Monthly Tips

* April Edition Yard & Garden Newsletter*

Howdy neighbors,

April has made it to Central Texas, and if you’ve lived here long enough you know what that means — the bluebonnets are showing off, the oak trees are raining pollen on everything you own, and the garden is waking up in a big way.

This is one of the best months of the whole year to work outside. The weather’s still friendly, the soil is warming up, and plants have time to get settled before the summer sun turns the backyard into a skillet.

So grab your gloves, shake the pollen off your patio chair, and let’s talk about what your yard is asking for this month.

What To Do In The Garden This Month

Plant Trees & Shrubs

If you’ve been thinking about adding a tree or shrub to the landscape, April is a mighty fine time to do it.

Planting now gives roots a chance to get comfortable before July and August start acting rude.

Some tried-and-true Central Texas favorites include:

• Live oak

• Monterrey oak

• Cedar elm

• Desert willow

• Texas sage

• Chinquapin oak

A little planting advice from years of digging holes around here:

Dig the hole wide, plant a little high, and mulch it good.

Trees hate having their feet buried too deep.

Time To Get in the Vegetable Garden

April is when the vegetable garden really starts earning its keep.

If you’ve got tomatoes on the brain, now’s your moment.

Go ahead and plant:

• Tomatoes

• Peppers

• Squash

• Cucumbers

• Beans

• Okra

• Melons

Mix a good amount of compost into the soil and mulch around your plants early. Around here the trick is getting vegetables growing strong before the summer heat shows up and starts bullying everybody.

 Add Flowers That Can Handle Texas

If you want color that’ll still be smiling in August, you’ve got to choose flowers that can take a little heat.

Great choices for Central Texas yards:

Tough Native perennials

• Salvias

• Blackfoot daisy

• Gaura

• Esperanza

Plant them once and they’ll keep the pollinators happy all season long.

Mulch Is Your Best Friend

Around here mulch is worth its weight in brisket.

Spread 2–3 inches around trees, shrubs, and flower beds and you’ll:

• Keep the soil cooler

• Hold moisture longer

• Slow the weeds from moving in

• Improve your soil over time

Just remember the golden rule:

Mulch should look like a donut, not a volcano.

Keep it away from the trunk.

Start Watering the Right Way

With temperatures warming up, it’s time to start settling into a good watering routine.

The secret in Central Texas is simple:

Water deep, not every day.

A good April schedule looks like:

• Lawns — once a week

• Trees & shrubs — every 7–10 days

Deep watering encourages roots to grow deep, and deep roots are what help plants survive our long summers.

 Feed the Yard

April is a good time to give your lawn and plants their first good meal of the year.

Look for slow-release fertilizers or organic blends like:

• Medina Growin Green

• Microlife

• Compost top dressing

Somme good organic fertilizer goes a long way.

As we like to say around here:

“Feed the soil and the plants will take care of themselves.”

 Watch Out for Spring Pests

Once everything starts growing, the bugs decide it’s buffet season.

Keep an eye out for:

• Aphids

• Spider mites

• Caterpillars

Most problems are easy to handle early with neem oil or insecticidal soap. Catch them early and you’ll save yourself a lot of frustration later.

 Give the Yard a Spring Tune-Up

April is the perfect time to freshen things up around the landscape.

A little weekend yard work goes a long way:

• Trim off winter damage

• Edge your flower beds

• Replace plants that didn’t survive the winter

• Add fresh mulch

• Plant a little color near the front door

Your yard will look like it got a brand new haircut.

 🌞 A Little Central Texas Garden Wisdom

April is when we set the stage for the rest of the year.

The planting, mulching, and watering habits you start now will decide how well your landscape handles the Texas summer.

After years of landscaping in this part of the world, I’ve found most garden problems can be solved with four simple ideas:

Right plant.

Right place.

Good soil.

Deep water.

Do those things and your yard will do just fine in Central Texas.

And if you see someone in their yard talking to their tomato plants…

Don’t worry…That’s just good gardening.