As William Lawson, a noted 17th century horticulturist, once asked, “What is paradise? But a garden, an orchard of trees and herbs, full of pleasure and nothing there but delights.”, just what we all would like our own gardens to be, a bit of paradise. This Garden Guide for Austin & Vicinity was born out of the frustrations of gardening in Austin with its mild winters, hot and dry summers, thin, rocky or concrete-like clay soils and numerous other challenges. So what will grow here and when’s the best time to do things around here? This book is designed by Master Gardeners as a basic guide to aid in working with our special climate and conditions, for gardeners new to this area as well as those who have gardened here for years. Featured are: Monthly Guides to help direct your landscaping and gardening efforts at the right time for this climate; Recommended Varieties of vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and more for this area; RESOURCES to call upon, including local organizations, nurseries, suggested reading, web resources and local gardening clubs; and an introduction to some of the best programs for landscape water conservation (XeriscapeTM and Water Wise) and pest control (IPM and Grow GreenTM).

What started out in January as a simple calendar grew into this guide to gardening in Austin when The Board and I saw the need for much more information than a calendar could display and something that could be kept as a record of the growing year. The garden notes area is to record your own data about weather conditions, planting dates, harvest dates, varieties that performed well or not, whatever you need to keep for future reference to assist your garden planning.

Dolores Svoboda Leeper
Master Gardener/Editor

From Page 4, Garden Guide for Austin & Vicinity