Tie some colored ribbon around it. You can also wrap a colored scarf or bandana around the vase to brighten it up.

These are just a few ideas for making your fresh flowers the centerpiece of a larger display. You don’t have to buy anything—make use of the fabric, candles, produce, and other things you have around your home. You’ll find you can come up with some really neat centerpieces if you take a look around your home and mix and match things you have with your beautiful bouquet of flowers.