Farm & Ranch
The Garden Guy — Hummingbird Mints Perennial Plants of Participation
By Norman Winter
Here in the North Texas area, pollination plays a role in a wide variety of crops including the home garden. There is nothing quite as joyous as growing perennials that bring in bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Among the best are the agastaches, also known as hummingbird mints and anise hyssops. Honey producers know anise hyssop honey is one most often considered a delicacy.
Besides bringing in pollinators to the garden, they also create excitement by virtue of their blue spiky flowers. Blue Fortune and Black Adder are two of the most sensational selections for the garden and are well worth searching out. Both are hybrids of the U.S. native Agastache foeniculum and Korean Agastache rugosa.
This cross has given us what I call perennials of participation. You will want to visit them often, even get a chair and stake out a position to watch and enjoy. The pollinator activity will amaze you, and for those of you who consider yourself to be a culinary artist, these are plants that will thrill with flavor.
Agastaches have become addicting for many horticulturists and I admit to the affliction. So, if you become like me, you may also want to try Blue Boa and Violet Vision. Blue Boa won the “Too Good to Be True Award” at Colorado State University perennial trials. It was also a winner at North Carolina State University.
To read more pick up a copy of the June 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Blue Fortune. (Photos by Norman Winter)
By Heather Welper
Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.
The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.
When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Hannah Claxton, Editor
As the sun rises each day, so do the dozens of mouths that Meghan McGovern is responsible for getting fed. Rather than the sounds of a rooster crowing, McGovern hears the bellows and bleats of a variety of exotic deer, the chortle of kangaroos, the grunts of water buffaloes, and the chirps of a lemur.
Nestled against the banks of the Red River, the Double M Ranch and Rescue, with its high game fences and deer sprinkling the landscape,s its in stark contrast to the surrounding ranches.
“Having deer is kind of like eating potato chips- you can never actually have just one,” said McGovern with a laugh.
McGovern has several herds to take care of- fallow deer, axis deer, water buffalo, goats, and bison. In smaller numbers, there’s also a few kangaroos, a lemur, a potbelly pig, a pair of zebras, a watusi, and a few horses.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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