Victoria County Master         Gardener Association

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A NEW TEXAS SUPERSTAR

Yellow Butterfly Vine named

TX Superstar

Yellow butterfly vine gets its name from the seed pods which resemble butterflies. Notice the green, immature seed pods and browned, mature butterfly shaped seed pods. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Dr. Jerry Parsons)



Contact Matt Bochat/VCMGA Advisor:

MTBochat@ag.tamu.edu

VEG Photos for December

It’s so nice to have brand new mail boxes in the Children’s Gardens at VEG. There are also new boxes for Fruit Trees, Compost, Veggie, and Greenhouse. When Educational handouts are available for the area they are placed in the mailboxes!

Sensory Area Box

Butterfly Area Box

Bird Area Box

Native Texas Area Box

Veggie Area Box

Fruit Tree Area Box

Greenhouse Box

Whether you are visiting VEG for ideas of what annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, or specialty plants to use in your landscape or if you need information about those plants-- you will also find ways to add seating to your own landscape.  Come and enjoy VEG.  There are many places in the shade to sit and relax or listen to the waterfall by the pond in between walking around and visiting special flowers and foliage.

Open dawn to dusk and admission is free.

Find old photos of VCMGA HERE:

Victoria Educational Gardens

Please come to visit VEG & Pavilion

at 333 and 283 Bachelor Dr. Victoria, TX

Forms

PLANT OF THE MONTH

Who had a beautiful Christmas Cactus bloom recently during the Christmas holidays?  I saw so many posts on Facebook of gorgeous blooms and beautiful, large containers of Christmas Cactus. Did you know there are Easter Cactus and Thanksgiving Cactus?

From a previous Gardeners' Dirt Article: 

It was named the Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesi) because it bloomed in December and the leaves resemble the cactus.

More generically referred to as the holiday cactus, Christmas cactus is closely related to Easter cactus (Schlumbergera gaertneri) and Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncatus). They all have fleshy, flattened, segmented joints and showy flowers ranging in color from white through pink, red and purple.

PHOTOS BY CHARLA BORCHERS LEON/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
The leaves of the Christmas cactus have flattened, segmented joints that are fragile and break apart easily. The flower buds and blooms also detach easily. Be careful to allow adequate space for the lengthy leaves to prevent their breakage as well as loss of color during the holiday season.

Buds of the Christmas cactus set when the length of the daylight hours in nature are approximately equal to the hours of darkness. Showy flowers appear in five different colored varieties with blooms for six to eight weeks once the buds are open.

The Christmas cactus - not a cactus at all - has its name due to its leaves resembling a cactus with blooms in December. It has been bred to have orange, red, magenta, lavender and white blooms.

Information from Gardeners' Dirt article by Jane Stephens

http://www.vcmga.org/2009_Dec10.html

Seating Ideas for the Landscape (from VEG)

Seating lines the walkway under the rose arbor

Nice black wrought iron bench by the daylilies

Concrete ornamental bench and a beautiful stone bench in the daylily area

Stone seat at the end of the labyrinth

Meditation Area has a wood bench for some quiet time.

Enjoy the deep sounds of the windchime on this wood and metal bench

The Tearoom Gazebo has lots of built-in seating

You've come a long way, baby!

VCMGA is a 501(c)3, not for profit educational association of Texas AgriLife Extension.