Zinnias in full bloom Allergy sufferers hear this!  There are plenty of allergy-friendly flowers to plant in your Houston gardens this season. When choosing flowers, look for those that produce minimal pollen.  If the flower is insect pollinated, you will likely not feel allergy symptoms.  Once the insect has done its job, the heavy pollen falls to the ground.  If the flower is wind pollinated, the pollen stays in the air much longer. No time to research?  Here are our favorites:  Vinca~ A spring and summer staple, they grow well in containers and raised bed kitc ..read more

Jen’s Peggy Martin Rose The Garden Girls love our Peggy Martin roses. Considered our own ‘Rosie the Riveter,’ Peggy Martin roses are delicate but offer true Southern grit.   A Little Bit About Peggy- A Southern Gem The story goes a little something like this:  A woman named Peggy Martin was living in Plaquemines Parish, just southeast of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.  Martin was evacuated.  Upon returning home, she discovered that her climbing rose, which had started from cuttings, had survived.  This defiant rose survived the storm and two w ..read more

Courtney’s garden designed and installed by Garden Girls Trellises are a wonderful addition to any kitchen garden.  They can double your growing space by allowing you to grow vertically.  And, when you are not growing veggies on your trellis, your trellis provides a focal point and visual interest to your garden space. Favorite Veggies that Need a Trellis In Houston gardens, our favorite veggies that grow on a trellis are tomatoes, cucumbers, and sugar snap peas.  Tomatoes and cucumbers occupy the space in spring, summer, and fall; while sugar snap peas use the trellis in coole ..read more

Jen’s Garden- A Mix of Flowers and Veggies If you’re going to grow one flower this year, we want you to experience growing dahlias. This blog post will provide you with everything you need to know in a condensed, cliff’s notes ‘Garden Girls’ version.   How To Get Big Blooms? Dahlias are grown from tubers or transplants and are planted in the spring.  They need full sunlight and warm soil to grow.  February - early April are ideal times to plant dahlias here in Houston.  The bigger the bloom, the more sensitive to heat the dahlia will be. When temperatures hit 90 degre ..read more

With our first freeze in the forecast for the Greater Houston area, we want to make sure you feel prepared to protect and care for your garden and plants. Read below to understand what plants are at risk for damage, steps for protecting them, and how best to care for your plants after a freeze.  When should I be concerned? Even in our subtropical climate, most plants will continue to grow and thrive without the need for protection above 40 degrees. It is only when we get into the 30s that we need to start providing additional care for our plants. Our motto is when in doubt, protect. What ..read more

Jill gardening in her raised beds In Houston, we don’t have much choice but to garden in raised beds because of the poor quality of our clay soil.  However, after years of raised bed gardening, the Garden Girls know it is the best way to garden.  Here is why you should give raised bed gardening a try in 2024:   Ease of Gardening Nothing is more backbreaking than bending down to plant seeds, tend, or harvest veggies.  Raised bed gardening lets you pick the height you are most comfortable with.  Most of our gardens are two feet tall; however, a tall client sometimes req ..read more

As the weather outside turns frightful, you may be spending less time outside in your garden.  It’s the perfect time to bring some holiday cheer into your home with houseplants.  We have your care guide below for three Garden Girl holiday houseplant favorites.   As for what you should be doing in your garden in December, have your frost cloth handy in case temperatures dip to freezing, harvest your herbs and lettuces frequently, and plant more lettuce seeds or brassicas, like kale, if you have space. Now, let’s move inside to holiday houseplants. Jill’s kitchen with lettu ..read more

The holidays are approaching, and we want our gardens to be reflected in the meals we share and the gifts we give.  An easy way to impress guests is to add edible flowers to a salad or freeze in water for fanciful ice cubes.  When you use flowers from your own garden, you know they are grown organically and free of pesticides.  Here’s Garden Girls top 3 edible flowers to use for the upcoming holidays. Nasturtiums in a salad   Nasturtium Nasturtiums are a Garden Girl favorite.  You can grow them by transplant or seed.  As they grow, they cascade down the side of a ..read more

Phew- we made it to October.  Cheers to cooler temperatures, all things pumpkin and spending time in our gardens.  The forecast is showing rain this week and we may even see lows in the 60s.  We will drink a pumpkin latte to that.  As we enter fall, the Garden Girls want to challenge you to grow more veggies from seed.  French Breakfast Radishes by Seed Why We Love Growing From Seed While our local nurseries are filling up with beautiful transplants, growing plants from seed is a miraculous endeavor.  The awe of planting a seed, watching it germinate and then gro ..read more

Dino Kale & Parsley Who is ready for fall?  Our drought and soaring temperatures have taken a toll on our gardens, landscaping and our spirits.  Luckily, fall is around the corner with pumpkin lattes, football and so many goodies to plant in the kitchen garden.  We want you to be ready for fall gardening so below are three tips for a fabulous fall garden.    Know What is Appropriate to Grow Mid-September to mid-October is a perfect time to plant your Houston fall garden.  It is optimal planting time for beets, bush beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cilan ..read more