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Greetings!
March brings spring-flowering trees and shrubs, so if you haven't stopped by the Gardens this year, now's the time! Check out our butterfly-shaped annual beds at the Grand Allee.
We're excited about our March schedule: see our programs below. And read on for butterfly gardening tips for spring.
Happy Gardening,
The staff at Texas Discovery Gardens
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March Events
 Modern Victory Gardens: Vegetable Gardening Educational SeriesSaturday, March 14 9 am to 2 pm
Join a growing trend and learn how to create a bountiful organic community or backyard vegetable garden. The March class will focus on preparation for planting, when and what to plant, planting techniques, feeding and fertilizing, companion planting, and integrated pest control.
The March Victory Gardens Workshop will be held at Texas Discovery Gardens from 9 am to noon. At noon, participants can bring a sack lunch to Lake Highlands Community Garden and enjoy a picnic and meet and greet. This is a great opportunity to see fellow community gardeners and swap gardening tips and stories. Wear appropriate clothing for an outdoors class. Registration Required. Contact Blake Morgan at (214) 428-7476 x 24 or register online. $25; $20 for Garden Members.
 Garden Walk: Life in the Soil
Saturday, March 21 10 am to 11 am
The key to gardening success is to start--literally--from the ground up. Join Michael Bosco with Soils Alive as we bring back this popular garden walk that shows you what to do for your soil type. Learn how to troubleshoot problems and amend garden beds. Free with paid garden admission.
 Conservation in Action
Saturday, March 28 11 am to 3 pm
You and your family can be environmentally friendly for FREE! Enjoy the fourth annual City of Dallas Environmental Education Initiative (EEI) community fair. Conservation in Action will feature recycling, water conservation and environmental education activities and exhibits.
The first 500 attendees will get free hot dogs, popcorn, T-shirts and other cool stuff! This family fair is sponsored by City of Dallas, University of North Texas and Texas Discovery Gardens. Free admission!
March Gardening Tip: Plan your Butterfly Garden
With the weather feeling a bit more like spring, let's talk about how to make a butterfly garden. Start with a healthy mix of host and nectar plants. Host plants are the most critical part of your butterfly garden. Caterpillars feed on them, and each caterpillar has just a handful of species it can eat. If there isn't enough tender material for a caterpillar to eat, it won't survive.
All host plants are not created equally. Each year, we get calls from concerned people who have bought a host plant like milkweed that has been doused in too much synthetic fertilizer or insecticide. It can and will kill caterpillars. They readily absorb any chemicals people add to the plants.
Good quality plant material is essential. Use only organic fertilizers and amendments. Never use any pesticide, fungicide or herbicide on or near any plant in your butterfly garden. Ask your garden center if you aren't sure how a plant you want to purchase is grown, or buy the plants from us at our annual butterfly plant sale! This year it's Saturday, May 15!
Caterpillars are eating machines! Make sure you have a steady supply of host plants so that you don't run out when you get hungry caterpillars looking for lunch. You can grow your own plants from seed or stock up on certain host plants when they are in season at the store. Fennel and parsley, two popular host plants, are not for sale on late summer in most nurseries. But that's when they are popular for Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillars. If you want to have enough available for them to eat, you may want to grow them yourself.
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In Cultivation ...
Last minute event? Call our rental department for special pricing if you want to hold your event in February or March of 2009! (214)428.7476 x 29
Play in the dirt: volunteer at Texas Discovery Gardens! We need a few more EarthKeepers Docents.
Earth Share of Texas: We are pleased to announce that H-E-B has selected Earth Share of Texas to be the beneficiary of its in-store coupon promotion for April 2009, in recognition of Earth Day. This means that customers can tear off and add check-out coupons worth $1, $3, or $5 to their total bill to support environmental work in North Texas Central Markets.
 H-E-B has supported many Earth Share of Texas organizations with corporate grants or in-kind contributions. The tear-pad promotion enables H-E-B customers to support the environmental program work of more than three dozen Earth Share of Texas organizations. Texas Discovery Gardens will benefit, because the contributions will be divided among Earth Share of Texas organizations with program work in each H-E-B region.
Look for the Earth Share of Texas display and tear-off coupons at the check-out stands in H-E-B and Central Market stores in most areas of Texas beginning the last week of March. And help support Earth Share of Texas organizations and the Texas environment!
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