NonTypical Lawn Care

10/08/2025

We use them often…

09/19/2025

Some of my favorites from last week…

08/13/2025

Will eventually have a new page for my custom planter/landscape business. We want to thank everyone for the many years of lawn care maintenance.

08/06/2025

We plant these a lot. When we can find them.

HOT FUN IN IN THE SUMMERTIME

This is the part of the summer that John Floyd, former editor of Southern Living, described as “The Big Burn.” Week and week of temps in the 90’s crisps the lawn, withers tomato vines, and consigns flowering perennials into barbecued slumber. But not this Grumpy fave! No matter the heat, it blooms nonstop. Its name? Crossandra.

Sometimes called firecracker flower, crossandra is a small, evergreen shrub native to India and Sri Lanka. It grows about two feet tall and wide, making it a good choice for either a container or garden bed. In warm weather, showy flower spikes that open from bottom to top adorn the glossy foliage. Orange is the most common color, but plants also come in coral and yellow. Butterflies like them! Do deer like them? I have no idea and I don’t care. If you say deer ate yours, I still won’t care.

Crossandra isn’t fussy. It likes moist, well-drained soil and partial to light shade. Full, all-day sun scorches the leaves. Deadhead old spikes to keep new ones coming. It isn’t winter-hardy north of Zone 9, so if that's where you live you can either treat it as an annual or do what I do – bring it inside to a bright window for the winter. It makes a handsome houseplant. The crossandra shown here has been with me for three years.

Look for crossandra at home and garden centers.

07/02/2025

For everyone needing planters.

06/19/2025

Our fancy garden with what I call a Fred Flintstone table & chairs. But it produces everyday .

03/22/2025

I have always Loved these. Just planted some yesterday for customers.

03/20/2025

Happy First Day of Spring. Lots of Spring planters to do.

03/15/2025

HEB always has great plants.

Announcing a collaboration in celebration of native plants between the Native Plant Society of Texas and H-E-B Our Texas, Our Future. The Society is happy to celebrate native plants with […]

03/08/2025

Who is ready for some Spring Planters? Will be doing them starting next week!

03/07/2025

On this day, March 7, 1901, the bluebonnet was officially designated as the state flower of Texas. A symbol of beauty and resilience, these stunning wildflowers have painted our landscapes every spring for over a century.