It doesn't matter if your sweetie's a boy or a girl, a gardener or not, we have cool Valentine's gifts that everyone will love, including beautiful art, housewares, gifts, decorations, pottery, cool and unusual tools, and of course--- the ever-popular gift of dirt! (Ahem. We mean soil, of course.) Another very popular gift is our one-size-fits-all Natural Gardener gift card. They're available in any amount.

THIS SATURDAY: This weekend's free class will be taught by ACC Horticulture and Landscape instructor (and lucky for us, Natural Gardener employee), Jeff Ferris. See our FREE CLASSES section below for details, and please come join us.

THIS FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY – AEROBIC COMPOST TEA: Not all Compost Teas are created equal! The Natural Gardener's Aerobic Compost Tea is brewed fresh each week, and each batch is checked under our microscope to ensure the presence and viability of beneficial organisms. When applied to the soil, our Aerobic Compost Tea increases soil fertility. When applied to plants, it helps prevent leaf diseases. One gallon will cover up to 2,500 square feet undiluted, and please remember to use Aerobic Compost Tea within 8 hours of bottling. (Otherwise, the little aerobic microbes will die.)

SPRING HOURS COMING SOON:  Starting Monday, February 13th, we'll be extending our hours for spring. Monday through Saturday, we'll be open from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., and Sundays we'll be open our same ol' hours, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

GIFT PLANTS: Rather than cut flowers, why not give a beautiful living plant this Valentine’s Day? We have hundreds of gorgeous plants to choose: flowers, hanging baskets, houseplants, herbs, trees, and much more. All of our plants are beautiful and will make lovely gifts, but some are beautiful and they have special meaning. Historically, figs and pomegranates have symbolized motherhood, fertility, and abundance; roses and apples, romantic love. If those meanings don’t work for you, pick out a pretty plant and make up your story or symbolic connection. Make it a good one, though; people may be repeating it hundreds of years from now. You never know!

DON’T FEAR IT – GO XERIC: We all know it’s good to use xeric plants in our yards, but to some folks the term “xeric” still conjures up images of ugly, old-fashioned western landscapes, or landscapes of places like Phoenix or Santa Fe. Thankfully, there are so many different xeric plants available these days, Austin can have entirely xeric landscapes that are both beautiful and vibrant. Our nursery has hundreds of beautiful cacti and succulents, as well as hundreds of xeric trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, and more. Our selection is deep and varied, and we’re always bringing in new and interesting xeric plants. This week, we have some awesome Whale’s Tongue Agaves, and also a new variety of Hesperaloe called ‘Brakelights.’ Hesperaloe is commonly known as Red Yucca, but its flowers are really more of a coral-pink color. Brakelights has much showier, true red flowers. Very pretty!

LESS LAWN, BETTER MEALS: Rather than spending so much time, money, and water on a lawn, why not grow something you can eat? Many edibles grow very well in the Austin area, so you could be growing lots of your own food instead of watering and mowing a lawn. Here’s a sampling of what you can grow at this time of year. (These are the edibles we have available this week.) Vegetable starts include Asparagus, Artichokes, Cardoons, Broccoli, Cabbage, Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, and Swiss Chard. In the fruit and berry category, we have Apples, Blackberries, Figs, Grapes, Peaches, Asian Pears, Oriental Hybrid Pears, Persimmons, Pomegranates, and Strawberries. Come out and visit us. Get some free instructional handouts, ask us some questions, and get started growing your own food.

BACK IN STOCK- TWO VERY POPULAR PLANTS: We’re happy to announce that we have ‘Will Fleming’ Yaupons and ‘Silver Peso’ Mountain Laurels back in stock. If you’re not familiar with these two great plants, you should come check ‘em out. Will Fleming is a cultivar of our native Yaupon Holly, so it’s tough and drought-tolerant, but it has a very different shape. The Will Fleming Yaupon grows into a narrow column, ultimately growing to about 12 feet tall, but only 1-2 feet wide. Its form is suited to many garden styles, and it’s perfect for narrow spaces. The Silver Peso Mountain Laurel is also a cultivar of a native plant – our beloved Texas Mountain Laurel. It has the same characteristics and requirements as the Texas Mountain Laurel, but Silver Peso has beautiful silver-gray leaves and darker purple blooms. The dark flowers against the silvery foliage are quite stunning, and yes, the flowers smell like Texas Mountain Laurel flowers - just like grape KoolAid!

LOVE SPUDS? PLANT POTATOES: If you like to eat potatoes, you should plant potatoes! They’re easy to grow, they do well in Central Texas, and the planting season runs from mid-January all the way through the end of February. (They do need a little prep before hand, though, so don’t wait until the very last minute.) If you’re a spud-o-phile, you’ll appreciate our treasure trove of tuber types: Desiree is a round to oblong tuber with pinkish-red skin and creamy-yellow flesh. It’s the most popular red potato in Europe. All Blue, with its blue skin and flesh, adds beautiful color to recipes. Austrian Crescent and La Ratte are fingerling varieties that make small to medium tubers with firm, creamy flesh. If you’re looking for good all-purpose potatoes, Kennebec and Yukon Gold are excellent boiled, mashed, fried, or baked. Last, but not least, Red Pontiac is a good and tasty “new” potato. All of the potato varieties we sell are well-suited to Central Texas, and they’ll be ready to harvest in roughly 100-120 days. Be sure to pick up some Dusting Sulfur and a free potato planting handout, too. 

MUST-HAVE GARDEN TOOL: The broadfork is a centuries-old tool that’s still popular today because: 1) it’s the best non-mechanized tool ever invented for cultivating hard soil, and 2) it is an extremely cool tool. It’s essentially a big “U” made of two long wooden handles attached to a metal crossbar at the bottom. The handles come up to about chest-height, and are made of strong ash hardwood, and the crossbar at the bottom is embedded with long steel teeth. You hold the handles, touch the teeth/spikes to the ground, and then step on the left side of the crossbar. Then you step on the right side. Then the left side again. The reinforced steel spikes easily walk their way down into the soil. Once the crossbar is at ground level, the handles become levers to rock the broadfork back and forth. Once the spikes are deep in the soil, just a little bit of rocking can loosen even the hardest and tightest of soils. A broadfork can do the job of a motorized tiller, but it’s a lot cheaper and cleaner – and less noisy – to operate. You can use a broadfork to turn hard soil, to work-in compost and other amendments, and even to dig holes. (Use your broadfork to loosen the soil, then remove the soil with a shovel.) If you appreciate fine and unusual tools, you should own a broadfork. Be prepared to loan it out, though. Once your friends and neighbors see what it can do, they’ll be in line to borrow it!

VALENTINE’S GIFT IDEAS: Looking for a loving gift for your sweetheart? We have wonderful Valentine’s gifts in every price range – from a lovely handmade greeting card to a truckload of soil or compost. Choose from our high quality gardening products, beautiful and unique handmade items, gifts made from recycled materials, Fair Trade products, unusual and useful tools, and lots more. For the hard-to-shop-for Valentine, we also have gift cards available in any amount.

     GIFTS $15 AND UNDER  * “Wild Woolies” felted critters (adorable birds, foxes, goats and more) * Envirosax chic shopping bags * Meditating animal sculptures * Best-1 brand top-selling hummingbird feeders * Hand etched and hand painted gourds * Mini critters handmade of colorful beads * Flower seeds

     GIFTS $30 AND UNDER  * Windchimes * “Wild Woolies” felted birdhouses (many styles and they’re all super adorable!) * Enchanting blown glass ornaments * Bird feeders * Solar-powered lanterns * Stained glass suncatchers * Colorful and handy Tub Trugs * Hats

     GIFTS $50 AND UNDER: Windchimes * Haitian art * Quick Clean bird feeders * Blown glass hummingbird feeders * Locally-made stained glass suncatchers * Felco Essentials pruning shears * Tabletop bamboo fountain kits

MANURE COMPOST: Anywhere you need to enliven soil and boost plant health, you can use our Manure Compost. It's ideal for amending soils in vegetable gardens, flower gardens, and topdressing your lawn. Our Manure Compost is made from rich, all natural ingredients including composted cow manure, stable bedding, and vegetable waste. And remember: we don't use sewage sludge or bio-solids in any of our products. Never ever!

All of our high quality composts, soils and mulches are available in several ways: you can buy them pre-bagged or you can "bag-it-yourself" here at our store; we can load your truck or trailer; or we can deliver any of our products to you. For delivery minimums and prices, please call 512-288-6113 and ask for our Dispatch Department.

Not sure how much compost, soil or mulch you need? Use this simple equation: Length (in feet) x Width (in feet) x Depth (in inches) divided by 324, this will give you the number of cubic yards you will need. Call us for delivery or let us load your pickup or trailer. You can also bag-it-yourself from our bulk piles, or save some work and buy pre-bagged.

Classes are held Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. unless otherwise specified. All are subject to change- please call first to confirm. Most classes are about 1 hour long. Classes are held outdoors, so please dress for the weather. Arrive early for best seating. Seating is limited – you are welcome to bring your own chair. All class attendees will receive a coupon good for 20% OFF one item purchased that day (excluding bulk soil yard products and sale items).

February 4: Jeff Ferris, Horticulturist at the Natural Gardener, ACC Instructor, and cofounder of Neighborhood Harvest Project (teamnhp.org), presents "Why Organic is Better: For You, Your Wallet, and Our Planet." The mantra of organic gardening is to feed the soil, not the plant. Have you ever wanted to know what that really means? What's the big difference between organic and "conventional" gardening anyway? Come find out why the popular "blue water" is inferior to the bacteria, fungi, amoebas, and billions of other critters present in an organic garden. Discover how these multitudes of microorganisms, working hard to store water, stock nutrients, search out vital elements, and destroy invading hordes, actually preserve an important precious resource: your money.

February 11: Mike Shoup, Owner of the Antique Rose Emporium, presents "Antique Roses  - The Ultimate Landscape Plant." Happy Valentine's Day! Antique roses are beautiful, drought-resistant, and hardy additions to our landscape. Now is the right time to prune roses for their health and for more blooms this spring. Mr. Shoup is an original Texas rose rustler who has many lessons to share. Come learn from the founder and owner of Texas' premier supplier of roses how best to care for these jewels of the garden.

February 18: Rosina Newton, Horticulturist and Education Coordinator at the Natural Gardener, presents "Organic Vegetable Gardening 101." Beginning gardeners – or experienced gardeners from other regions of the country – often ask for this class. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to create successful vegetable, herb, and flower gardens in Central Texas. Learn site selection, soil preparation and fertilization, planting methods, pest control, and more! Rosina is a 1984 graduate of Texas A&M University in Horticulture and has been assisting customers and serving as horticulturist at the Natural Gardener for over 15 years.

February 25 at NOON: John Dromgoole presents "What it Means to be an Organic Gardener." John is the founder and owner of The Natural Gardener and Lady Bug Brand, and host of the longest continuously-running organic gardening radio talk show in the nation, Gardening Naturally on KLBJ-AM. He hosts two weekly television segments, Backyard Basics on KLRU's Central Texas Gardener and The Weekend Gardener on KXAN.  John was the host of the first national organic gardening television series, The New Garden, on PBS. For over 29 years John has been answering gardening questions on air; this Saturday John will be live and in person, talking about organic gardening and answering your gardening questions!