Green Austin Texas » Education

Crepe Murder in Cedar Park, Texas

Betty Saenz — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:19:29 +0000

Crepe Myrtles in Cedar Park, TXButchered Crepe Myrtles

I love to garden and I love to see plantings that are well nurtured, well taken care of. These photos, taken today in Cedar Park, Texas are the opposite of what I like to see. I, like so many others call this ”Crepe Murder”. The butchering of Crepe Myrtles is also called topping and is not the correct way to prune and nurture this beautiful botanical species. Crepe Myrtles bloom all summer long, providing shade and beauty to our Central Texas landscapes. Crepe Myrtle varieties are available with many different colors of flowers. White, pink, lavender and red are some of the most popular bloom colors. In the winter, their deciduous leaves fall and they allow the sun to shine in. The least we can do is provide them the minimal care they need to live long and healthy lives. Committing Crepe Murder leaves the poor plants in a weakened state, more susceptible to disease, drought and other life threatening and life shortening events. This bad practice not only makes them look like an ugly stump but also makes them bloom less. There are dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties if you want them to stay small. I like to allow the big ones to stretch out their limbs an provide abundant shade for my yard and home. Let’s reward Crepe Myrtles for their hard work and not make them ugly, heart broken and forlorn.

Properly Pruning Crepe Myrtles

To properly prune crepe myrtles, wait until just after the winter freezes are over and before they leaf out in the spring. Do not trim them back to the knuckles. Instead, remove only the weak, twiggy inside branches pruning them naturally. Remove any defective or dead branches as well as branches that rub up against your home or its roof shingles. Remember, crepe myrtles are a low maintenance shrub or tree, don’t make it hard on yourself or the tree. There are many great diagrams and even videos available on line to show you just how to trim crepe myrtles.

Crepe Murder! There Oughta Be a Law!!!

Crepe Murder in Cedar Park, Texas

Economic Benefits of Sustainable Gardens and Wildlife Habitat

Betty Saenz — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 02:32:09 +0000

My TOFGA NWF signs

I am a National Wildlife Federation certified backyard habitat steward as well as a REALTOR® who specializes in green homes. I proudly display my TOFGA (Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) as well as NWF Habitat signs on my yard’s gate as well as display the signs on my table at green events where I serve as an environmental educator. I feel good about this as well as my recycling and other volunteer work for our Earth. I also drive a hybrid Prius near zero emissions vehicle in my Real Estate work in and around Austin, Texas. I do this because I feel it is the “right” thing to do, but are there economic benefits of sustainable gardens and wildlife habitat?

Nativescapes are Sustainable, Beautiful

and Provide Habitat

The works of conservation planner Randall Arendt are particularly appropriate here as well as other observations I have had over the years. Randall Arendt says money grows on trees and that conservation developments that include sustainable greenspaces and wildlife habitat are “twice green”. What he means is that money grows on trees in the sense that trees add value. Even the common production builders know that trees add value so builders can charge lot premiums for treed lots as well as for lots that overlook greenbelt or “wildlife habitat”. By “twice green” Randall Arendt is referring to the fact that green developments are green in an environmental way but also in a monetary way, the properties simply sell for more money AND there are less costs in developing this way. Less grading, less roads and less concrete mean less construction costs while adding more beauty, sustainability and value. Consumers value and therefore pay more for homes in these types of developments.

Native landscapes will only become more and more valuable and desirable as people realize the scarcity of water and the value of wildlife including pollinators like butterflies and bees. I myself once thought Saint Augustine lawns were beautiful. Now, I treasure the “nativescaped” yards that provide food and shelter for wildlife, are beautiful to look at and need little or no watering. Backyard wildlife habitat homes appeal to buyers that love and appreciate nature. If a native landscape or wildlife habitat is done correctly, it definitely adds value by being both beautiful and sustainable. Native trees and other plants will outperform hybrid trees and plants in being able to survive local weather extremes such as drought or floods and not needing replacement.

Non native plants and trees may have a limited lifespan or require lots of extra care such as pruning and excess water. One example is the popular Red Tip Photinia (Photinia fraseri). While it makes a pretty plant it requires frequent pruning or it will grow to a monstrously huge size. Red Tip Photinia provides no food for wildlife and is susceptible to fungus diseases. Wildlife habitat by its very nature is not a well manicured look. In fact, quite the opposite is needed to provide the hiding and nesting places that wildlife need. However, a wildlife habitat can provide both the dense areas wildlife need and still be beautiful when tastefully and artfully designed. Let the plantings get bushy and dens but manicured along the edges, replete with smooth walkways that people of all ages can enjoy. I had one seller who even had a camera installed in a birdhouse in his newly wildscaped acreage lot. The camera was wired into the house so that you could see the bird inhabitants’ behaviors such as egg laying and hatching all from the indoor comfort of their home.

Environmental Education Needed

There are many people who need to be educated as to the value of a native landscape. These are the same people too who need education as to the benefits and quality of a greenbuilt home as well. To the uneducated, a native, sustainable landscape may just look like “weeds” but to the aware eye, native landscapes are exquisitely beautiful because they conserve water and other resources as well as provide habitat and food for wildlife and they add monetary value. There is a segment of the population that fully appreciates the value of greenbuilding as well as natural landscapes that are sustainable and provide habitat for wildlife. The general populace must be educated to fully realize the benefit of both greenbuilt homes as well as the facts about water, wildlife and native landscapes. I am thankful for the education resources we have in the National Wildlife Federation, TOFGA (Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association), the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), Texas Parks and Wildlife’s “Texas Wildscapes” program, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and Randall Arendt, conservation planner, lecturer, author of Growing Greener: Putting Conservation into Local Plans and Ordinances, Envisioning Better Communities: Seeing More Options, Making Wiser Choices and others. If you too want to learn more about the economic and environmental benefits of sustainable gardening practices and wildlife habitats, you might do well to start with these resources.

Renewable Energy Roundup Coming Soon

Betty Saenz — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:32:02 +0000

Our beloved annual Renewable Energy Roundup and Green Living Fair is coming up soon. Put on by the Texas Solar Energy Society, the Fair is now in it’s 11th year and coming to historic and fun Fredericksburg, Texas September 24th through September 26th, 2010. I go every year and am never there enough time. There is always so much to see, do and learn for people of all ages. Children 12 and under are FREE. Tickets are $10.00 to $12.00 and available at the gate. There are so many booths set up to learn about so much. There are food vendors, talks about any green living topic you can imagine and all at a very reasonable entry fee.

This years talks include information on small wind systems, saving water, rainwater collection, city gardening, aquaponics, wild plants, compressed earth block building, Net Zero homes, Geothermal Systems, organic farming and ranching, solar cars, solar cooking, photovoltaic systems, greenwashing and more!! There are natural cooking demos and I guarantee you will learn a lot about many topics. I hope to see you there!! I’ll probably wear my TOFGA, Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners t shirt I got at the fair last year when I joined that great organization. There is usually a ride share set up to share rides to the fair from the Austin Texas Metro Area. I am looking at all the talks now and having a hard time deciding which day to go, I think I will go to all three!!!

Blog on Pickett Trail

Betty Saenz — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:14:18 +0000

Pickett Trail Steps

South San Gabriel as seen from the Pickett Trail

Georgetown Texas Pickett Trail

I led a MeetUp group hike yesterday in an area that feels very sacred to me. I love the area because it feels to me like a sanctuary, private, pristine and peaceful. Georgetown Texas’ Pickett Trail is a small trail both in width and length compared to many, with beautiful vistas from rock cliffs overlooking the South San Gabriel River. According to the Georgetown, Texas Parks and Recreation Department, it was named after a rodeo cowboy who was of American Indian and black heritage named Bill Pickett. Pickett was from Taylor, Texas, in Williamson County. Bill Pickett was born December 5, 1870 and passed away in 1932 from injuries sustained from a stallion in Oklahoma. Pickett Elementary School in Georgetown is named after him. Bill Pickett was the very first black cowboy ever to be inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame and was the inventor of bulldogging, also known as steer wrestling.

A Great Hike and Enjoyable Evening

Pickett Trail is an unmarked trail that many people may not know about. We met up at 6:00 pm at the Blue Hole parking lot. We started our hike walking beside Blue Hole and then went into the Pickett Trail. It was so fun. It’s a short trail compared to many and I have hiked it so many times in my life that I hardly have to look down at the path except for those steep stair steps. After our hike three of us swam at Blue Hole and visited. Among our trio was a lady who moved here two years ago from CA.

Georgetown and Central Texas Consequences of Growth

We have so many people moving here to Texas and the Austin, Texas as well as Georgetown, Texas area. I welcome all to our state as a Native Texan. I just worry about the population growth’s effect on the environment, both from people migrating here as well as our native Texas population’s growth. I saw trash on the trail at a few spots and this horrifies and saddens me. Normally it is so pristine and that is part of what I love.

Pickett Trail Signs

There is no sign making the trail, nor any signage along the trail. I would hate to have to put signs that read “No Littering $500. Fine”. What can one do? So I blog, hoping somehow, someway consciousness will be raised. Besides the no littering signs that I hope never need to be posted, I want a sign showing that the trail is named after Bill Pickett, to honor the memory of him. After all, it is named after him and he was a famous rodeo cowboy and Texan.

Pickett Trail Invasive Species

There are some areas of the Pickett Trail almost totally taken over by invasive plant species. Among the worst there is ligustrum but there is also a lot of nandina. Invasive species gradually take over the landscape and may choke out existing species. The existing native species belong in the natural ecosystem which provides food and habitat for native animal life. The City of Georgetown, and or volunteers need to clean the invasive species out of Pickett Trail and Blue Hole Park. Perhaps the Williamson County Chapter of the Native Plant Society, Texas Master Gardeners or Texas Master Naturalists will take interest in this area.

Resources:

Books

Land of Good Water: A Williamson County Texas History by Clara Stearns Scarbrough
Guts: Legendary Black Rodeo Cowboy Bill Pickett by Cecil Johnson

Williamson County Chapter of the Native Plant Society The Williamson County NPSOT is very active. I have been to some meetings and events. NPSOT does research and works in conservation of native plants and their habitats. The group meets on the second Thursday of every month at 7:00pm at the Georgetown, TX Public Library second floor meeting room.

Texas Master GardenersThere is a Williamson County Texas Master Gardener program that meets monthly at 6:30pm at the Williamson County Extension Service Office, 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Ste. A in Georgetown, Texas. The meetings are open to the public.

Texas Master Naturalists learn about natural resource conservation and provide leadership in management of natural resources and natural areas. Texas Master Naturalists volunteer teaching the public, removing invasive species and other activities.

Keep Austin Beautiful is a very active non-profit in the Austin, TX area. (512) 391-0621
Keep Texas Beautiful is the statewide organization
Keep America Beautiful is the nation wide non-profit program that ran the television ad campaign above.

Contact Betty Saenz REALTOR SRES, GRI, EcoBroker to see homes or other real estate in the Georgetown, TX area or anywhere in the Austin Metro Area. (512) 785-5050

5 Green Construction Methods That You Can Adopt

Betty Saenz — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:33:24 +0000

Green buildings are making headlines and it’s not for the shade of the paint that’s used on their walls“ they’re being talked about because they’re built using energy-efficient methods and sustainable materials, and because they promote eco-friendly lifestyles. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, green buildings emit 35 percent less carbon dioxide and use 35 percent less energy than conventional buildings. While you may not be able to achieve these exact statistics when you set out to build your home, there are ways in which you can adopt green measures to make your home more eco-friendly. A few easily followed green construction methods are:

Buy locally: You may not be able to pick and choose eco-friendly options for all your building materials, but you do have the option of buying those that are available locally or at locations near you. This helps save on transportation energy and costs. Also, the materials are available cheaper because they’re not imported or transported from other locations within the country. So you’re not only going green, you’re also saving costs as a bonus.

Use energy efficient devices: Buy appliances that are Energy Star rated and which save electricity and energy. They may cost a little more initially but your recurring expenses are much lower than usual. Invest in refrigerators, washers, driers, ovens and other appliances that consume less energy, CFC bulbs instead of fluorescent tubes, and fans instead of air conditioners. Set the thermostat to normal levels so that your home is not too hot or too cold. Use natural light when you can by building large windows that face east. Also invest in a solar panel for most of your energy needs if it is cost-efficient.

Use recycled/recyclable materials: If you’re going to use wood for your windows and other building needs, choose options that are salvaged or recycled. Similarly, other materials like plastic, glass, aluminium and steel are available in the recycled forms. When you use recycled materials, you’re also able to recycle them again when you improve or remodel your home a few years down the line.

Make your home eco-friendly: Fresh water is fast becoming a scarce commodity, so when you build a home, install a facility to harvest and filter rainwater. Also, set up a system where your shower water is automatically recycled and diverted to your lawn sprinkler and to water your plants.

Maintain what you’ve built: And finally, once you begin to live in your home, adopt eco-friendly measures like recycling your trash, using your garbage disposal correctly, closing faucets tightly and repairing leaky ones immediately, switching off electrical and electronic appliances when not in use instead of leaving them in the standby modes, and keeping your home neat and tidy.

This guest post is contributed by Nicole Adams, she writes on the topic of construction management degree She welcomes your comments at her email id: nicole.adams83@gmail.com

Urban Beekeeping in Austin Texas

Betty Saenz — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:31:07 +0000

I have a love of bees because of what they do for us. Besides providing pollenization that our food supply needs, they also provide honey for sweetening which I also ingest for the purpose of warding off local allergens. My late husband was an accomplished beekeeper. I enjoyed learning beekeeping by working the bees with him. This was in the early 1980′s. He had the traditional white wooden bee boxes with frames inside to hold the honeycombs. We used a hive smoker to help us “work” the bees. We would smoke them by blowing smoke from this smoker onto the bees. This served to make them “drunk” and then we were able to “work” them. We took the frames out, cut the caps off the wax which held the honey in and put the frames full of beeswax filled with honey in a large, steel tank on a support system inside the tank made for the frames called an extractor. We put the tank lid on and then turned the hand crank. This movement of the frames around the inside of the tank slung the honey out by centrifigal force. Yes, I might get stung once or twice while doing this, so don’t try working bees if you are allergic to bee stings. I did not have “real” beeking clothes myself so I would wear a long sleeve shirt and long pants and put rubber bands around my sleeve cuffs and pants legs at the bottom. This was done to try and prevent the smoke drunk bees from crawling onto my skin under my clothes. Sometime they would get past the barrier I tried to create and eventually sting me. They crawl all over you but don’t sting when you are working them because of their drunkenness. It’s interesting what the smoke does to them.

Now, honey bees are in trouble. They need your help more than ever. Without honeybees pollinating US agricultural crops our food supply will be in trouble. “Colony collapse disorder” has decimated entire populations of honeybees. Thankfully some people are concerned enough to educate the public and help the bees. There is a new movie called Nicotine Bees about how huge agribusiness is coating their seeds with chemicals called neonicotinoids that end up in pollen and on leaves that may be a factor in “colony collapse disorder”.

In the Austin area there is a new Austin – Urban – Beekeeping MeetUp Group to help the bees. Our first meeting is soon. I’d love for you to join us! Go to MeetUp.com and join up!

Avoid VOC’s in Your Texas Organic Home

Betty Saenz — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:35:45 +0000

What are VOCs and what can we do to avoid having them in our homes? VOCs are Volatile Organic Compounds, and no, this is not the type of “good” organic we want in our Texas Organic Home. VOCs are pollutants in our homes and can effect the indoor air quality of our homes. The resulting poor indoor air quality can have both short and long term ill health effects. For some great information on VOCs, just visit the United States government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website and look at the web page on Indoor Air Quality. Since VOCs are emitted by building materials, furnishings and paints as well as other materials in our homes, I am concentrating on these two in this blog. One of the best ways to avoid VOC’s is in the construction or even remodeling process.

There are green cabinet makers who follow green woodworking practices for example that are aware of the problems VOCs can cause in indoor air quality. Among these are Jeff Mitzel at Green Award Custom Woodworking at 5710 E. MLK in Austin, TX (512) 323-6633. Jeff and the other craftsmen at Green Award Custom Woodworking care about our earth and the indoor air quallity in your home enough to use materials that do not off gas in your indoor living environment. They also work by a zero waste policy. Waste ply materials are recycled by local artists, teachers and art therapists as well as in other woodworking projects at the Austin,TX shop. Using locally milled woods, new green products as well as reclaimed woods, the wood shop uses over 70 green raw materials in the creation of millwork and cabinetry. Green Award is also Austin, Texas’ oldest continually running cabinet and millwork shop.

Austin Texas’ Green Garden Program

Betty Saenz — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:13:52 +0000

I am jealous. Everything’s in Austin…Sometimes, to someone who cares about the environment it seems that way…I live in Leander, Texas, Williamson County because of the affordability of homes and the Leander ISD school system. I am trying to help the City of Leander to encourage greenbuilding and green yards. My yard meets the criteria for Austin’s Award Winning Green Garden Program yet I am not a City of Austin water customer so I can’t share my yard in that venue. The City of Leander gets the water from the same place, Lake Travis but we buy it from Leander, not Austin. Part of being a Texas Organic Home is to have a green yard. By green I do not mean a huge, water hungry synthetic yard but a water conserving, sensible and beautiful yard that is safe for humans, pets and wildlife due to lack of synthetic chemicals. “Synthetic” yards use non-native plants and grasses from some rainforest that do not jive with the Austin/Central Texas climate. These plants drink too much of our water and may be invasive and take over our wild spaces.

Call or e-mail me and I’ll help you learn more.

signed, a Native Texan and aspiring Master Naturalist, Citizen Gardener, and Master Gardener.

With Drought & HEAT Xeriscapes Should be the Next Yard Fashion

Betty Saenz — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:47:41 +0000

With record setting high heat, drought, and lake levels getting lower and lower it seems that xeriscaping would be all the rage in Central & South Texas but it’s not. Who started the fad of growing these expansive water hogging St. Augustine (“carpet” grass) lawns anyway? I have yet to know the full history behind this ecological disaster. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, there is a way out, and it is called xeriscaping. Not “zero scaping ” as it often is miscalled, implying that xeriscapes can’t be beautiful when they can be colorful & artistic when well designed. Xeriscaping is landscaping that is designed for drought and water conservation to protect our water supply and environment. A xeriscaped yard is not only beautiful, but uses less water, requires less maintenance and the native plants and flowers attract & provide habitat for native species of birds, butterflies & other living things.

Getting Started

One of the first steps in a xeriscape landscape plan is to reduce or eliminate the lawngrass. Another alternative is to replace the existing lawn with a grass that needs little water to live like zoysia or buffalograss. I look at many homes and landscapes in the Austin, Texas Metro area. Right now so many lawns are that sickly, depressing shade of yellowish brown. If left on their own, lawn grasses may die and weeds fill in. The next year I see people trying to re-sod with St. Augustine only to start this cycle again.

Learning More about What and How To Plant

Some great ways to learn about xeriscape plants are through the Native Plant Society of Texas, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, and local nurseries. The “big box” store nurseries still carry invasives, and plants that “look pretty” but are not good for conserving water. Some cities such as Leander, Texas and Austin, Texas have recommended plant lists. Leander’s is on the City of Leander website- search for Preferred plant list.doc and the City of Austin has a Grow Green section on their website. Go to the Plant Guide section. There is also a Grow Green booklet free of charge at the City or many Austin area nurseries. The City of Austin also has a Xeriscape Advisory Board to help homeowners design these water-wise gardens. Texas A & M Horticulture has some great information. The Williamson County Extension Office at 3151 Inner Loop Rd. in Georgetown, Texas has local demonstration plots at to see xeriscape plants & grasses growing. There is a map in the Extension Office & plants & trees are labeled & staked. The Wilco Master Gardeners maintain the xeriscaping gardens.

Professional Advice and Installation

You may choose to hire a professional landscape architect or designer to design a custom plan for your yard. The Austin Area has many experienced and knowledgeable professionals with many completed projects on the ground (or should I say “in” the ground! LOL). Many will design the landscape plan, giving you a drawing of where to plant what and a list of desired specimens but allow you to carry out your plan thus saving you money. Or, you may choose to have the entire design implemented completely by professionals while you relax in the air conditioning watching through the window! You avoid heatstroke that way!

Enjoying Your Xeriscape

Now that your own yard is a Texas Hill Country heat lovin’, water shruggin’ paradise, you may want to take a further step and get your home Certified as a Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Texas Wildscapes or Best of Texas Backyard Habitat programs. Get a cool glass of fresh- squeezed lemonade, hibiscus tea or other cold beverage and go hand with your butterflies and birds, relishing in the thought that you are having a share in conserving water and our wonderful state.

Net Zero: What Does That Term Mean?

Betty Saenz — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:51:37 +0000

Sometimes new green jargon is a lot for the newly green to feel comfortable with. Net zero is a term with many definitions but all run in a similar vein. In a nutshell, net zero means no overall energy consumption or “net zero” and zero annual carbon emissions. In other words, even though some energy is used, the energy is from renewable energy sources and no energy is purchased from the grid or external energy producers because the home produces as much energy as it consumes. Hence the term “off the grid”. There is extensive information out there for the person wanting to learn more about net zero. The White House is doing research on net zero energy green building design technologies and strategies. According to the Federal paper on Net-Zero Energy, High Performance Green Buildings (October 2008), “the greenest energy is that which is not used”. Are net-zero homes affordable for the average consumer? One builder, Ideal Homes based out of Norman, Oklahoma built a zero energy home for under $200,000. Why can’t we do this other places too where lot prices are reasonable? I am always dissapointed when I attend green home events and home prices are so high the average consumer could never afford them. You Tube has many videos on Net-Zero Energy, Zero Energy homes and buildings. Wikipedia has several definitions of zero-energy building. ASHRAE or the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers does a lot of research and has a lot of information on Net-Zero homes and commercial buildings.

Home Sweet Net-Zero Home, oh give me that kind of Texas Organic Home!