Garden Conservancy Open Days Austin Tour

The Show

Garden Conservancy Open Days Austin Tour

air date: October 18, 2025

On location, we visit Leah Churner and Holly Gardovsky of Delta Dawn Gardens who designed a terraced garden that layers native plants in a dynamic urban wildlife sanctuary. William Glenn from Greensleeves Nursery spotlights wild-life friendly native plants that go from deluge to drought in sun and shade.

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Episode Segments

On Tour

On location, we visit Leah Churner and Holly Gardovsky of Delta Dawn Gardens who designed a terraced garden that layers native plants in a dynamic urban wildlife sanctuary.

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Interview

The Garden Conservancy Open Day Tour: Travis County 2025

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Question of the Week

What’s Wrong with my Purple Coneflower?

Purple coneflowers are a great native perennial in our drought-tolerant gardens. The flowers attract many pollinators and small birds love the seeds. But what are these black “spots” damaging the flowers? Texas A&M entomologist Wizzie Brown explores.

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Backyard Basics

Drought to Deluge Native Plants

William Glenn from Greensleeves Nursery spotlights native plants that go from deluge to drought in sun and shade.

Watch more Backyard Basics videos on YouTube →

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October To Do List

Plant: ornamental & wildlife

Perennials, shrubs, ornamental (clumping) grasses
Cover crops for dormant vegetable beds: clover, hairy vetch, elbon (cereal) rye, Austrian winter peas, or annual rye
Late: native wildflower seeds like bluebonnets, phlox, Mexican hat, Indian paintbrush, Indian blanket (gaillardia). Also, non-native poppies, larkspurs, hollyhocks

Plant: herbs

Perennials thyme, oregano, lavender
Cilantro seeds or transplants, parsley, dill, fennel , chervil, summer savory, borage

Plant: food crops

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Vegetable Planting Guides (Central Texas) http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/home-landscape/edible-gardens/growing-vegetables/

Prune

Oak trees safe to prune

Divide/Move

Iris, daylily, fern, liriope, spring-blooming perennials, violets

Prep

Add compost to vegetable gardens along with organic fertilizer if not already done
Decide wildflower seeds and bulbs to plant in November
Mulch tropical and semi-cold-hardy plants like gingers, Esperanza, Pride of Barbados, Firecracker fern, bananas.
Take cuttings of tender annuals to propagate in warmth to renew your garden next spring
If temps dip, cut basil and preserve in oil in the freezer
Collect seeds of annuals to dry and store inside until next spring.

Lawn

Fertilize with an organic slow release formula like 8-2-4 or similar ratio. Avoid products with too much nitrogen. This is the best time of year to fertilize.
Brown patch: Apply a quarter inch of compost. Apply corn meal. Find out what’s causing the problem like low drainage spots or compacted areas.
Mow high to fend off weed seeds that are germinating. Taller grass shades them out.

Other tasks

Late month: get row cover or plan other protection in case of early frost in November
Cut basil to freeze in oil in ice cube trays to use this winter in soups and stews
Collect seeds from summer annuals to dry and store indoors until next spring
Get houseplants ready to move inside. Investigate for any “buddies” that could be coming indoors with them.

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