Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl will be at Olive Barn on Sunday October 18th from 1PM to 3PM. Come out an meet her in person. She’ll be signing her DVD’s and talking about how you can use raised beds to grow veggies for you and your family. To learn more about Patti, visit her website and watch her free how-to-videos online.

Please RSVP for the free event, so we can plan accordingly. Questions? Please call 281-589-1921 x 209. See you there!

Thank you,
Jacqueline D’Elia
Olive Barn Founder

These Vitex trees are in a shopping center on the West side of Houston off Eldridge Pkwy and Enclave Pkwy. I first noticed them blooming two years ago. First let me say that I really like the calming color of blue in the garden. I guess it complements my desire for Orange flowers. I love orange in the garden too. My orange hibiscus is a favorite of mine near my kitchen window.

The scientific name is Vitex agnus-castus, but commonly known as Chaste trees, Lilac Chaste Tree, Hemp Tree, Sage Tree, or Indian Spice. Originating in China and India, they became naturalized throughout the Southern US. The Vitex tree is a great substitute to the extremely overplanted crape myrtles in Houston and is hardy in zones 6-9. I only wish that my house had these instead of the crapes to line the driveway. (they were there when I bought the house in 1991).

Vitex is an good choice if you are looking for a small flowering tree or large shrub. It flowers best in full sun and prefers well drained soils.

Like most plants in the Vervain family, Vitex attracts butterflies. New improved varieties such as ‘Montrose Purple’, ‘LeCompte’, or the pink ‘Salinas Pink’ have spikes as long as 8 to 12 inches in length. In my garden this year I’ve seen a lot of monarch butterflies.

 
I am going to replace my Redbud tree this fall (now 18 years old and leaning) with a Vitex I bought this year. The variety of Redbud I have does not flower well here in Houston. It does provide a nice shaded spot to hang my orchids on. In the meantime, the Vitex is on my driveway in a five gallon pot, trying to get through this long, very hot summer.

Learn more about Vitex at Aggie Horticulture.

The Vitex tree is on the Houston Chronicles list of the 10 best trees to survive a hurricane. After Hurricane Ike last year, it may be worth a look for your landscape if you lost any trees last year.

We’ve been a fan of Brenda Beust Smith and the Lazy Gardener column for years. If you are looking for the Houston Chronicle’s Lazy Gardener column, you can now find it online at http://blogs.chron.com/lazygardener.

“THE LAZY GARDENER’S GUIDE ON CD” — a gardening book on CD offers gardening tips plus 12 pre-designed gardens for butterflies, hummers, sun, shade and more. Monthly what-to-do reminders for Greater Houston/Gulf Coast gardens. $20 each. Make checks payable to Brenda B. Smith & mail to: Lazy Gardener’s Guide on CD, 14011 Greenranch, Houston, TX 77039-2103.

We are having a clearance sidewalk sale at Olive Barn on Saturday March 28th. 8am to 3pm. We’ll have our white Tuscany style pottery marked down 60% off.

The store will be open too! So come by and say hello. Please remember how important it is to support local businesses, especially during these tough economic times. BUY LOCAL. Thinking of starting a garden? We have heirloom seeds in stock.

See what’s new at Olive Barn on our website. www.olivebarn.com

Visit our Houston store page for a directions and map www.olivebarn.com/houston-store.html

Date: Sat March 28
Time: 8am to 3pm
Where: 12674 Goar Rd Houston, TX 77077 (right behind BIG JOHN’S ICE HOUSE)

Thank you for your support.

Big Delores (my large yellow Ogon Koi) died Thursday along with two other Koi in my pond. I had her for 13 years and she has survived many near death experiences; five day pump outage, two accidental pond emptyings and one 2 day power outage a few years ago. I changed some of the water on Monday and sadly left the hose on too long. Four hours later I realized it was still on, so I added Aquasafe (dechlorinator) immediately. I am not sure if the excess chlorine is what caused the problem, but I found her and two other Ogon Koi floating at the top of the pond. There are four Koi remaining and I do hope they survive. I added Rock Salt (helps soften water and keeps the fish lubricated and slimy) Thursday evening as a precaution to help them. I buried Big Delores in the garden and put a large Olive Jar on top of the spot. She was nearly two feet long.

Good night Delores, you were a wonderful fish and a joy to watch…. sleep well my friend.

Olive Barn resumed shipping on Monday Sept 15th. We’ve also shipped orders for Southern Bulbs this week too. Our seasonal staff has been working all week packaging their bulbs and getting them ready for shipment.

Hurricane Ike did extensive damage to the infrastructure of our area. Still over 1.2 million customers have no power. Day 6 and I still do not have power at my home. Our neighbors have banned together to help make it easier. I have a Koi pond with seven fish. On day five, it was getting critical. These fish need aeration and filtration to survive in small ponds. I was pouring water in buckets over the waterfall several times a day, running a small battery powered aerator, and even adding a 1/2 cup of Hydrogen Peroxide to the 700 gallon pond water twice a day. That tip came from Justin Bristol, owner of Pond Pros of Houston. He is an expert on ponds and caring for koi. Thank you, Justin! Luckily on day five my neighbors, two doors down, bought a generator and ran a series of four orange power cord extensions across two front lawns into my backyard to run my pond pump. Thank you Judy and Jesse! 

Well the storm has passed and in its wake, there is a lot of damage to our city. Over 2.1 million customers are still without power. Olive Barn faired well with very little damage, but most of our employees are struggling. Please be patient with us in the coming week as we effort to get things back online.

If you live in Houston and have a pond, you know what a chore it can be to clean and maintain your pond. And if you have Koi fish you know know how critical it is to keep the pumps running. I have had my latest pond for about 10 years now and I would be lost without the help of Pond Pros of Houston. This is not a paid advertisement! Justin Bristol, the owner of Pond Pros, knows everything about ponds, from installation to stocking your pond with plants and fish. He has been my trusted advisor on the health of “BIG DELORES”, my largest koi since 1995. I could not be happier with the service. If you have a pond and live in the Houston area, you need Pond Pros. Don’t want a pond, but like the sound of running water in your garden? No problem, Pond Pros installs water features of all kinds. They are experts with disappearing water fountains. If you want to learn more about Water Gardening in Houston, you must visit Nelson Water Gardens in Katy. They have a beautiful nursery filled with plants, fish and water features. Stroll the gardens, get ideas and get inspired! Then give Pond Pros of Houston a call!