Sept. 23, 2010

Here's Randy's Weekly KTRH GardenLine Tip:

Issue #180

I'm feeling a little philanthropic for this week's e-mail tip.

I'm giving some money to Trees For Houston on Oct. 1, and it's a great feeling ... because I know what wonderful work they do in reforesting the area.

I serve on their board of directors, and we are all asked to give a certain amount of money. I wish I could give more, and I swear if I ever win the lottery, they will be the first charity for which I fund a permanent endowment. I would set up another for The Brookwood Community, too.

Alas, my pockets aren't that deep just yet, so my goal this week is to encourage you to help in any way you can. Your contribution doesn't have to be financial. It can be as simple as becoming a member for as little as $50 a year. You can donate your time to help plant trees, or you could teach school children about the importance of trees. You can also encourage your company to give.

If you're a GardenLine advertiser, and you feel moved to help, consider that Trees For Houston can use any products needed for planting and caring for trees. That includes soil, fertilizer, mulch, stakes, straps ... even trees themselves.

There's so much more I could write about, but I encourage you to find out more about Trees For Houston yourself. Visit their website or listen to the Sept. 19 8 a.m. GardenLine podcast to hear Executive Director Barry Ward cover every conceivable way you can help. His passion for the job and the organization's vision for the area was so clear in the broadcast.

Trees For Houston, is a private nonprofit charity. Although they don't take any government money, they have managed to plant nearly 400,000 trees in the area in the 26 years of their existence.

But here's a thought to ponder: Even at that rate, we are still losing more trees in this area than we can plant. That's why they need our help. The loss, due in part to nature, is also attributable to urban development and plain old neglect. When you think about all the good things that can happen when you plant a tree — clean the air, beautify the city, mitigate rainwater runoff (flood control) and cool the surrounding areas — why aren't you on the phone right now figuring out how you can help?

So, to recap, you can help this wonderfully productive charity by:

Donating money

Donating trees

Donating your time to plant

Donating your time to teach

Donating goods and service

And if you like shooting sporting clays, or if you like big galas, here are two more ways to help. Sponsor a team for the Roots & Shoots Sporting Clays Event Oct. 22, or buy a ticket or table at the Root Ball March 31, 2011.

GardenLine Appearance 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday
Southwest Fertilizer, 5828 Bissonnet at Renwick Here's a little inside secret. I love doing appearances at Southwest Fertilizer for two reasons:
1. If I don't know the answer to your questions, someone on Southwest staff will.
2. If there's a product you need to solve a problem, they have it on the shelves. And they are likely to have three different versions.

I'll also have lots of free goodies for you. Our friends at Lady Bug Natural are sponsoring this week's event, and that means they'll be bringing a truckload of freebies for us to give away.

Of course, you know I have to give you some sort of challenge to earn the Lady Bug stuff, right? Well, just tell me how anxious you are to get your hands on my new book. I'm more than half done as of this week, so the end is near. Our plan is to have it finished and published by Nov. 1. If I get enough encouragement from you, it probably won't speed the writing process much, but it will put a free Lady Bug Natural product in your hand.

GardenLine Listeners and E-mail Tip subscribers:
Purchase a copy of my book,
Gulf Coast Gardening with Randy Lemmon,
at a discount!

CONTACT INFORMATION

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