By Jelly Cocanougher

An array of majestic and alluring oddities are encapsulated on Route 66. The highway of mystery and amusement is a beacon for those who are curious enough. Filled with the stories of artists who have paved the way forward, the gratitude and plethora of visitors who use this area as a beacon for sentimentalism and wonder. This scenic highway holds the inspiration to iconic art, the road to Hollywood, and a glimpse into the past. Stay curious.

By Norman Winter | Horticulturist, Author, Speaker

After seeing the flowers at the Young’s Plant Farm Annual Garden Tour in Auburn, Ala., I felt a sense of desperation to get my hands on the Luscious Basket Tangeglow lantana.

I don’t always think about lantana being a component plant in mixed-container designs but they had several that were simply dazzling. Luscious Basket Tangeglow is a fairly new lantana and its name gives reference to its compact nature of 12 to 26 inches in height and a spread of 12 to 24 inches. You might wonder about the differences in height and width and that is attributed to the length of the growing season.

Luscious Basket Tangeglow has done great in university trials winning Perfect Score at the University of Minnesota, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and University of Tennessee. Then it took home Directors Select at Penn State and a bunch of Top Performer awards.

To read more, pick up a copy of the August issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

By Tony Dean, [email protected]

We all take the sun for granted. If we’re building fence on a hot July day, we try to hide from it. If we are pulling a calf on a cold January morning, we welcome a few rays coming our way. Either way, it’s always there. We can’t live without the sun. We depend on it not only for our lives, but also for our livelihood as ranchers. As part of his gift to us, God gave the process of photosynthesis. This is how grasses grow.

Photosynthesis is the process plants use to sustain themselves. Plants gather water and nutrients from the soil and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Using the sun’s energy, the plant produces oxygen along with energy for growth in the form of sugar.

In managing cattle, the more we understand about the mothering instinct, and the herding instinct, the better job we do in livestock management. A big part of managing our grazing lands is understanding how plants respond to sunlight. Some plants want to maximize their exposure to it, and some prefer a more limited amount. Texas bluegrass has a wide range of sunlight adaptation. Texas bluegrass is a highly palatable native cool season perennial that can grow in open pasture or in shaded areas. When subjected to years of heavy grazing pressure, it decreases in open areas but can maintain a presence in shaded brushy areas not subject to heavy grazing. When we can incorporate well-planned rotation grazing into our management, Texas bluegrass can reappear in open pasture.

To read more, pick up a copy of the July issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.