Okay, where was I - yes, a magnificent planting of mature (at least 25 years old), never-been-hacked-back, 'Muskogee' crapemyrtles can be found in the Heritage Rose Garden, located in the Southwest corner of the Tyler Rose Garden. I haven't counted how may there are lining the southern and western perimeter of this garden, but there are at least 9 of them - well spaced, allowed to grow to their full potential. They are beautiful in bloom, but perhaps the most enduring quality is the sinuous multi-stemmed trunks.

Right now the grey bark is exfoliating in long, narrow sheets, to freshly reveal the smooth, tan inner bark. The ground beneath is littered with the shed bark, making a really interesting sight.

The Heritage Rose Garden overall is also looking great for the middle of summer, and is worth a visit at any time of year. Perhaps more on the Heritage Rose Garden next time.

I finally spotted a large tunnel system where I've had success previously. Picking a straight-away, I set the Out-O-Site trap in the sandy, dry soil. I check the traps daily. If they are not sprung, I'll probe around the trap to see if the mole made it through without tripping the trigger. This happened probably 5 or 6 times over a week period of time.

I finally decided the dry, sandy soil was being pushed through rather than up, which springs the trigger. So I got a gallon of water, and wet the run on either side of the trap, and then wet the soil plug under trap so there would be a little more resistance when the mole pushed through. It worked the first time!

I think this may be why I was able to catch so many last year - it rained almost daily up until July, and I caught most of them in the early part of the year. So, if you're having trouble catching moles in dry, sandy spots, try wetting the soil.

Did you know that there is also an azalea native to Texas? Maybe you've heard of the Azalea Canyon near Newton, Texas where the deciduous azaleas draw visitors every March to see the show. But, did you know that there is another azalea native to Smith County in Northeast Texas? I was so surprised when one day one of my Master Gardeners casually mentioned she had native azaleas blooming along a creek in her backyard. Sure enough, she had a very nice colony of Rhododendron oblongifolium, better known as the Texas Azalea. It is not a show stopper, but it is very cool to have a local, native representative of one of our favorite plant groups.

Texas Azalea is a deciduous azalea, coming out of domancy in March. It blooms in mid to late May, with sprays of pure white flowers,having a clove-like fragrance. The leaves, buds and flowers are covered with sticky glands, a distinctive characteristic of this species. By the time it begins blooming, it has put on a lot of new growth, which partially obscures the flowers.

I'm not 100% positive it is R. oblongifolium. I remember reading somewhere that some taxonomists or Rhodie specialists felt it was a type of Swamp Azalea - R. vicosum. Both bloom late, in May, have clove-like fragrance, have sticky buds. I not sure it really matters all that much - I just like having it in my yard,where it blooms alongside an oakleaf hydrangea.

Texas Azalea is difficult to propagate, and not especially showy, so it won't ever become a common centerpiece in the landscape. But, it's nice to know that Smith County is home to native azaleas. 

But, it doesn't have to be over. The foundation of most of the Tyler Azalea Trail are early-blooming azaleas that bloom just as or before new growth begins. Kurume, Southern Indica and a few other hybrid groups make up the bulk of the beauty.

In the past few years, Encore azaleas have hit the scene, promising repeat bloom in late summer and fall. Take a trip to the Ina Brundrett Azalea Garden at Tyler Jr. College (just east of the Jenkins Hall) to see examples of every variety that has been releases do far.

There is a group of azaleas that bloom in May, a group of Japanese hybrids called Satsuki -  which means "5th Month". There are hundreds of varieties, but only a few are popular in landscapes and in nurseries. One of my absolute favorite Satsuki varieties is called 'Wakaebisu'. It begins blooming in early to mid-May, and is a very heavy bloomer. I also like it because it is a very compact grower, staying low and slowly spreading, making a great shrub for the front of the border. Low-grower, heavy bloom, evergreen - what more can you want?

I had read an azalea popularity survey several years ago, and 'Wakaebisu' was on everybody's list of favorite pink varieties. Its May-bloom is a great way to extend the azalea blooming season, and to get fantastic color in your garden in May, where it can bridge the gap while pansies and snapdragons are fading while summer annuals and perennials are gaining steam for the summer show.

At the Texas Master Gardener Conference, held last week in Conroe, the Smith County Master Gardener Association received several awards from their peers for their outstanding volunteer and educational programming for the 2007 calendar year.

The Smith County Master Gardener Association received a 1st Place Award in the Graphics Presentation category for a PowerPoint presentation on Bulbs for Northeast Texas, which was shown during the Fall Garden Conference and Bulb Sale last year. Other awards included: 2^nd Place Award in the Mass Media category for the Smith County Master Gardener Website (http://scmg.tamu.edu); 2^nd Place Award in the Publication category for the Butterfly Gardening brochure that is used in the IDEA Garden and for other events; 3^rd Place Award in the Project category for the Tyler Rose Garden Docent program; and 3^rd Place Award in the Association category for overall excellence in programming.

Nine Smith County Master Gardeners joined the over 700 attendants at this annual conference where they received advanced training in a wide range of subjects, plus getting an opportunity to see what other Master Gardeners are successfully doing in their counties.

Currently there are 138 certified Texas Master Gardeners in Smith County, along with 17 interns. In Texas, there are 115 counties with Master Gardener programs, where volunteers are trained in a wide range of horticulture topics in exchanged for service in their counties by providing educational programs and information in gardening to the adults and youth in their counties. The Master Gardener program is a volunteer program of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Based on the Independent Sector's dollar valuation of $19.51 for a trained volunteer's time, Smith County Master Gardeners volunteer time in 2007 of 10,000 hours, in over 20 different educational projects and programs, equates to $195,100 benefit to Smith County.

The next volunteer training in Smith County will begin in January 2009, with applications accepted beginning this fall. For more information on the Smith County Master Gardener program, see their web site at scmg.tamu.edu or contact the Smith County AgriLife Extension office at 903-590-2980. Residents of other counties should contact their respective county Extension offices.

This Tuesday, May 6 program is free, open to the public, starts at noon, and lasts about an hour long. There is ample parking available outside of the southeast gate. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs as seating in the garden is limited.

If you have been to the IDEA Garden before, you know how beautiful and diverse this

The "First Tuesday in the Garden" programs will continue monthly through the middle of the summer. The next program is "Texas Superstars" on June 3^rd. The series will then resume in September.

Master Gardeners, a volunteer organization of Texas AgriLife Extension, are people from all walks of life who enjoy and are dedicated to teaching others about gardening, plant diseases and pests. Additional information can be found at the Master Gardener's website, http://scmg.tamu.edu or the Texas AgriLife Extension Service East Texas Gardening website, EastTexasGardening.tamu.edu.

Yesterday, I noticed, in the same area by the street, a fresh mound, and sure 'nuf, it was in progress. So, I hurried, got my sharp-shooter shovel and waited patiently for it to start shoving more dirt up. Patience did not pay off this time, though, and it got away.

I figured the creature would be really spooked, because I excavated a bit to examine its very large tunnel system going off in either direction from the mound. At any rate, I left the shovel in a nearby spot just in case. This morning, there was a BIG fresh mound in the exact same spot. I could almost hear it chanting, "Nah, nah, nah, nah nah nah". 

So, the saga continues. I'm waiting for more apparent surface ridges appear to start my trapping program, realizing moles from neigboring properties will always recolonize the vacated runs.

Several people have asked about large, unusual growths on their red oak trees. These galls, called oak apple galls, are very conspicuous, about the size of a golf ball. The oak apple gall, which is mainly formed on red oaks, is kind of hollow, soft and full of spongy tissue, and in the center is the young developing insect inside a harder core.

Most galls are mere curiosities in the plant world, and for the most part do not interfere with or hurt the host. As mentioned above, once formed, gall development cannot be stopped, and there is no control. Nature, however, provides its own control through various kinds of parasites that prey and feed upon the larvae inside the gall. This is why you rarely see heavy gall infestations on a tree year after year. Occasionally galls can get so numerous that the leaves may drop, and a couple of types of galls are formed on stem tissue rather than on leaves. These can cause significant twig damage and dieback if in they occur in large numbers.

One of the greatest recent introductions is not a native, but a Chinese redbud (C. chinensis), and the one I'm most

familiar with is 'Avondale'. We have a specimen in the IDEA Garden (in the Tyler Rose Garden)  that is in full bloom right now (hopefully the mid-20's predicted for this evening won't totally blight the flowers). This plant literally is covered stem to stern, trunk to tip with flowers. This is a short, compact tree, and apparently doesn't get quite as tall, as the native redbud does. Literature states it tends to have multiple trunks, and perhas that is the case, but 'Avondale' is grafted, and ours is a single trunk. There is another 'Avondale' in Tyler Rose Garden on the southern edge of the main rose garden area. If you are looking for a small specimen tree for an up-close location, check this one out.

Another Chinese redbud variety that is becoming more available is 'Don Egolf', a National Arboretum release. It has the same, as the National Arb. puts it, "stem to stern" blooming characteristic, but sets no seed. 'Avondale' on the other hand, sets an abundance of the typical legume pod wherever there was a bloom - a characteristic some find distracting. It doesn't bother met that much.  'Don Egolf' is reported to grow slowly to 9 feet tall, so is would another great choice for a specimen or accent plant in the landscape.

On Saturday, February 16 is the East Texas Spring Landscape & Garden Conference at the Tyler Rose Garden Center. See the previous entry for general details. The agenda will be posted shortly at: http://easttexasgardening.tamu.edu/programs/programs.html

Then, the following Tuesday, February 19, is the East Texas Fruit & Vegetable Conference at the Tyler Rose Garden Center. This program is for truck farmers and folks involved or interested in commercial production of vegetables, fruit and/or wine grape programs. For details, see: http://easttexasgardening.tamu.edu/programs/fvconfagenda2008.pdf