Ok...we've gotten off easy the last couple of months with all the mild temps and rainfall...but SUMMER IS COMING... so it's time to mulch folks. That's what I'll be doing this weekend. Mulching all the new and old beds. On yard of mulch down...only 7 more to go. I think I'd better go ahead and take the ibuprofen now! yeeesh.

So, what are you folks doing in the garden this weekend?!

I've been harvesting some fruit off of my 'Golden Mama' tomato plants over the last few weeks, but the big haul is beginning to come in! I filled this obviously inadequately sized bowl to overflowing today, and there are plenty more fruits to come.

I'm also harvesting some wonderful 'Black Cherry' heirlooms. I've saved the larger fruit for slicing, but what to do with some of the smaller fruit? Well, one of my favorites and super easy thigns to do with cherry or small tomatoes is marinate them overnight, then roast them. So some of these babies will be going into a baking dish, drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary from the garden.

I'll let the tomatoes marinate overnight, then tomorrow, I'll pop them into a 425F oven and roast them for 15-20 min (15 minutes is typically adequate for cherry sized tomatoes, I give it an extra 5 minutes for larger fruit). And there you have it, the most delicious soft warm tomatoes to serve on top of bread, crackers, or anything really. YUM. I wish it was tomorrow already!

Just came across one of my shots of huge blue agaves in Ecuador...wow. They were truly stunning! (Most of my travel photos end up being plants...I know..it's a problem!)

Interestingly, small farmers use them to create living fence lines around their crops, like corn that you can see growing behind the agave, to keep the cattle out of the fields. It creates quite the fascinating landscape scene! Here, we'd drool over this impressive specimen as a pricey garden feature...But in case you're looking for a creative ideal to keep the deer out of the veggie beds..here ya go!

I pulled this photo because I was thinking about agave in general this morning. As we go into the heat of the summer here in the South, we're all looking for plants that will establish easily, even with heat and watering restrictions. If you have a good local nursery, you should be able to find there a variety of agave species in many colors and sizes to fit your needs. While you may not be building a living fence, you might simply be looking for some showy feature plants for containers on the patio or front stoop. You can plant agaves by themselves in large containers, or you can mix them with other succulents with similar water needs.

If you're intersted in learning to put together stunning succulent containers, and you're in the DFW area, you'll get a rare opportunity to learn how-to from Cody Hoya of Terrain Horticultural Design, on Saturday June 9th at 1pm, at North Haven Gardens in Dallas. You'll learn about the plants, concept, and maintenance for creative succlent containers. You leave the class with a good understanding of how to create a drought tolerant, modern, sculptural and beautiful design. At 2PM Cody will do a short pop-up class out in the garden center to talk about available succulents. Don't miss it!

Texans..it's about that time to harvest your garlic, if you haven't done so already. Click HERE to read more about garlic

Here's the story on NBC5, with Omar Villafranca, on urban backyard beekeeping! Enjoy.

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

Shot a segment today with NBC 5's Omar Villafranca on backyard bees in the city! Should run this evening on the 10pm news, but if it's rescheduled I'll repost.

if you're interested in keeping bees in the DFW area, check out TBA www.texasbeekeepers.org for links to your local group, where you can take classes and attend regular meetings.

Looking for a super hardy drought tolerant Texas native that is also beautiful and blooms FOREVER?? Ok, maybe not forever, but let's say April through fall. That's a pretty long time. Plus, it attracts butterflies. If that sounds up your alley, then Gaura lindheimeri needs to be on your garden shopping list. 'Whirling Butterflies' is a favorite white-flowered varieties, but it also comes in pink...'Ballerina Rose'...lovely

Save Seeds is a Smart Way to Save

Were you a smart gardener this spring? Did you let some of your cool season herbs and veggies to flower (which is always lovely) so you could collect seed? If so, then you'd have been collecting seed over the last few weeks. Arugula and Dill are two species that are particularly giving with their seed (most of my dill plants are actually volunteers from last year) and nows the time to collect seed from both.

Arugula seed. I've been harvesting this past week.

Dill seedheads...so pretty! I'll be harvesting seeds today.

Both Arugula and Dill are two edibles that make fantastic ornamentals, so it just makes sense to let them go to flower and then seed in your garden. Now, this only works with open-pollinated varieties, not hybid cultivars. For example, 'Celebrity' tomatoes are an F1 hybrid...the seed you save from that plant won't come true to type (you'll get seedlings with a lot of different variants that express characteristics of the original parent plants). But with 'Green Zebra' tomato, an open-pollinated heirloom, you can save the seed and get another generation of 'Green Zebra' tomatoes. So for plain old Arugula and Dill, you can save the seed.

Old 35mm film containers with the lids make great storage for seeds. Or use any container that will keep your seeds completely dry. Make sure to label the container with the plant and date. Some folks keep them in the fridge to preserve viability. I'll be starting these Arugula and Dill seeds outdoors in September for the cool season!