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- Hi, there, I'm Tom Spencer.

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This week, discover how 
urban prairies matter

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to our long-term ecology.

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John Hart Asher, 
environmental designer

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at the Lady Bird Johnson 
Wildflower Center,

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explains what we can do at home.

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On tour, a living 
wall pilot project

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explores success under 
harsh conditions.

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Daphne answers 
your top question,

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and John has your 
Backyard Basics tip.

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So, let's get growing, 
right here, right now!

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- [Announcer] Central 
Texas Gardener

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is made possible in part by 
Austin Area Garden Center,

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sharing the joys of 
gardening for over 50 years

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in Zilker Botanical Garden,

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home of 32 garden clubs

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and Zilker Garden Festival.

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zilkergarden.org.

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And from the University 
of Texas at Austin

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Lady Bird Johnson 
Wildflower Center,

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displaying Texas native 
plants in sustainable gardens.

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And with the generous support 
from Lisa & Desi Rhoden.

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Support for this and 
other KLRU productions

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made possible by the 
Producers Circle,

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ensuring local programming

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that reflects the 
character and interests

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of the Greater Austin, 
Texas community.

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(upbeat whimsical music)

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- What exactly is a living wall,

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and how can it 
change our future?

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The University of Texas 
School of Architecture

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and the Lady Bird 
Johnson Wildflower Center

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collaborated to explore 
techniques in harsh conditions.

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- [Reporter] To explore 
living wall ecology

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in a harsh environment,

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the University of 
Texas at Austin

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and the Lady Bird 
Johnson Wildflower Center

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partnered in a project

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that takes education 
outside the walls.

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Planted in June 2016, its 
roots started with an idea.

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- The project really started in

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2010

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when I

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became a faculty member

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in the School of 
Architecture here in Austin,

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and came across a wonderful 
man named Mark Simmons,

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who is the Director of Ecology 
at the Wildflower Center,

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the Lady Bird Johnson 
Wildflower Center.

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He was directing

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and doing some major 
research on green roofs,

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and I was super excited to 
see that that was taking place

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at the Wildflower Center, 
and my thinking was,

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"Why aren't we doing this 
in the vertical dimension

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"with architecture?"

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And I approached Mark and said,

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"Look, I've got some 
sketches, and I've got ideas

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"about the architecture 
side to this,

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"but my love of plants 
only goes so far."

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And so, we started 
imagining what that

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architecture and ecology 
incubator could be like.

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And then wanting it to be

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around the School of 
Architecture in some 
capacity because,

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from my perspective,

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that's where we're trying 
to change the thinking,

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is that we're not 
just building with

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steel and concrete 
and glass anymore;

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we're building with plants

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and trying to integrate 
landscape in a different way,

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in the vertical dimension.

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We wanted to

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replicate or test 
the western facade

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that is the most challenging,

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and so this is the 
northwest corner of the

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Goldsmith Hall for the 
UT Architecture School.

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- We planted all the units 
at the Wildflower Center.

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With our volunteers,

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and with our staff tying in 
with our space, which was,

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it was really beautiful 
and fun to do because

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a lot of the 
volunteers hadn't...

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They were very curious 
about this particular pot

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we were using and why,

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and so, there was 
a lot of questions,

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which I think was 
really, really lovely.

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- [Reporter] Danelle 
designed and fabricated

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the 148 plant cells on a 
10 x 25-foot structure.

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- It is sized to be not only

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the right sort of 
capacity for a plant to

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be able to grow into.

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It's not huge, because 
it needs to be able to be

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held up by a wall.

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- [Danelle] Our pilot 
project is actually

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cantilevered out of the ground.

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It's not touching 
Goldsmith Hall because

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in effect it is temporary.

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It's just a folded 
thin metal plate

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that has this hexagonal 
honeycomb pattern cut out of it.

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- [Reporter] The soil 
blend's also a result

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of years of testing.

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- The soil that we use 
at the Wildflower Center,

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what we've found, that if 
there's particulates and sized

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the same amount,

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that kind of pack in there, 
they hold a lot of heat.

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So, we've developed a media

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that has different 
particulate sizes,

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and so, air can move 
through it easily,

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and the plant can 
actually root easily.

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But it still holds on to water.

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It has a certain amount 
of organic material in it.

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But it's not an organic material

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that's going to break 
down immediately.

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It's a slower material 
that'll break down slowly.

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We actually use things 
like pecan husks.

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Then, when we installed 
it in the wall,

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we had one or two 
big rain events.

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And yeah, it's been a struggle 
for some of our species.

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False aloe is just not 
liking the rain at all.

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We also put the wall on 
the most extreme condition,

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which is on a 
west-facing surface.

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So, getting a very 
specialist plant might not be

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the best thing to do for 
this particular situation.

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So, choosing the 
plants for here,

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we looked at eco-regions 
around Texas.

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And some of the 
eco-regions we even choose

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areas that were out 
in the Trans-Pecos,

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because cities tend to be

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five to 10 degrees hotter than 
the surrounding rural areas.

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So, we knew we might have 
to have some hardier,

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heat-tolerant 
species on this wall.

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So that's what we looked at.

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We looked at species 
in Edwards Plateau,

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and the Balcones Canyonlands.

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We looked also to 
the Chihuahua Desert

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for a few different things.

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And then there's a few 
things from the east as well,

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and in the Blackland 
Prairie zones.

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A lot of the grasses 
we chose are very

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hardy and kind of generalists,

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so they live in many different 
habitats across Texas.

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Two of those being 
sideoats grama,

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which is the Texas state grass.

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And then, we also 
use little bluestem.

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Some of the other 
species that are really

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tidy and nice are red yucca, 
which just keeps its form.

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It's not overly fussy.

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It hasn't lost a lot 
of dead material.

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We're doing seasonal 
maintenance trips,

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where we go in and we record 
everything we do in each pot.

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I know how much dead biomass

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needs to be picked 
from these things.

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I know the amount 
of time it takes for

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one person to kind of handle 
this whole particular site,

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so that if we were 
to create a larger

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wall in the future,

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we'll know what type of 
time it takes to put in

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to this particular system.

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We're also keeping 
soil moisture,

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pH, and salinity information.

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So, let's talk a little 
bit about irrigation, too.

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So, one of the reasons we do a 
certain amount of soil volume

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is so that the plant can hold 
moisture within that volume.

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- Each component has its 
own irrigation drip line,

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which is, in some 
effect, redundant

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because we could imagine that

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one could drip all the way down.

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But we really want to 
understand, at a granular level,

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what water is being 
given to each plant,

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and the variety of 
plants that we've chosen,

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and how we can reduce water 
usage as much as possible.

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It's a

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research side to 
what we're doing,

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that's been directed by 
Markus Hogue from Facilities.

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He's really in charge of

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the smart-watering system 
initiative that's on campus.

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And so, any water that 
is going into the wall

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is being data-driven 
and data-monitored,

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and it doesn't get watered 
on days that it's raining.

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We're monitoring the 
water distribution,

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the thermal heat gain

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in both the front and the back 
of the wall, and in between.

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We're monitoring motion

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and

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light.

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And so, temperatures of the day

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and everything to do with 
the environment that is

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very local here is 
all being captured.

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We're not only considering

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the benefits of plants for 
such a living wall system,

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but also the habitats 
that we've included

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on the four corners of the wall.

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- We have four 
different habitat units

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on this particular wall,

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and they're all for 
different species.

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Two of them,

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we got really specific 
with how we designed them.

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One of them was a wren house.

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The other thing that 
we did specifically for

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a particular species is 
the native bee house.

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- And then the cork habitat 
that you see in the corner

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is the bask.

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We're just providing

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a kind of scratching, 
exfoliation surface 
that lizards like.

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There are actually sort of 
insects and bees and bugs

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sort of adapting to 
what is here, because

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before there was just 
stone and concrete,

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which is nice,

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but I think that we've 
given them a bit of relief

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that's different from what 
they might find out here

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in the lawn and 
oak tree scenario.

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People who have nothing 
to do with architecture,

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or the Wildflower Center, 
are stopping and asking,

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"What is this, and why is it 
here, and what is it made of?"

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And so, we're sparking a lot 
of interest from people who

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just were unaware.

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You know, as much as we 
think that living walls

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are becoming ubiquitous, 
there are some out there that,

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this is completely 
new, and I'm happy that

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we're changing the way people 
think about architecture

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and think about our 
future development.

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- All right, well 
that unique exhibit

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from the Hanging 
Gardens of Babylon

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to the vertical gardens 
on the UT campus,

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it's very cool.

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Thanks for sharing it with us.

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Right now, we're 
gonna be talking about

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ecological design, and my 
guest is John Hart Asher

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from the Lady Bird 
Johnson Wildflower Center,

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and John, what the heck 
is an ecological designer?

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- That's a good question, and 
it's one that's asked a lot.

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Our group is

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the Department of Ecological 
Research and Design,

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and we're really a niche sort 
of group in that we bring

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ecology, so we have ecologist 
biologists on staff,

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and landscape 
architects on staff,

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which my background is.

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I'm a Longhorn that was 
trained here at the UTSOA.

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And we bring those two 
worlds of thought together

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so that we get fully 
functional landscape.

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So, it's not just about 
beauty, but it's really about

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cleaning air, cleaning 
water, sequestering carbon,

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all of those benefits you get.

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- [Tom] And how the 
plants work together

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to do all of that. 
- Absolutely.

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- It's a very cool 
piece of science that's

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a cutting edge right now. 
- Absolutely.

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- I'm very excited about 
the work being done.

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A lot of these sites that you're 
working on are urban sites,

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aren't they? 
- Yes, so,

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when we started about 2000,

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a majority of our 
projects were more rural.

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There were ranch owners 
that wanted to know

251
00:10:37,833 --> 00:10:41,366
how to revert their 
land back to a prairie.

252
00:10:41,366 --> 00:10:44,233
But now, the further 
as we go along, 2018,

253
00:10:44,233 --> 00:10:46,966
almost two decades, a 
pretty much of a majority,

254
00:10:46,966 --> 00:10:50,300
if not all of our 
projects, are urban

255
00:10:50,300 --> 00:10:52,000
designs.

256
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,733
And it really is a 
big commentary on 
how important it is

257
00:10:54,733 --> 00:10:56,900
to thread nature 
through our cities,

258
00:10:56,900 --> 00:10:58,733
but also again, it 
always comes back to

259
00:10:58,733 --> 00:11:00,766
we get all that 
wonderful function.

260
00:11:00,766 --> 00:11:02,166
- Exactly. 
- Yep.

261
00:11:02,166 --> 00:11:04,400
- There are ecological 
benefits to all these things.

262
00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,700
In the past, we were taught,

263
00:11:06,700 --> 00:11:09,533
urban streams, dangerous, 
bad, put it in a culvert,

264
00:11:09,533 --> 00:11:11,800
that was actually destructive.

265
00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:15,700
And actually, more harmful 
floodwise to a lot of other

266
00:11:15,700 --> 00:11:17,100
communities downstream.

267
00:11:17,100 --> 00:11:21,100
- Absolutely, and we shouldn't 
expect that nature is

268
00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:22,366
over here,

269
00:11:22,366 --> 00:11:25,733
and then where we 
live is sort of

270
00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:28,466
adverse conditions.

271
00:11:28,466 --> 00:11:30,800
We should expect the 
flora in abundance.

272
00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,766
We should expect the 
health benefits from nature

273
00:11:33,766 --> 00:11:35,600
where we live every single day.

274
00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:37,933
- Well, there's some examples 
you're working on in Austin.

275
00:11:37,933 --> 00:11:40,066
One of them has to 
do with Waller Creek.

276
00:11:40,066 --> 00:11:41,333
What is that project about?

277
00:11:41,333 --> 00:11:43,366
- So, the Waller Creek 
restoration project,

278
00:11:43,366 --> 00:11:46,500
we're with Michael Van 
Valkenburgh Associates.

279
00:11:46,500 --> 00:11:47,733
It's really exciting.

280
00:11:47,733 --> 00:11:50,133
We're helping turn 
essentially a degraded

281
00:11:50,133 --> 00:11:53,000
water shed back into 
a thriving ecosystem.

282
00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:57,433
Now, it won't be a complete 
100% restoration of what it was,

283
00:11:57,433 --> 00:12:00,100
but it's going to be 
something very close to that,

284
00:12:00,100 --> 00:12:02,400
and it's gonna be an 
amenity for the city,

285
00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:04,433
and really something 
nationally that I think

286
00:12:04,433 --> 00:12:06,133
will be a wonderful example. 
- Yeah.

287
00:12:06,133 --> 00:12:08,900
And homeowners can 
play a role in that by

288
00:12:08,900 --> 00:12:10,466
catching stormwater 
on their properties.

289
00:12:10,466 --> 00:12:13,366
- Absolutely, the more water 
we can keep in the Uplands,

290
00:12:13,366 --> 00:12:14,733
so that would be people's yards,

291
00:12:14,733 --> 00:12:16,233
you don't think about that. 
- Right.

292
00:12:16,233 --> 00:12:18,833
- But the more water we can 
keep up there and let that

293
00:12:18,833 --> 00:12:20,633
slowly infiltrate 
through the soils,

294
00:12:20,633 --> 00:12:22,900
the less that our 
creeks have to do.

295
00:12:22,900 --> 00:12:25,466
- That's gonna be 
a project to watch.

296
00:12:25,466 --> 00:12:28,100
There's another that 
you've been working on,

297
00:12:28,100 --> 00:12:30,133
which is very high profile.

298
00:12:30,133 --> 00:12:32,533
It's the Bush Presidential 
Library in Dallas

299
00:12:32,533 --> 00:12:34,033
on the SMU campus. 
- Yes.

300
00:12:34,033 --> 00:12:37,933
So, that was a really exciting 
project that we worked on

301
00:12:37,933 --> 00:12:39,700
for a number of years ago.

302
00:12:39,700 --> 00:12:42,066
This is actually the 
5th-year anniversary

303
00:12:42,066 --> 00:12:43,233
of its installation.

304
00:12:44,900 --> 00:12:47,533
Mrs. Bush will be hosting 
a big ceremony up their

305
00:12:47,533 --> 00:12:50,000
for everybody come and 
look at the prairie.

306
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,066
It's really, really 
exciting, in that

307
00:12:53,566 --> 00:12:55,500
President Bush and Mrs. Bush

308
00:12:55,500 --> 00:12:57,866
really wanted to bring

309
00:12:57,866 --> 00:13:00,133
nature back into the 
middle of Dallas as well.

310
00:13:00,133 --> 00:13:03,233
So, we designed about a 
14- to 16-acre prairie

311
00:13:03,233 --> 00:13:04,800
right alongside SMU campus.

312
00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:07,033
- And there's so many 
benefits to prairie gardens.

313
00:13:07,033 --> 00:13:10,833
I mean, you have reverence 
cleaning of the water,

314
00:13:10,833 --> 00:13:14,266
you know, slowing the 
filtration, reducing flooding.

315
00:13:14,266 --> 00:13:17,733
One thing I learned recently 
is that an acre of prairie

316
00:13:17,733 --> 00:13:19,500
sequesters as much carbon

317
00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:21,466
as an acre of the 
Amazon rainforest.

318
00:13:21,466 --> 00:13:22,766
That blew me away. 
- Yeah.

319
00:13:22,766 --> 00:13:24,233
The grasslands are

320
00:13:24,233 --> 00:13:26,866
some of the most endangered 
eco-types in the world,

321
00:13:28,166 --> 00:13:29,833
but a lot of people 
see them as nothing.

322
00:13:29,833 --> 00:13:32,333
They see them as sort 
of barren wastelands.

323
00:13:32,333 --> 00:13:35,766
But, grasslands are only behind

324
00:13:35,766 --> 00:13:40,066
peat bogs and permafrost in 
terms of carbon sequestration.

325
00:13:40,066 --> 00:13:41,966
So, they're a 
wonderful tool for us.

326
00:13:41,966 --> 00:13:44,133
- Yeah, well, 
amazing tool, really.

327
00:13:44,133 --> 00:13:45,566
- Absolutely.

328
00:13:45,566 --> 00:13:47,533
- Real quickly, there's another 
project you're working on

329
00:13:47,533 --> 00:13:48,933
which has to do 
with Hill Country,

330
00:13:48,933 --> 00:13:50,933
and that's Blanco 
River restoration.

331
00:13:50,933 --> 00:13:54,700
- Absolutely, after the 
2015 Memorial Day flood,

332
00:13:54,700 --> 00:13:56,966
we heard a lot of residents 
in that area wanting to

333
00:13:56,966 --> 00:13:58,666
fix their landscape.

334
00:13:58,666 --> 00:14:01,966
And unfortunately, they 
had, with good intentions,

335
00:14:01,966 --> 00:14:03,733
had contractors coming 
in with heaving equipment

336
00:14:03,733 --> 00:14:06,100
down into the river,

337
00:14:06,100 --> 00:14:08,600
and they're actually 
exacerbating some 
of the problems,

338
00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:10,400
and primarily erosion.

339
00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,433
And so, we got together with 
Texas Parks and Wildlife,

340
00:14:13,433 --> 00:14:14,900
created a

341
00:14:14,900 --> 00:14:18,000
137-page booklet called the 
Blanco River Design Guidelines.

342
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,133
It's a free resource

343
00:14:20,133 --> 00:14:21,633
for everybody.

344
00:14:21,633 --> 00:14:22,833
You can access it at the 
Wildflower Center website,

345
00:14:22,833 --> 00:14:25,100
and also the Parks 
and Wildlife website,

346
00:14:25,100 --> 00:14:27,300
and it really walks you 
through the nitty-gritty

347
00:14:27,300 --> 00:14:29,000
of all the components 
to what you need to do

348
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:30,533
to restore your land.

349
00:14:30,533 --> 00:14:33,566
- Well, you're doing this 
at a kind of a macroscale.

350
00:14:33,566 --> 00:14:36,000
People at home can do 
it on a microscale.

351
00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,066
- Absolutely. 
- And they can adopt

352
00:14:38,066 --> 00:14:40,766
certain techniques you know, 
the creating of rain gardens,

353
00:14:40,766 --> 00:14:44,066
other ways to slow the flow, 
planting of native plants.

354
00:14:44,066 --> 00:14:46,700
One of the things that we 
wanted to talk about today

355
00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:48,366
is the planting 
of native grasses,

356
00:14:48,366 --> 00:14:51,533
which are an essential 
piece of the designing

357
00:14:51,533 --> 00:14:53,200
of our local ecology. 
- Absolutely.

358
00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:55,733
They are the workforce 
of the prairie.

359
00:14:55,733 --> 00:14:59,600
They put in these extension 
root, fibrous root systems

360
00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:01,333
that can go down 20 feet or so.

361
00:15:01,333 --> 00:15:02,866
That's where we get 
our drought resistance.

362
00:15:02,866 --> 00:15:06,566
- Even 30 feet, I've seen it. 
- Absolutely, absolutely.

363
00:15:06,566 --> 00:15:08,766
They're beautiful, and 
they're something that I think

364
00:15:08,766 --> 00:15:10,433
a lot of people are 
scared of because

365
00:15:10,433 --> 00:15:13,700
how do you identify a grass? 
- Sure, it's tough.

366
00:15:13,700 --> 00:15:15,200
- Yeah. 
- It is tough.

367
00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,633
- When I got into 
this sort of work,

368
00:15:18,633 --> 00:15:19,666
grasses were the thing.

369
00:15:19,666 --> 00:15:21,200
You just gotta sort of jump in,

370
00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:25,300
and over time you sort of 
build your knowledge base.

371
00:15:26,166 --> 00:15:27,733
Grasses are beautiful.

372
00:15:27,733 --> 00:15:30,166
They inflouresce, 
they have flowers

373
00:15:30,166 --> 00:15:32,733
that people don't 
appreciate as much.

374
00:15:32,733 --> 00:15:33,933
- [Tom] They're 
stunning actually.

375
00:15:33,933 --> 00:15:35,800
People have really 
begun to adopt

376
00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,033
some of these plants 
very avidly, you know.

377
00:15:38,033 --> 00:15:39,500
- Absolutely.

378
00:15:39,500 --> 00:15:41,000
There are varieties-- 
- Gulf muhly, for example.

379
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,066
- There are varieties being 
developed at many gardens,

380
00:15:43,066 --> 00:15:46,133
but the sheer number 
that were in our prairies

381
00:15:46,133 --> 00:15:50,466
offers gardeners at home a 
wonderful palette to pick from

382
00:15:50,466 --> 00:15:51,900
for their properties.

383
00:15:51,900 --> 00:15:53,900
- [Tom] And they're great 
companion plants for wildflowers

384
00:15:53,900 --> 00:15:56,433
and shrubs and other 
kinds of things as well.

385
00:15:56,433 --> 00:15:58,833
And there are grasses 
that will adapt

386
00:15:58,833 --> 00:16:01,000
even to shady situations. 
- Absolutely.

387
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:02,266
- [Tom] Not as 
many, but they will.

388
00:16:02,266 --> 00:16:04,133
- Yeah, we don't have it's...

389
00:16:04,133 --> 00:16:06,433
When you get in the shade, you 
sort of reduce your palette

390
00:16:06,433 --> 00:16:10,100
by a good amount, but there's 
things like Inland sea oats,

391
00:16:10,100 --> 00:16:10,933
there's some of those.

392
00:16:10,933 --> 00:16:12,633
Texas Bluegrass

393
00:16:12,633 --> 00:16:13,700
is a wonderful

394
00:16:14,866 --> 00:16:17,733
grass, and also even our 
state grass of Texas,

395
00:16:18,666 --> 00:16:19,933
sideoats grama.

396
00:16:19,933 --> 00:16:21,433
It preforms pretty 
well in the shade.

397
00:16:21,433 --> 00:16:25,300
- Okay, well, spring is 
the time to plant grasses,

398
00:16:25,300 --> 00:16:27,933
and what is the 
appropriate technique?

399
00:16:27,933 --> 00:16:31,033
Are you advocating for 
starting from seed?

400
00:16:31,033 --> 00:16:33,033
- I like to go with 
seed personally,

401
00:16:33,033 --> 00:16:34,466
because it's pretty cheap,

402
00:16:34,466 --> 00:16:36,233
and if you're covering 
a larger area,

403
00:16:36,233 --> 00:16:39,866
it's the most economical 
way, and it's pretty easy.

404
00:16:39,866 --> 00:16:42,400
You can also do some plugs.

405
00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:43,600
It depends on what your budget.

406
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:45,233
You can really 
sort of design it.

407
00:16:45,233 --> 00:16:47,566
It depends on what 
your parameters are.

408
00:16:47,566 --> 00:16:50,433
- Yeah, and I think a 
mix of the two actually

409
00:16:50,433 --> 00:16:53,233
in the areas where you 
might have drainage issues,

410
00:16:53,233 --> 00:16:55,366
and you need a more 
established plant.

411
00:16:55,366 --> 00:16:57,400
That would be a good 
place for the plugs,

412
00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:01,033
but at seed, the 
others out elsewhere.

413
00:17:01,033 --> 00:17:02,633
Site preparation 
for seeding though.

414
00:17:02,633 --> 00:17:04,066
What's that? 
- Yeah, so,

415
00:17:04,066 --> 00:17:05,333
you wanna take your time.

416
00:17:05,333 --> 00:17:06,833
It depends on what's 
been growing there.

417
00:17:06,833 --> 00:17:08,966
If you have something like 
St. Augustine, or something,

418
00:17:08,966 --> 00:17:10,166
well, that's not a big deal.

419
00:17:10,166 --> 00:17:11,966
You can sort of get 
that out pretty easily.

420
00:17:11,966 --> 00:17:15,633
But if you have invasives 
like Bermuda grass or brome,

421
00:17:15,633 --> 00:17:16,433
you wanna take your time.

422
00:17:16,433 --> 00:17:17,966
So, I like to put down

423
00:17:17,966 --> 00:17:21,166
in a six millimeter, you don't 
do anything thinner than that

424
00:17:21,166 --> 00:17:22,166
'cause the sun'll break down,

425
00:17:22,166 --> 00:17:23,700
but you put down 
a plastic sheet,

426
00:17:23,700 --> 00:17:26,366
and solarize it for a year 
because you wanna address

427
00:17:26,366 --> 00:17:29,700
cool season and warm 
season invasive species.

428
00:17:31,100 --> 00:17:32,500
- Once they're grown,

429
00:17:33,666 --> 00:17:35,933
you can also transplant 
them relatively easy.

430
00:17:35,933 --> 00:17:38,233
- I think your yes and method 
of seeding and plugging

431
00:17:38,233 --> 00:17:39,766
is right on because

432
00:17:39,766 --> 00:17:41,666
there's some of the later 
successional species like

433
00:17:41,666 --> 00:17:44,833
Indian grass, or little 
bluestem that if you seed out,

434
00:17:44,833 --> 00:17:46,100
they won't necessarily come up

435
00:17:46,100 --> 00:17:48,433
unless that soil is 
just right for them.

436
00:17:48,433 --> 00:17:50,466
There are the microbes 
that are there,

437
00:17:50,466 --> 00:17:53,333
that it's essentially evolved 
enough to where they can grow,

438
00:17:53,333 --> 00:17:54,933
and it's conducive 
for their growth.

439
00:17:54,933 --> 00:17:56,366
So, it's sometimes 
it's really great

440
00:17:56,366 --> 00:17:58,100
to get some of those 
later successional species

441
00:17:58,100 --> 00:18:00,866
and plug those in so 
you get a really diverse

442
00:18:00,866 --> 00:18:02,966
palette growing for you.

443
00:18:02,966 --> 00:18:04,433
- At your field,

444
00:18:04,433 --> 00:18:06,133
there's something that's real 
exciting that's happening.

445
00:18:06,133 --> 00:18:08,200
It's a sustainable 
sites initiative.

446
00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:10,166
Real briefly, tell 
us about that is,

447
00:18:10,166 --> 00:18:13,100
because it's real, again, 
ground-breaking stuff.

448
00:18:13,100 --> 00:18:17,300
- Absolutely, the American 
Study of Landscape Architects,

449
00:18:17,300 --> 00:18:19,266
the Wildflower Center, and 
the U.S. Botanic Garden

450
00:18:19,266 --> 00:18:22,433
got together after there was 
a big emphasis in designers

451
00:18:22,433 --> 00:18:24,133
in terms of the 
performance of building.

452
00:18:24,133 --> 00:18:25,800
You might have heard of lead

453
00:18:27,133 --> 00:18:28,433
performance rating systems. 
- Of course, right.

454
00:18:28,433 --> 00:18:30,700
- Absolutely, and so 
we really thought that

455
00:18:30,700 --> 00:18:33,666
we needed something 
that would ensure that

456
00:18:33,666 --> 00:18:36,233
there was a sustainable 
practice for the landscape.

457
00:18:36,233 --> 00:18:38,733
And that's what Sites 
really does, is help

458
00:18:38,733 --> 00:18:41,166
guide designers and developers

459
00:18:41,166 --> 00:18:42,733
so that they can look at a site

460
00:18:44,766 --> 00:18:47,066
and design it in a 
way that you don't

461
00:18:47,066 --> 00:18:48,533
reduce any of that performance.

462
00:18:48,533 --> 00:18:50,600
It's so important 
for our urban areas.

463
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,100
- Yeah, this is, 
again, something that I

464
00:18:53,100 --> 00:18:54,333
just wanna encourage.

465
00:18:54,333 --> 00:18:55,566
I know that we have a 
lot of really interested

466
00:18:55,566 --> 00:18:57,066
viewers out there.

467
00:18:57,066 --> 00:19:00,166
This is being done at a kind 
of an institutional scale,

468
00:19:00,166 --> 00:19:02,233
but it can also be done 
at a residential scale?

469
00:19:02,233 --> 00:19:03,700
- Right.

470
00:19:03,700 --> 00:19:04,933
- And one good way to 
participate in all of that

471
00:19:04,933 --> 00:19:06,800
is to go to the 
Wildflower Center

472
00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,000
for a special event. 
- That's right.

473
00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,266
Weekend of April 13th, 
but also twice a year,

474
00:19:12,266 --> 00:19:14,000
in the spring and 
fall of every year

475
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:15,333
we have native plant sales.

476
00:19:15,333 --> 00:19:16,600
So, we'll have grasses,

477
00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,866
and we have a lot of 
wildflowers as well.

478
00:19:18,866 --> 00:19:22,333
And again, the spring is the 
time you want to plant grasses,

479
00:19:22,333 --> 00:19:24,400
especially seeding, and 
you wanna sort of seed

480
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:26,033
wildflowers in the fall,

481
00:19:26,033 --> 00:19:28,333
but you can pick up 
some wildflowers that 
are already grown.

482
00:19:28,333 --> 00:19:30,166
- John Hart, it's been great.

483
00:19:30,166 --> 00:19:32,666
I really commend you for 
the work you're doing,

484
00:19:32,666 --> 00:19:34,100
and thank you for being a guest

485
00:19:34,100 --> 00:19:35,366
on Central Texas Gardener. 
- Thank you so much.

486
00:19:35,366 --> 00:19:36,300
It's a pleasure to be here. 
- All right.

487
00:19:36,300 --> 00:19:37,933
And coming up next, it's Daphne.

488
00:19:37,933 --> 00:19:41,333
(upbeat whimsical music)

489
00:19:42,666 --> 00:19:44,633
- Hi, I'm Daphne Richards, 
and this is Augie.

490
00:19:44,633 --> 00:19:46,500
Our question this 
week comes from John

491
00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:48,066
in Southern California.

492
00:19:48,066 --> 00:19:51,933
What's going on with his 
Palo Verde Desert Museum?

493
00:19:51,933 --> 00:19:56,100
The bark on the trunk has 
square chunks neatly carved out.

494
00:19:56,100 --> 00:19:58,433
Since we knew this 
wasn't caused by disease,

495
00:19:58,433 --> 00:20:00,466
and it didn't look 
like deer damage,

496
00:20:00,466 --> 00:20:02,566
we consulted David Cristiani,

497
00:20:02,566 --> 00:20:04,900
a landscape architect 
in New Mexico.

498
00:20:04,900 --> 00:20:08,433
He tells us that this 
appears to be rabbit damage,

499
00:20:08,433 --> 00:20:11,800
which he's seen on smooth 
tree trunks like this one,

500
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:14,266
usually during winter 
and during drought,

501
00:20:14,266 --> 00:20:17,500
when moisture is in short 
supply for all living creatures.

502
00:20:17,500 --> 00:20:19,233
He says the damage seems to be

503
00:20:19,233 --> 00:20:22,366
about the animal trying to 
get moisture out of the trunk,

504
00:20:22,366 --> 00:20:26,000
eventually girdling and killing 
the tree, if it continues.

505
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,266
David also says that 
he's observed young,

506
00:20:28,266 --> 00:20:29,900
smooth-barked trees

507
00:20:29,900 --> 00:20:32,966
such as desert willow, ash, 
and pistachio being gnawed

508
00:20:32,966 --> 00:20:35,200
by multiple cottontail 
and jackrabbits

509
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:36,800
for several days in a row.

510
00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:38,533
Then the trees are dead.

511
00:20:38,533 --> 00:20:41,100
While nearby older 
rougher-barked young trees

512
00:20:41,100 --> 00:20:44,500
like mesquite, oak, and 
juniper are left alone.

513
00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:47,266
When we got back in touch with 
John about his Palo Verde,

514
00:20:47,266 --> 00:20:49,333
he reported back 
that he has indeed

515
00:20:49,333 --> 00:20:51,700
started noticing 
rabbits last year,

516
00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:54,033
and that even though rabbits 
had always been around,

517
00:20:54,033 --> 00:20:56,033
they've never been so visible.

518
00:20:56,033 --> 00:20:57,633
To further illustrate the point,

519
00:20:57,633 --> 00:21:01,066
David also sent us pictures 
of an Opuntia macrocentra

520
00:21:01,066 --> 00:21:03,766
that had been chomped by 
jackrabbits or cottontails,

521
00:21:03,766 --> 00:21:05,133
or maybe pack rats.

522
00:21:05,133 --> 00:21:07,066
He says that usually 
the pack rats

523
00:21:07,066 --> 00:21:09,300
eat cacti from burrowing 
under the roots

524
00:21:09,300 --> 00:21:12,000
and getting their moisture 
and roughage that way,

525
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,166
in order to avoid the spines.

526
00:21:14,166 --> 00:21:16,933
Our plant of the week 
is blackfoot daisy,

527
00:21:16,933 --> 00:21:18,833
Melampodium leucanthum,

528
00:21:18,833 --> 00:21:22,366
a delicate-looking perennial 
that's actually quite tough.

529
00:21:22,366 --> 00:21:23,900
This lovely little plant

530
00:21:23,900 --> 00:21:27,133
is native to regions from 
Oklahoma south to Mexico,

531
00:21:27,133 --> 00:21:30,966
and from Central Texas west 
through Colorado and Arizona.

532
00:21:30,966 --> 00:21:34,833
As another of its common 
names, rock daisy, implies,

533
00:21:34,833 --> 00:21:37,466
it does quite well 
in rocky, poor soils

534
00:21:37,466 --> 00:21:39,700
and loves the heat and full sun.

535
00:21:39,700 --> 00:21:41,666
Water sparingly, 
once established,

536
00:21:41,666 --> 00:21:45,233
and be sure to plant in 
loose, well-drained soils,

537
00:21:45,233 --> 00:21:46,966
or even tucked among the rocks

538
00:21:46,966 --> 00:21:49,500
of an alpine or cactus garden.

539
00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:53,200
Growing to only six inches tall, 
but at least twice as wide,

540
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,366
blackfoot daisy will be 
covered in bright white flowers

541
00:21:56,366 --> 00:21:57,666
from early spring

542
00:21:57,666 --> 00:22:00,533
all the way through late 
autumn in most regions.

543
00:22:00,533 --> 00:22:02,266
Plant in swaths along borders

544
00:22:02,266 --> 00:22:04,600
to create waves of 
white in your garden,

545
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,166
or singly, tucked in 
among other xeric species.

546
00:22:08,166 --> 00:22:11,433
The delicate, deep green 
leaves contrast nicely

547
00:22:11,433 --> 00:22:13,300
with the bright 
white of the flowers

548
00:22:13,300 --> 00:22:17,133
and will attract bees and 
butterflies of all kinds.

549
00:22:17,133 --> 00:22:18,633
Our viewer picture this week

550
00:22:18,633 --> 00:22:21,633
comes from Mary and Rick 
Trujillo in New Braunfels,

551
00:22:21,633 --> 00:22:24,133
of their beautiful 
variegated agaves

552
00:22:24,133 --> 00:22:25,733
and spineless prickly pear,

553
00:22:25,733 --> 00:22:29,133
against the backdrop of 
their majestic live oak tree.

554
00:22:29,133 --> 00:22:30,433
We'd love to hear from you!

555
00:22:30,433 --> 00:22:33,466
Head over to klru.org/ctg

556
00:22:33,466 --> 00:22:37,300
to send us your questions, 
pictures, and videos!

557
00:22:37,300 --> 00:22:40,266
- Thanks, Daphne, now let's 
check out Backyard Basics.

558
00:22:40,266 --> 00:22:44,200
(upbeat whimsical music)

559
00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,900
- Hello gardening friends, 
welcome to Backyard Basics.

560
00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:48,166
I'm John Dromgoole.

561
00:22:48,166 --> 00:22:49,733
Well, a lot of folks are

562
00:22:49,733 --> 00:22:51,733
living in apartments 
and condos these days,

563
00:22:51,733 --> 00:22:53,533
and a lot of other 
folks in their homes

564
00:22:53,533 --> 00:22:55,100
don't have a lot of light

565
00:22:55,100 --> 00:22:57,333
in the backyard where they 
might be growing a garden.

566
00:22:57,333 --> 00:22:59,000
So, there's alternatives.

567
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,733
Container gardening is 
probably one of the best ways

568
00:23:01,733 --> 00:23:03,133
of doing something like that.

569
00:23:03,133 --> 00:23:04,933
There are many great containers.

570
00:23:04,933 --> 00:23:07,666
Even if you're a beginner, 
there's some that help you out,

571
00:23:07,666 --> 00:23:09,566
like these containers 
right here.

572
00:23:09,566 --> 00:23:11,600
Today there are small plants

573
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,066
that are designed to fit in 
some of these containers.

574
00:23:14,066 --> 00:23:16,133
You don't have to use 
a great big old tomato

575
00:23:16,133 --> 00:23:17,233
or some of those.

576
00:23:17,233 --> 00:23:18,566
You can use some small stuff

577
00:23:18,566 --> 00:23:20,766
designed for 
container gardening.

578
00:23:20,766 --> 00:23:22,400
So, this kind right here

579
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:24,133
allows you to go out 
of town for a few days,

580
00:23:24,133 --> 00:23:26,533
because it's a 
self-watering container,

581
00:23:26,533 --> 00:23:27,800
and in the bottom of this

582
00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:29,666
where the water goes 
there's a reservoir,

583
00:23:29,666 --> 00:23:31,933
and the water siphons 
up into the container

584
00:23:31,933 --> 00:23:32,933
where the plants are growing,

585
00:23:32,933 --> 00:23:34,433
and the roots grow down there.

586
00:23:34,433 --> 00:23:37,200
So, you don't have to be 
a great gardener at first

587
00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:38,533
in order to be successful.

588
00:23:38,533 --> 00:23:41,400
There's small ones you 
can grow herbs in them,

589
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,500
or spinach in the winter 
time, things of that nature,

590
00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:46,866
or some of the bigger 
ones right here for some

591
00:23:46,866 --> 00:23:49,566
chard that you would be 
cutting on a regular basis.

592
00:23:49,566 --> 00:23:50,933
So, that's a great container.

593
00:23:50,933 --> 00:23:52,433
An easy one to grow.

594
00:23:52,433 --> 00:23:54,833
They're not expensive, and 
they'll last a lifetime.

595
00:23:54,833 --> 00:23:57,033
There are other containers 
like these right here.

596
00:23:57,033 --> 00:23:59,433
These round ones 
have the same benefit

597
00:23:59,433 --> 00:24:01,433
that they also

598
00:24:01,433 --> 00:24:03,033
water themselves.

599
00:24:03,033 --> 00:24:04,900
And so you start them 
out, and you prime it

600
00:24:04,900 --> 00:24:06,700
by putting the water in there,

601
00:24:06,700 --> 00:24:09,533
and then there's a 
little hole on one side

602
00:24:09,533 --> 00:24:11,900
where you can refill 
it along the way.

603
00:24:11,900 --> 00:24:13,566
These are great too.

604
00:24:13,566 --> 00:24:15,200
Some of the plants, 
they can grow in there.

605
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,333
There's even small cucumbers,

606
00:24:17,333 --> 00:24:18,566
dwarf plants.

607
00:24:18,566 --> 00:24:20,166
And then there are 
these real nice ones

608
00:24:20,166 --> 00:24:21,800
that are made out 
of terra cotta.

609
00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,600
Now you could hang 
this on the balcony.

610
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:24,866
Look at this nice little wire.

611
00:24:24,866 --> 00:24:26,400
It's cut from the 
orchid industry,

612
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,566
but it works very 
well for homeowners.

613
00:24:28,566 --> 00:24:30,233
You know one of the 
things I don't like

614
00:24:30,233 --> 00:24:32,833
is to look up there and 
see an old plastic pot.

615
00:24:32,833 --> 00:24:36,066
So, these terra cotta ones 
are really, really nice.

616
00:24:37,266 --> 00:24:39,000
And one of the other 
things I like to do,

617
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,433
because the terra cotta 
usually has a big hole,

618
00:24:41,433 --> 00:24:42,866
I like to put that over it,

619
00:24:42,866 --> 00:24:44,700
especially when they're 
sitting on the ground,

620
00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:46,100
like this one right here.

621
00:24:46,100 --> 00:24:48,166
This is a great one for,

622
00:24:48,166 --> 00:24:49,600
well, for windy spots.

623
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,133
They weigh a lot, and 
they won't blow over,

624
00:24:52,133 --> 00:24:54,100
so you don't have that 
kind of a problem.

625
00:24:54,100 --> 00:24:56,700
Also, there are many 
different types of gardens

626
00:24:56,700 --> 00:24:58,833
that are larger than 
the pots these days,

627
00:24:58,833 --> 00:25:01,266
and some of these 
fiber ones are great.

628
00:25:01,266 --> 00:25:03,466
You can put it out in the 
middle of the driveway.

629
00:25:03,466 --> 00:25:05,433
There are several 
different sizes of them,

630
00:25:05,433 --> 00:25:08,033
and I think that when 
it gets down to it,

631
00:25:08,033 --> 00:25:10,733
you can garden just the 
way everybody else does

632
00:25:10,733 --> 00:25:12,533
by using one of 
these containers.

633
00:25:12,533 --> 00:25:14,666
So, whether it's 
this soft fabric,

634
00:25:14,666 --> 00:25:17,933
the clay, or these 
self-watering pots right here,

635
00:25:17,933 --> 00:25:20,600
you will be very successful 
in that garden of yours

636
00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:21,866
with containers.

637
00:25:21,866 --> 00:25:24,433
I'm John Dromgoole 
for Backyard Basics.

638
00:25:24,433 --> 00:25:25,933
I'll see you next time.

639
00:25:25,933 --> 00:25:30,466
- Find out more and watch 
online at klru.org/ctg.

640
00:25:30,466 --> 00:25:33,833
And follow CTG on Facebook 
and Instagram, too.

641
00:25:33,833 --> 00:25:36,366
Until next week, I'll 
see you in the garden.

642
00:25:36,366 --> 00:25:39,866
(upbeat whimsical music)

643
00:26:06,433 --> 00:26:07,933
- [Announcer] Central 
Texas Gardener

644
00:26:07,933 --> 00:26:10,600
is made possible in part by 
Austin Area Garden Center,

645
00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:12,933
sharing the joys of 
gardening for over 50 years

646
00:26:12,933 --> 00:26:14,700
in Zilker Botanical Garden,

647
00:26:14,700 --> 00:26:16,233
home of 32 garden clubs

648
00:26:16,233 --> 00:26:18,133
and Zilker Garden Festival.

649
00:26:18,133 --> 00:26:20,933
zilkergarden.org.

650
00:26:20,933 --> 00:26:23,200
And from the University 
of Texas at Austin

651
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,100
Lady Bird Johnson 
Wildflower Center,

652
00:26:25,100 --> 00:26:28,100
displaying Texas native 
plants in sustainable gardens.

653
00:26:29,666 --> 00:26:32,466
And with the generous support 
from Lisa & Desi Rhoden.

654
00:26:33,966 --> 00:26:36,066
Support for this and 
other KLRU productions

655
00:26:36,066 --> 00:26:37,966
made possible by the 
Producers Circle,

656
00:26:37,966 --> 00:26:39,233
ensuring local programming

657
00:26:39,233 --> 00:26:40,800
that reflects the 
character and interests

658
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,500
of the Greater Austin, 
Texas community.

659
00:26:43,500 --> 00:26:45,900
(bells chime)