ZINNIAS ARE A GREAT CHOICE!

The new varieties of zinnias grow well all summer long here in Houston. Not that long ago zinnias were problematic due to our constant battle with powdery mildew.

Fortunately, the newer varieties are very disease resistant and bloom profusely with no deadheading needed. 

These low to the ground varieties are my favorite since they mix well with the agaves and yuccas.

They can take full sun or partial shade.

Zinnias are originally from Mexico so they can cope with the brutal summer heat of the South.

If you want to learn ALL about ZINNIAS, check out this link to the Chicago Botanic Garden.

They call them the hardest working summer flower. I agree!

https://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/smart_gardener/zinnias_hardest_working_flower_summer_garden

All for now. Enjoy your garden wherever you may be!

David/:0)

TROPICAL TEXANA'S BLOGIVERSARY PLUS WHY GARDEN BLOGS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME

To celebrate my second year of blogging, I'd like to tell you why YOUR garden blog is important to me. As much as I love garden books and magazines, they still don't fill that special niche we call garden blogs. 

Garden Blogs are living, growing, and ever changing. They take us through seasons, through ups and downs, through the thrills of victory (like remaking your entire garden landscape)...

 and through the agony of defeat (like when one's entire garden is destroyed by a hurricane). But especially important is the fact that every garden blog has behind it a gardener; a person filled with ideas, of hopes, of visions and filled with endless dreams. 

Should I jump?

They want simply a closer walk with natural beauty. But most admirable is the fact that these gardeners (that would be YOU!) are filled with a desire to share their dreams with others.

Garden blogging is not easy. It takes a lot of time, a lot of creativity, and a lot of research. At times it takes some fancy camera work (in some very awkward positions) and it demands a writer's sensibility. 

Yet, you all do it. And you do it year after year.  I like that. I like that a lot.  Thanks to all who create and design these beautiful works of art we call Garden Blogs.

A beautiful new species of butterfly stops by today! Hope that lizard doesn't see it.

So thanks to all who stop by and enjoy this little garden called Tropical Texana. I promise you won't get eaten by a lizard!

David/ :0)

Falling Crapemyrtle blossoms on an Agave

GARDEN BLOG GAMES: 1st EDITION~ Which is NOT a Florida Garden Blog?

I'm fairly certain I will never get to visit all the garden blogs in the world, but I can at least have fun trying.
And what better way than to play some games. Since I'm a teacher, this is a pleasure.
Won't you give it a try? I guarantee these are all actual GARDEN BLOGS that I have visited.

WHICH ONE IS NOT  A FLORIDA GARDEN BLOG?

A.  My Florida Backyard   ( see, I'm nice, aren't I?)
B.  Terra Mirabilis (means miraculous land)
C. Hoe & Shovel
D. DragonFly Garden
E. Shovel-Ready Garden
F. The Rain Forest Garden
G. Peace in the Valley
(scroll down for the answer)

E. Shovel-Ready Garden is in Austin Texas   http://shovelreadygarden.blogspot.com/  .  All the others are in Florida. Happy Weekend.
hOPE yOU  Get TO GO outSIDE and GARDEN your gloves off! :0) David/

Take this FUN GARDEN BLOG QUIZ THAT I MADE UP!

Before I get too far into blogging and while I still feel NEW at it, I wanted to record my misconceptions on blogging. I've been observing Garden Blogs for about a year now and writing one for about 7 months.  I love statistics since I'm a former Math Teacher, so after crunching some numbers I've come up with this UN-scientific survey.

By the way, I failed my own test...that's why I made it. READY? Oh, and your findings might be quite different from mine which makes it all the more interesting. Tell me in a comment. Thanks.

QUESTION #1: TRUE or FALSE     During the winter when everything is dormant and the garden is BROWN, garden bloggers take a break and don't post.

Answer:  False!  This still amazes me and there are many reasons for it. I was thinking it would be TRUE.

QUESTION #2: TRUE or FALSE     Garden bloggers never post anything about their failures since this would not be very interesting to other gardeners.

Answer: False again!  In fact, most garden bloggers are very honest about both the good and bad happening in their garden. We all learn from one another in this regard.

QUESTION #3: TRUE or FALSE    Northern garden bloggers have no interest in sourthern gardens and vice versa.

Answer: FALSE!  I wasn't sure about this one when I started, but I have found that the love of gardening is universal and goes way beyond geographical boundaries and climates. Plus, most of us are just plain curious.
 I follow many northern blogs and love to see what's going on.

QUESTION #4: TRUE or FALSE.   Austin is the Garden Blog Capital of Texas.

Answer: TRUE!  I thought most of the cities in Texas would be about equal in this area, but according to my count, Austin has more garden blogs than just about anywhere.  I'd love to see more from San Antonio, Brownsville, McAllen, Corpus Christi, and Galveston Island since I'm a tropical gardener.

QUESTION #5: TRUE or FALSE.  Out of the first 500 comments left at Tropical Texana, I have only had to delete one for improper content.

Answer: TRUE.  And this one wasn't even bad. It was just a nursery trying to advertise their plants via a comment.
I have found that gardeners are very nice to each other and want to be helpful. Hey, life's hard enough without one more worry, right?

QUESTON #6: TRUE or FALSE. After seeing all the wonderful garden blogs out there, I should probably not start a new garden blog since everything has already been said and shown.

Answer: FALSE. Every garden and gardener is so unique and this is such a wonderful community of support and encouragement, it would always be nice to have additions.  Plus, many towns and areas don't have a single garden blog and you would be the first! My boyhood town and its county here in Texas has a population of 50,000 and I'm still hoping someone will start a garden blog from that region soon. I've not found a single one so far. Boo hoo.
Plus,  it is a fun way to keep a record of your garden.

LAST ONE....QUESTION #7:  Labels in the label box are not important.

FALSE. In fact, it is vital you put some type of label so that search engines can find the topic.  And not all sets of words generate the same number of searches. If you'd like other gardeners to find out about the information you've posted, always put a couple of labels. If you know the scientific name for a plant, put that as well since this helps people worldwide in their search for information. If you have a certain plant that you collect, add the word 'collection' and this will help. :0)


So, how did you do?  I missed all of them.  LOL
Thanks for visiting and Happy Gardening. David/