Wichita Valley Landscaping

09/06/2026

Hometown Gardener 9/6/26 Labor Day weekend. I've been writing these for decades. In every one of the past Labor Days I have said, "It always rains at the lake on Labor Day weekend." No matter what lake you go to there will come a T'storm and force all of the ski crowd onto shore for a bit. I say this because The Rainmaker has a sense of humor and cannot resist all those flimsy tents and campfires. Near naked people will go and put clothes on when the wind blows and the temps drop. If you are a veteran camper you may remain outside in your bathing suit. Call it a cold shower?
I will never forget a time out on Lake Fork with my father-in-law Curly. We were across to the other side of the lake from the boat ramps fishing. There were other boats fishing nearby. Those guys had big bass boats with 100+ HP engines attached. Suddenly there was a roll of thunder. We looked behind us and saw a big dark cloud. We all continued to fish. When the wind picked up we knew the storm was going to hit us. The bass boats cranked up and were back at the docks before the rain got heavy. Curly's boat just had a 20 HP engine so we were chugging along when the main force of the storm was raining so hard it hurt when it hit. I took my hat off and held it in front of Curley's face so he could see enough to steer. When we finally hit the dock we immediately ran to the truck, started it and turned the heater on. We were shivering cold from the rain and and spray from the big waves. It had been quite warm that day. The storm, wind, and wet clothes had us near thermal collapse. We argued who was going to go back out and start the engine to load the boat on the trailer. I won. It was his boat.
Later, back at the house I heard him tell Nila he would never go fishing with that "diehard" again. Of course that was BS. We did fish together many more times. Curly and I were closer than I was with my real father. He ran Wichita Valley South and grew hundreds of trees and shrubs. I certainly would not have made it without his help.
Back to 2026... This year if it rains at any lake in North Texas you will be lucky. This was one of the hottest and driest Augusts ranked third in 100+ years of recorded weather. The gardening pages abound with heat stress related problems. Answers from fellow gardeners (some of them) border on the ridiculous. Guesses... Had one lady actually call me on the phone about English Ivy after getting guesses about fungi, grub worms, and such. She was so impressed with my common sense approach she will come in Monday to talk more and get a 50 lb. sack of molasses. I really don't know why it is called English Ivy but I do know that England is a much cooler and wetter climate than ours. Maybe it is native for them or maybe just got popular as a plant for them. BTW much of Europe is also in a heatwave with fire just like we are. Global warming is a man-made dilemma and it is up to us to fix it. Wichita Valley does not sell English Ivy.
For Monday (Labor Day) we will be offering free mulch to all who read this. Recycled chipped wood from local tree services. Everybody who comes in will be gifted. Our working class is one of the greatest assets this nation has to offer. Shame we are being over taxed and underpaid. Yet it has always been this way. Social Security does not offer a living wage to the working class. The rich get richer off our blood, sweat, and tears. Then our jobs get taken from us by robots and artificial intelligence??? God Bless those who sweep the floors (there are robots for that now too). God Bless those who pay taxes. The butcher, the baker, the candle stick maker.
Pray The Rainmaker returns to save us from this extended drought. I live in the country. Go drive and take a look. All plant life is suffering save for a few. Snow-on-the-Prairie (euphorbia marginata) is blooming right now in spite of it all. Milkweed vine (cyanchium laeve) is really putting on a show right now. Pollinators all over it. Some like hot and dry. Most don't. ALL will survive. Survival is what being a plant is all about. Remember these words about survival then maybe when you come home to your zinnias you won't feel too bad. They really should look a bit haggard right now.
Whatever the problem may be remember that hot and dry is the number one underlying cause. I am gonna cut this one short. All we that labor will have extra work come Tuesday. Stop by Wichita Valley and get your free mulch. We can fill your boat if you will allow us. Did you happen to notice the mosquitoes aren't bad? They need rain too. It was 108(f) on my recording thermometer. Eat well, sleep well, be well.

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08/30/2026

Hometown Gardener 8/30/26 September is the transition month. Meteorological fall begins this Tuesday. Fall equinox is third week 21st/22nd. This is when the tilt of the Earth tracks the sun directly over the equator. After that the sun tracks into the Southern Hemisphere and we begin the shorter days/longer nights. Think we are all ready for that to happen.
It has been a very rough August. Scads of, "What's wrong with my (fill in the blank)" on the gardening pages. Sad that so many folks think this is a disease of sorts that we can cure. It is called heat combined with drought. Most plants really love heat as long as there is adequate moisture/humidity. True, many of the symptoms are disease because poor conditions cause stress and stress opens the door to disease and insect damage. So we who are supposed to cure the disease write, "Water slow and deep," with every answer. Sprinklers of any kind throw water into the air and evaporation right now is scary. Pour and inch of water onto a pan or plate in the morning and check it at sundown. We are losing an inch or so every day to evaporation. So watering in the morning is a bad idea. Water at sundown to give your plants all night to rehydrate. Lake levels are dropping so water in the morning evaporates quickly in these conditions. This is extreme weather. That calls for different tactics. Keep that water in the lake and use it wisely. It does not matter how expensive your new "automatic" popup spray heads were. You have to learn how to use it. Nothing is foolproof when the chips go down.
Speaking of irrigation, you can look at the American Southwest and draw a line from Nebraska all the way to the Pacific. Popup spray systems are now outlawed in all those states. Texas and Oklahoma are not included yet. We will be as our populations keep growing and we continue to build factories and data centers that consume large quantities. Drought is the Demon that puts us all out of business. As soon as our lake levels drop to 50% restrictions kick in. The first order is to limit outdoor use. At 30% all outdoor use is stopped entirely. Exactly when we as gardeners need it the most. Remember 2011?
Every client I have worked with since 2011 has had an option to do water collecting off the roof. We were obliged to set up a collection system before we could begin the work in 2011. We made front page news that year and got free advertising from all other media. What a novel idea. On the other hand, some states will not allow water collection at all. Colorado in particular was one of the first. Forty years ago they already knew the consequence. Every drop needed to feed Lake Meade and Lake Powell whose water and electricity feeds untold millions in the drier states. Both lakes are in serious trouble now. What were my competitors doing in 2011? Many were hauling water to clients. Folks were stealing water. We were obliged to put locks on all hose bibs before we went home at night. This is all true and happened here. Do you think it will never happen again? Hauled water is expensive to say the least.
Meanwhile in 2012 Wichita Valley decided to show the public what could be done on rainfall alone. Our entire frontage from the parking lot to the street has not had a drop to this day. We practice what we preach. Our small office building has gutter and a downspout on every corner as does our greenhouse. All of our water goes into collection tanks and we use it. Even so, we still pay $300 to $400 every month for city water. When I asked about the down payment they wanted they compared us to Smith's whose water bill typically ran in the thousands. I managed to talk the water department into $500 since we were so much smaller. BTW Smith's also collects water in the two ponds on their frontage. Just makes sense if you are a serious gardener or in this business. Cactus and gravel is not the answer. Check our public displays.
OK? I don't know yet who took trophies home from Hotter 'n Hell. I do know that at some point Hell's Gate rest stop shut down due to heat. Air temps at 100(f) means the heat off that asphalt where the bikers ride was around 130 (f) and higher at more exposed locations. Late riders were sent on an optional shorter route through SAFB. Other than that another successful ride was put on the books. Hats off to those who went the entire 100. 45th year and counting for HHH. Teams from as far away as New Zealand were present. I read the back of one Tshirt that said Guatemala. I'm sure there were some mishaps along the way. There always is.
I have an organic raised chicken on the grill. Using Kenny Humpert's Honey BBQ seasoning. I've known Kenny for years and watched his seasoning biz grow. Honey BBQ is his best work so far. This bird was stuffed with fresh portulaca from what's left of my veggie garden. Everything else is toast. Literally...
September kicks the second season for landscaping and gardening. If you still think it is April you are shopping at the wrong place. Talk to some veteran gardeners. If you have never seen a valuable plant die you haven't done much gardening. Our half price tree sale ends Monday. Get on board.
Pray for the flood that will end this drought. Live in comfort. Be at peace. Think positive. See you soon!!

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08/24/2026

Solarization done right!!

08/24/2026

The words "automatic" and "Irrigation" should not be used in the same sentence. Drip everything.

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08/23/2026

Hometown Gardener 8/23/26 At 1pm as I write, it is 107(f) on my thermometer. The official temp in Holiday is 100(f). I have always understood that out here on the river the hot is hotter and the cold is colder. Never has made sense to me. My house sits on a north facing slope. I have pretty good tree cover all around. The Wichita River is my eastern border. I am not surrounded by concrete and asphalt with constant traffic belching hot smoke into the air. It seems like I should be the same or even cooler than the closest town. Reality is what it is.
With this in mind I have decided to cook indoors today instead of on the grill outside. I am going to do a dish I invented called "Ugly Eggs." Today it will be breakfast sausage, onion, and bell pepper. You can use burger or any meat you have. You can add any veg you have like peppers, tomato, herbs, and/or wild greens. I'll always add plenty of minced or powdered garlic and some cumin. Sometimes a spoon or two of chili powder instead. When the meat is browned with the herbs and veg you cover with whole eggs (yolks intact) turn the heat down to simmer and cover the pan with a lid. When the eggs are close enough to done you can serve. A fun dish to experiment with. We use it alot in the winter with our cast iron, two burner stove. Salt and pepper to taste with dinner rolls on the side.
Next weekend is the Hotter N' Hell 100. Love it or hate it, it is going to happen. A local rant blogger shamed our city last week. Sure enough, later I read that United Regional had a crew out cleaning up trash. I'm certain the HHH committee has crews out too. This is a major event that attracts riders from all over the world. Volunteers are needed and welcomed to this event. Our numbers swell by the tens of thousands with the riders, families, and support groups. We want them to enjoy to return.
Years ago the HHH was started on Southwest Parkway right in front of our nursery. I got to watch the whole spectacle up close and personal. My heart went out to the novice riders who went the 100 mile distance. I watched as they came in at 3pm and later. Slowly they peeled off that bicycle and walked around a bit to prevent cramps. Some came in and talked a bit offering money for using our parking lot. I accepted the money and listened to their story. Quite an accomplishment for a regular person.
The pros always started first and the 100 milers would come in at around 11am, never getting the full brunt of our typical August heat. I have always thought it would be a good twist to start the pros last and give them the heat of an August afternoon with the likelihood of an afternoon thundershower with the wind and possible hailstones. That would give them a tale to tell their friends and family back in France, Italy, or where ever they come from. New York city? They would also have to deal with passing all the slower riders along the way. Just a thought.
I have worked closely with Streams and Valleys. Our landscape crew actually helped build the off road trails. The off road riders actually start in the Wee-Chi-Tah Park that we also spent several years building. Roby Christie and I go way back to his years as Postmaster General in Wichita Falls. Jack Stevens was my neighbor. Jack went to Heaven a couple years back. Roby is still with us and will fire the opening cannon shot on Saturday. Our main employee Martha Davis used to ride the HHH events. Now she works the support tents as a volunteer. So Wichita Valley has played a supporting role. We have blood, sweat, and years invested in it. Again, love it or hate it, do what you can to support it. This is a major fund raiser. The HHH crews will start planning next year as soon as this year's events have passed. I am proud to live here. Proud to work with HHH and they still give me a Tshirt every year.
There were some T'storms got close yesterday. Some neighbors out west got under a super cell. Places like Childress and Paducah caught some much needed rain. Got close to us into the Vernon area before moving south out of our area. This tells us the Heat Dome that has caused drought conditions is breaking down. There are rain chances this week. Things are looking up. Some brave souls are preparing their fall veggie gardens. Some are talking about "next year." Those folks need our encouragement. My best tomatoes have always come in September/October. Smart gardening really is about fall/winter much more than spring. All you have to do is stop listening to the Megamarts and make friends with successful gardeners. They are always happy to share. Our voices reach many ears.
Natural gardening is for normal landscaping. Vegetable gardening is intense. Just the opposite. My landscape choices are based upon plants that are native and plants that are well adapted enough to live in this climate on these soils. Our hottest day looks to be Tuesday. After that we drop into low 100's for the week. Maybe the HHH will be hot enough but not breaking records. The weather guys now say we have had the third hottest August according to their records. I am more than ready to let The Rainmaker take care of things for the rest of 2026. I know we all are.
At 3pm it is 112(f) in my backyard. Time for a cold b**r. With any luck at all, I believe the worst is gonna be over with soon. We have certainly paid our dues. Live in comfort. Be at peace. Think good thoughts. See you soon.

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08/16/2026

Hometown Gardener 8/16/26 So here we are midway through August in a serious drought. No rain in the forecast and this week looks to be hotter than last week. It was 100(f) at noon outside my back door. I watered some earlier. Answering Facebook questions I nearly always mention deep slow watering. Potted plants will need some every day. Water dish under the pot is mandatory. House water is the worse kind. Collected water is best. I trickled water on my new Burkett pecan for 2 hrs. It has no leaves and half the stem is dead. My fault for neglecting it. I am doing this once a week. I have friends watering twice daily. My advice would be fall in love with plants that aren't so thirsty. My hibiscus is permanent 20 gal. container halfway in the water in the goldfish pond. I never water it but did get the pond full this morning. Twice weekly on the pond right now.
What's wrong with my hosta/hydrangea/etc? These plants need natural rainfall that cools the air. We cannot make up for it with house water. Shade cloth will help. However, the real answer is find plants you like that are better suited to our climate. This is Texas, not Wisconsin. On the flip side, my Texas sage have been blooming off and on almost nonstop since June. Surprised me, never seen this before. Discussion says this was due to higher humidity as we went into summer. Still blooming some as I write today. Plenty dry with low humidity now I would think. Nature each year is showing us something different. Observe and roll with it. I can see any good gardener who is willing to spend the extra time and money to grow food and flowering plants. The only green grass should be that associated with our valuable shade trees. Otherwise lawns should be brown right now. Spot a green lawn in this drought and you see a person who is wasting precious water. Lake levels continue to drop.
Now would be a good time to go for an early morning walk outside the neighborhoods. See what is still green and maybe even blooming. This is truly Texas Tuff stuff. Natives are not bulletproof in these conditions. This morning my pigeonberry (rivina humilis) was standing tall. Planted in unimproved native red clay it looks fine. No flowers. The Rainmaker has not shed a drop on it for a month now. I will use more of this in my landscape designs. Flame acanthus (anisacanthus wrighti) is another winner for a medium sized shrub that blooms during The Heat. When we see mesquites dropping leaves and prickly pear wrinkling up we are in serious trouble. I have seen that a cuole times in my life.
The super El Nino has not had much impact on us so far. The forecasters still have us painted in the green zone. There was serious flooding down around Uvalde last week. Next could be us? A little minor flooding would raise our spirits not to mention our gardens. We are a land of extremes. Drought/flood cycles are normal. Weather "averages" just add to our frustration. I have always said, "Once wet we tend to stay wet, once dry we tend to stay dry." Rain comes in bunches. So does drought.
Soooo....Water slow (drip or dripping hose) and deep. Sprinklers of any kind are wasteful. Throw water into the air and quite a bit evaporates before hitting the ground. Water late evening or at night. The rule of thumb about early morning watering does not apply during droughts and especially not during summer. I watered this morning with the hose wide open hitting the ground and flooding my plants. No water breaker or device that creates tiny droplets. I was serious and flooded. Then I turned it way down to drip my tree. Two hours on the pecan then I turned the water off. Now I cook and drink cold b**r this afternoon sitting in shade. No sophisticated timers or drip lines. Just a water hose in the hands of someone who knows. PJ and I have been hauling 300 gals. every day except Sunday. We have never had city water out here where we live. I still have not watered the frontage at the nursery at all. Check it out.
We did not make a dime on Friday or Saturday. This simply will not do so we are offering bargains on trees. Free mulch with every tree purchase. Pay, we'll tag and hold for you. We have the best prices in the area anyway. This is normal and how you beat the competition. Take advantage. When the weather cools and the fall rains kick, everything will be full price again. Compost and mulch are your two best weapons for retaining moisture. We have the best prices on those as well. The bills keep coming. Price of fuel is going up. We need rain!!
God bless those of you who support us. We survived 2011 and will survive this. WE need that jet stream to move south. My adopted grandson lives in Illinois. I will call him today. Upper Midwest is flooding. Too much or too little.... Rain!! Ya'll come see us. Get some freebies. Eat local, shop local, buy local. Be a locavore!!

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08/03/2026

Hometown Gardener 8/2/26 It was just one month ago that we celebrated my brother Brian’s birthday here at the house. We ran out of water as I watered our veggies that day. We had some drinking water stored and decided to deal with hauling water in on Monday. It rained 2” out here that afternoon. Our water collection tank had enough to turn the pump back on. Truly a Godsend on that special day. A few days later we got another rain of 1 ½”. Perfect!! Our 3,000 gal. collection tank was in good shape and we had received over twice our rainfall average for July. Does not get any better than this.
We are still running off the July rain to this day. We are liable to run out of collected rain water very soon. Maybe today. I have stopped watering outdoors altogether. The goldfish pond is way down so I will put some in there. PJ planted a pecan tree back in March so that gets watered if needed. The raised bed veggie gardens have stopped producing. All of that looks pitiful wilted but not dead yet. Another good rain could save it.
Rain got close to us last Friday evening. Our neighbors out in Kamay actually were hearing thunder and saw lightning. Then the system which looked real healthy just dissipated. Seems our good luck has reversed itself. I am going to go out and start a roast for dinner. Maybe that will tempt The Rainmaker.
Sometimes we just have to make these tough decisions. The weather we have had lately and what lies ahead can make you or break you. This is the best argument for using natives and well adapted heirlooms in your landscape. Veggie gardening is exactly the opposite. Yet there are some edible natives out there that blur the lines. Blackberries are a good example. Mulberries are like a giant blackberry if you get a good female. Just don’t put lawn furniture or clothesline nearby. Mulberry stains are permanent. I invented tie dye Tshirt as a very young boy when me and my buddy stopped fishing Sikes Lake and found the mulberry trees. 1950’s and for once my Mother was correct. I actually had “gotten it all over” me.
So that’s my situation. The forecast does not look good the next ten days despite the Super El Nino and the fact that we do, on average, see more rain in August. Of course the forecast can change. Usually does.
The 50% off tree sale continues. Believe it or not people are taking advantage. Some are even planting now. My crew put one in the ground on Friday. Yes we expect it to live. We’ll tag and hold and install if need be. Free mulch with every tree. Prime time for planting trees, shrubs, long life perennials begins in September. Prices return to normal at that time. Save money now.
Looking for our next project. Large or small does not matter. This is a rough business and we don’t recommend unless you love it. Seasonal income can dry up (get it?) pretty quick. We so appreciate those who have seen us lately. Good time to make some plans, do some drawing and get busy. Bring it!! Eat local, shop local, buy local, more next Sunday. Come see us!! See less

07/23/2026

We actually had some of these to sell. Thanks to Dan Hosage, San Marcos. Yep, Wichita Valley knows the best people in the biz.

07/19/2026

Hometown Gardener 7/19/26 The best summer in recent history. Without checking all the historical data for July my somewhat unreliable memory tells me we are having a decent run for summer 2026. When was the last time we showed over twice our average rainfall with still near two weeks left to get more? I can’t recall. With that rain comes cloud cover and cool temps. Spring is history that is for certain. Cooler temps are just around the corner. I read no less than two, “Is it too late?” posts on the gardening pages this past week. Thankfully my fellow gardeners straightened this out quickly. We are in the middle of our growing season we could just as easily say it is too early. Anyway I am proud to see these misinformed gardeners have found a better class to hang out with.
So, this morning I went out to plant a “Silver Peso” Texas Mountain Laurel. My second attempt in this same spot. My earlier plant is not totally dead but the top is dead. Some roots left so I am hopeful. Still, with planting conditions as good as they are a second seedling to hedge the bet seemed a good idea.
For those who don’t know Silver Peso is a rare silver leaf as opposed to dark green leaves. Any time we see silvery leaves in Nature we are looking at a supreme heat lover and dry location is a must. Don’t know for sure but the spring planted one had leaves up until June. I’m guessing some of the big rains may have been too much. I did add some extra limestone gravel this time. All Texas Mountain Laurel grow in Hill Country limestone and must have lime in the soil. I owe my colleague Micheal Hague for sharing a good crop of seed two years ago. His big specimen was located outside his old office at Longo Stone. No sooner than we had finished the collecting the Mother Silver Peso decided to croak. Mike said a leaky water line killed it. Bummer!!
So last year the baby Silver Peso started late spring as it heated up. We got near 50 seedlings. I shared some with Mike for his part in the deal and still have a good many left. Second year and still only 3” tall. Very slow but a real show stopper when those sky blue grape smelling wisteria looking flowers come off early spring!! Wowza… I just hope I live that long.
By the way, Silver Peso are rare in the trade so you won’t ever see one in Home Depot, Walmart, Atwood’s, etc. I may share a few. We will be potting into 5g’s soon. Those roots need room to expand.
What is happening with our weather is influenced by the phenomenon called El Nino. El Nino kicked in June this year now showing very warm water in the Pacific equator and points north in the Pacific. It is expected to strengthen into August/September. El Nino does typically cause higher rainfall from the Southern Plains into the Desert Southwest. Wet summer? Cooler summer? Sure hope so. Things can always change. We hear far too much gloom and doom about climate change, polar shifting, and what a super volcano or serious earthquakes might do. This is a good thing. You regular readers know a good gardener has to be an optimist. I hold to that.
I will close on this positive note. Plant some heat lovers to survive and bloom during The Heat. Outside the window behind me a green cloud Texas sage is covered in pinky/purple. Every pollinator known is on it right now. Especially my neighbor’s European honey bees. I just know she is gonna bring me a free jar one day. I feed her bees all the time. You can have your tropicals and in**ed hybrids. Make mine Texas sage, native lantana, red yucca, etc. I will finish cooking supper drinking some cold b**r, Ya’ll come see us. Don’t let the mathematical norms hold you back. We have a Super El Nino that just might make summer 2026 one to remember. Eat local, shop local, buy local. Go to the Megazons and get ripped off. AI was not consulted in writing this article!! Peace...

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