Dallas County Master Gardeners

What’s Blooming at the Salvation Army Gardens?
By Project Leader Maggie Saucedo

When our team arrives for a workday at the Salvation Army gardens, we never quite know what awaits us. Some days we discover that part of a bed has been dug up to repair a sewer line. Other days we find that the irrigation was accidentally switched off, or that a tiny bird has built a nest deep in the Vitex bush.

But far more often, we’re greeted by something wonderful — flowers blooming with such enthusiasm that they stop us in our tracks!

To read more, use this link:

https://dallascountymastergardeners.org/what-is-blooming-at-the-salvation-army-gardens/ #

So what is Integrated Pest Management? Find out the facts from DCMG Stephanie Suesan Smith!

DCMGA 2026 Spring Garden Tour Exceeded Expectations
By Barbara Macleod

Mother Nature was in all her glory for the Dallas County Master Gardener Association, Inc. (DCMGA) 2026 Spring Garden Tour on Saturday, May 9—and the weather was gorgeous. So were the gardens. The five residential gardens and two historic city parks in North Oak Cliff were at their peak, and guests repeatedly shared how impressed they were.

After months—if not years—of preparing their gardens, our Garden Owners graciously welcomed nearly 1,000 visitors from 102 zip codes. Most attendees came from across North Texas, but we also welcomed guests from New Jersey, Missouri, and Washington State. One guest arrived with her daughter—a common sight on Mother’s Day weekend—but this visit was especially memorable: the mother was 100 years old.

To read this article in its entirety, please use this link:

https://dallascountymastergardeners.org/2026-spring-garden-tour-exceeded-expectations/

HELP DESK QUESTION OF THE WEEK
By DCMG Margaret Ghose

Q. Help, these ants are eating my plants. What are they?
A. To be precise, those ants are not eating your plants; they are taking those pieces of leaf back to their nests to feed a fungus that they cultivate in underground gardens. These are fungus farming ants. The ants bring the leaf fragments to their nest. The ants cannot digest the leaves, but the fungus can. So, the ants chew the leaves, place them on the growing fungus which then digests the leaves to release the stored nutrients. The ants now eat the fungus and get the nutrients. The ants and fungus have a symbiotic relationship wherein the fungus and the ants rely on each other for food. In the absence of the ants, the fungus will die; in the absence of the fungus, the ants will die. https://nhmu.utah.edu/articles/fungus-farming-ants
For homeowners, there is not much information available on fungus farming ants in residential landscapes. One species of ant known to harvest leaves in Texas is the Texas leaf-cutting ant, Atta texana. https://citybugs.tamu.edu/factsheets/landscape/ants/ent-1002/
Texas leafcutter ants can cause extensive damage to vegetation, and large colonies of these ants can invade houses and even cause structural damage as a result of their tunneling. For these ants, chemical control is recommended but can be challenging because they have no known natural enemies and cultural controls are ineffective. If you suspect that you have Texas leafcutter ants, contact your local extension office at https://extensionentomology.tamu.edu/ for information about how to manage these ants on your property.
It is possible that these are not Texas leafcutter ants; there are other species of fungus farming ants that can cause this type of plant damage. Specimens of the ants shown here were sent for identification to the entomology lab at Mississippi State University, where they were identified as Trachymyrmex septentrionalis, a fungus farming ant common to eastern and southern parts of North America. Although these ants can defoliate plants, they are not known to cause extensive damage and do not form the huge colonies characteristic of the Atta texana. According to the entomology report, these ants are not serious pests, won’t sting or enter homes, and pesticides are probably unnecessary. If it looks as if these ants are doing extensive damage to trees or shrubs then local extension personnel may be able to offer suggestions for control.
For more on Trachymyrmex ants, see: https://mississippientomologicalmuseum.org.msstate.edu/Researchtaxapages/Formicidaepages/genericpages/Trachy.septent.htm
https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/uncaptured/ja_moser029.pdf

When Planning Your Garden, Think Like a Pollinator
By Spokane Master Gardeners
In@The
- Go Native. Pollinators are “best” adapted to local, native plants, which often need less water than ornamentals
- Bee Bountiful. Plant big patches of each plant species (better foraging efficiency.)
- Bee Sunny. Provide areas with sunny, bare soil that’s dry and well-drained, preferably with south-facing slopes.
- Bee Showy. Flowers should bloom in your garden throughout the growing season. Plant willow, currant, and Oregon grape for spring and aster, rabbit
brush and goldenrod for fall flowers.
- Bee Patient. It takes time for native plants to grow and for pollinators to find
your garden, especially if you live far from wild lands.

https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/insects/apiary-pollinators/pollinator-health/pollinator-habitat
Image via usfs

Carpenter Bees vs.Bumblebees

By Mississippi State University Extension Service

What’s the difference between a carpenter bee and a bumble bee? A lot. They look similar, but they are very different!

Carpenter bees
The most commonly occurring species in Mississippi is the eastern carpenter bee. Both males and females have a smooth, shiny body. But males of this species have white faces, while females have black faces. Males have no sting. Females can sting but usually don’t.

Females lead busy lives, building nests, gathering pollen, and laying eggs. Males are often seen flying about and hovering in mid-air to pass the time.

You may see the entrance holes to their nests anywhere on your property where you have wood, such as decks, eaves, fences, and barns.

Nesting galleries can be more than a foot long. Most of the time these galleries are harmless. However, if there are several galleries in one piece of wood, it can weaken that area and put the structure at risk. If you find yourself in this situation, you can learn more about methods for treating the galleries on our website.

Bumble bees
Bumble bees are large with hairy bodies. They can be either black and yellow or black and white. They build their nests in the ground like yellowjackets, where dozens of bees can live. They are not aggressive unless their nest is disturbed. But bumble bees have a painful sting, and dozens of bees may attack if they sense the nest is threatened. They can be very aggressive in this situation.

So, before you mow or do other types of lawn care, you may want to inspect your yard for nests.

Both carpenter bees and bumble bees are important pollinators, and experts recommend only using control methods to prevent structural damage by carpenter bees or prevent stinging incidents by bumble bees.

If you’d like to attract more beneficial bees or support our bee pollinators, check out our website for some great resources.

If you do disturb a bumble bee nest and get stung, watch for an allergic reaction. These reactions are rare. However, get medical attention right away if you have any of these symptoms: swelling of the mouth, tightness in the throat, difficulty breathing, dizziness, fainting, vomiting, hives, or a rapid heartbeat.

between a carpenter bee and a bumble bee? A lot. They look similar, but they are very different!

Carpenter bees
The most commonly occurring species in Mississippi is the eastern carpenter bee. Both males and females have a smooth, shiny body. But males of this species have white faces, while females have black faces. Males have no sting. Females can sting but usually don’t.

Females lead busy lives, building nests, gathering pollen, and laying eggs. Males are often seen flying about and hovering in mid-air to pass the time.

You may see the entrance holes to their nests anywhere on your property where you have wood, such as decks, eaves, fences, and barns.

Nesting galleries can be more than a foot long. Most of the time these galleries are harmless. However, if there are several galleries in one piece of wood, it can weaken that area and put the structure at risk. If you find yourself in this situation, you can learn more about methods for treating the galleries on our website.

Bumble bees
Bumble bees are large with hairy bodies. They can be either black and yellow or black and white. They build their nests in the ground like yellowjackets, where dozens of bees can live. They are not aggressive unless their nest is disturbed. But bumble bees have a painful sting, and dozens of bees may attack if they sense the nest is threatened. They can be very aggressive in this situation.

So, before you mow or do other types of lawn care, you may want to inspect your yard for nests.

Both carpenter bees and bumble bees are important pollinators, and experts recommend only using control methods to prevent structural damage by carpenter bees or prevent stinging incidents by bumble bees.

If you’d like to attract more beneficial bees or support our bee pollinators, check out our website for some great resources.

If you do disturb a bumble bee nest and get stung, watch for an allergic reaction. These reactions are rare. However, get medical attention right away if you have any of these symptoms: swelling of the mouth, tightness in the throat, difficulty breathing, dizziness, fainting, vomiting, hives, or a rapid heartbeat.

Are leaffooted bugs uninvited guests in your vegetable garden? Here is some helpful advice from Mississippi State University Extension Service:

Leaffooted bugs can ruin a late-season vegetable garden!! Like stink bugs, which feed in a similar manner, leaffooted bugs attack a wide range of garden vegetables including, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, peas, and beans.

They are especially damaging to tomatoes and they love tomatillios. Damage is caused primarily by the highly mobile adults, which feed on fruit with their piercing-sucking mouthparts, injecting their toxic saliva in the process and causing soft, sunken spots in the fruit. In addition, even mildly damaged fruit will often have an off taste. Also like stink bugs, leaffooted bugs have a distinctive, unpleasant odor, and they tend to congregate in groups.

Adults make a loud buzzing sound as they fly, and gardeners who are busy picking vegetables are often startled by the sound and sometimes mistake these for bees or wasps. The nymphs are reddish orange with black legs.

Infestations are highest in late summer and fall because they have already completed one or more generations and especially because adults are attracted to lush, productive vegetable gardens as they are flying from nearby, and not so nearby, weeds and row crops that have matured and are no longer suitable hosts.

Control: Spraying with an effective insecticide to directly contact as many insects as possible is the key to successfully controlling leaffooted bugs. Plan on spraying every 7 to 10 days once you begin to see, or hear, or smell, significant numbers of adults in the garden.

Because adults often fly out of the garden when disturbed (when they hear you coming with the sprayer) only to return later, spraying early in the morning, when temperatures are cooler and cold-blooded insects move more slowly, can help improve control.

Because treatment is most often needed during the harvest period, it is important to choose insecticides with short pre-harvest intervals (PHIs) and to coordinate your spraying and picking schedule. Zeta-cypermethrin (GardenTech Sevin Insect Killer Concentrate) and permethrin (several brand names) are two effective insecticides that have short PHIs on most garden vegetables. See product labels for details.

Some gardeners use a trap crop of large-flowered sunflowers to attract leaffooted bugs away from vegetable crops they are trying to protect. It only takes a dozen or so sunflower plants to do this in an average garden. Adults are attracted to the sunflowers and will lay their eggs and produce nymphs there. But be sure to spray the bugs on the sunflowers before the nymphs can mature and move to your vegetables. Otherwise you will have a nursery crop, rather than a trap crop!

Don't miss the opportunity to learn more about healthier cooking with herbs from DCMG Barbara Gollman!

Great information from the Austin Native Plant Society about a very useful native ornamental grass for North Texas!

Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) looks great all year. In the spring it has the bright green seeds developing as pictured below. They mature into really cool-looking flat seed heads in perfect herringbone patterns. When it goes dormant, the seed heads stay on for a long time and the tan leaves curl.

One of the great things about this grass in a woodland is what it contributes to the trees above it. Native bunch grasses form the most permeable natural surface cover. So they allow more rainwater to pe*****te the soil than if there was anything else, supporting the trees and other plants.

Dr. Sue Stuart-Smith and The Well-Gardened Mind
Date & Time
Jun 17, 2026 11:00 AM

Dr Sue Stuart-Smith, a prominent British psychiatrist & psychotherapist & author, worked in the National Health Service, becoming the lead clinician for psychotherapy in Hertfordshire. Her bestselling book, The Well-Gardened Mind, published in 2020 was a Times and Sunday Times book of the year. Along with her husband, Tom Stuart-Smith, the celebrated garden designer, she founded a not-for-profit initiative called The Serge Hill Project for Gardening, Creativity and Health, which incorporates a unique living Plant Library and is based in an old orchard near their home. The project provides resources for local schools and mental health charities, offering opportunities to connect with nature. In this webinar, Dr. Stuart-Smith will discuss how being in nature can enhance our lives. She will share research to show the benefits of engaging with nature. Participants will enjoy learning more about both The Well-Gardened Mind and Dr. Stuart-Smith’s passion for The Serge Hill Project. End time is approximate & Q&A will be available. For more info email: [email protected]
CCMGA is a service organization administered by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. AgriLife provides equal opportunities in its programs and employment to all persons, regardless of race, color, s*x, religion, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, s*xual orientation, or gender identity. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Webinar © 2026 Collin County Master Gardeners Association
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