Fall Events for San Antonio Gardeners

The first day of Fall is this week and, even though it's still quite warm in San Antonio, we are beginning our second gardening season of the year which typically lasts until late November.  We are so fortunate have a number of active gardening groups in San Antonio sponsoring excellent events over the next few weeks to help get our gardens going.

First up is the Native Plant Society of Texas - San Antonio Chapter Plant Sale held September 27th at Hardberger Park on Blanco Road.  I attended this sale last spring and found an excellent selection of plants to add to my landscape.  They'll also help you with native plant questions and identification.

Need gardening inspiration this fall?   The Watersaver Landscape Tour on October 4th offers the best opportunity for a closer look at how our neighbors are taking on the drought.  This annual tour sponsored by San Antonio Water System (SAWS) and the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) is a great way to check out waterwise landscapes and pick up new ideas.

This year the tour will feature six gardens on the north side of San Antonio.  Heather of Xericstyle will have her front yard on the tour and I stopped by last week to take a few photos.  I love how she mixes her retro-modern style with a silvery palette of native and adapted plants.

Looking at these photos it amazes me that just three years ago this was a weedy patch of lawn.



The sea of purple lantana along the street should be in bloom to punctuate all that silvery plant goodness.

I'm amazed by how much her landscape has grown since I was last there just over a year ago.   Heather and Brett's garden was featured on Central Texas Gardener last year.  The "before" photos in the video tell the story.  That's David Cristiani of It's a Dry Heat blog taking photos from the porch when we visited Heather back in May of 2013.

I also made a quick drive by of a second landscape about five minutes away on Rushing St.  This one will also be open during the tour.

It's a corner lot so the landscape wraps around.

The back yard of this landscape is the featured photo in the link and will also be open on the tour.  Three landscapes in the Deerfield neighborhood will include a landscape fair and the sixth garden is in nearby Hollywood Park making it easy to see everything in one day.  There is no charge for the tour.

The San Antonio Herb Market on October 18th is one event I make plans to attend each year.  It's always a great event with excellent speakers and vendors plus the weekly Farmer's Market will be open in the space behind the building.  I posted here about my visit to the Herb Market back in 2011.  Free admission.

The Mitchell Lake Audubon Center Hoot & Harvest Festival is scheduled that same day.  I attended last year and enjoyed seeing the extensive gardens.   There are booths set up for plant sales and information on local wildlife and gardening along with fun activities for families.  Admission is free.

Those asters and goldenrod together are a wonderful fall color combination.  I'd very much like to attend both events but the distance between the two means I'll have to miss one.  Since the Herb of the Year for 2014 is Artemesia and a favorite in my garden I'll be at the Herb Market this year.  I look forward to learning more about growing Artemesia and possibly picking up a few new varieties to plant.   

Since this is how we celebrate the fall gardening season in San Antonio I'm linking with Seasonal Celebrations at Garden's Eye View.  All of these events are free and a fun way to support our gardening groups in San Antonio.  I'll see you there.