? MEET THE PANELIST! ? Colleen Dieter is one of our awesome panelists for our monthly BRAVE Communities Connection, April Showers Bring BRAVE Flowers! ? As a top gardening educator and founder of Central Texas Seed Savers, Colleen is often asked to speak to audiences about saving important plants and native Texas planting. She is the owner of Red Wheelbarrow Landscape Consulting, where she loves helping “do-it-yourselfers” find their own environmental passion right in their backyards. Dive deeper into her journey and passion by tuning in to her podcasts, “The Horticulturati” and “The Horticult ..read more

My friend and co-host of the Horticulturati podcast, Leah Churner and I, were guests of the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center last night for their special fundraiser dinner celebrating 10 years since the creation of the Luci and Ian Family Garden. Leah and I both realized we rarely get to visit the LBJ Wildflower Center in spring! I teach classes there in winter and summer, and I am usually too busy with business to get over there in springtime, so seeing the blooms was an extra special treat. Meeting other LBJWFC supporters and staff was a delight. Conversation at our table ranged from 9 pou ..read more

Hey it’s me, Colleen the landscape consultant. Did you know I am also a certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture? I will be part of a panel of arborists answering tree questions at this year’s fundraiser for TreeFolks- the Keep Austin Rooted Picnic. $50 for adults gets you a meal and 2 drinks at Live Oak Brewing. There’s music (obvs) and other fun activities. It is a fun event! Plus you are supporting the best tree planting org in Austin, reversing climate change through tree planting projects, and reforesting land that was damaged in disasters. Get all your warm fuzz ..read more

The Seed to Tree Partnership! That’s how! by Colleen Dieter register at treefolks.org/nursery In the midst of climate change action efforts, almost everyone agrees that planting trees in urban spaces is a good idea. Trees reverse the effects of climate change in the same ways as all plants, by taking carbon out of the atmosphere and storing it in their bodies, in the form of wood, leaves, roots etc. I have an affinity for trees that is hard to explain, I think it is because they are very common and mostly go unnoticed, but when they are not present is when you notice them the most. I have alw ..read more

You may have heard me talk about my volunteer organization, Central Texas Seed Savers, centexseedsavers.org. We prevent extinction of rare plants by sharing seeds. We support the seed collection at the Austin Public Library Central branch I providing seeds when the collection runs low. Katrin Abel, the librarian who cares for the seed collection shared this with me today “Here’s a fun stat for you: At the Sunshine Community Garden outreach on Saturday, attendees checked out 83 seed packets from the collection, which brings our total seed checkouts to over 25,000 packets since opening the colle ..read more

With the recent cold snap you might be wondering how to care for your plants. I have 2 classes coming up At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center that can help. Hope to see you there! Tree Pruning January 27 from 10 to noon. Register here: https://www.wildflower.org/event/tree-pruning Winter Care for Native Plants Feb 3 from 10- noon. Register here: https://www.wildflower.org/event/winter-care-plants ..read more

Are you a fan of the Old Farmer’s Almanac, that iconic paperback tome with the yellow cover and the hole in the corner? Are you a fan of my podcast, the Horticulturati, that not-yet iconic digital fount of Texas gardening info and feelings? Well, the two are colliding in this episode! I grew up reading the Old Farmer’s Almanac and in this episode I tell Leah, my co-host and landscape designer friend, all about it. I explore my feelings about the past and future of the almanac. Is the Old Farmer’s Almanac it out-of-date and defunct? Is it spreading harmful lies? Or is it what hurried and harrie ..read more

2024 Fruit Tree Calendar Has Arrived! I am excited to announce my new downloadable  2024 fruit tree calendar. Get automatic reminders for fruit tree care in your digital calendar. My universal .ics file is viewable on any device. It's like having me in your back pocket to remind you when to prune, feed and harvest! Get it before the end of 2023. It makes a great gift for the aspiring orchardist in your life! The file comes with both written and video instructions on how to download and install it on your device. Thanks, Colleen fruit tree calendar Example of Fruit Tree Care Calendar Item ..read more

October 28 2023 at the Austin Public Library Central Branch I had so much fun at the Central Texas Seed Savers seed swap last week. It was our annual swap at the Central Library. About 100 people attended and everyone was smiling and having fun. In addition to preventing extinction by sharing hard to find local plants and seeds, we exchanged how-to grow info and made new friends. We had a huge amount of seeds thanks to community donations, swap participants who brought seeds and a donation from David’s Garden Seeds. Sign up for the Central Texas Seed Savers newsletter here, and you can also su ..read more

At international Shores from 10 to noon. Register and get more info here: https://www.treefolks.org/events ..read more