First of all, hold waaaaay off on using insecticide. The ants are likely not hurting anything. You might take a look to see if any of the ants are carrying pieces of green leaves larger than the ants themselves. In that case, then they are hurting something. Otherwise, leave them alone for now. That is a very low priority. Secondly, go back and suck up all the weed n feed product. You did not need that either. Most likely it will be completely ineffective as a weed control. You are much MUCH better off using a spray on weeds. You can control the spray without hurting the other plants or the soil. It is also very likely that the product you used will kill off ALL the St Augustine. So you might be starting over from scratch on that lot. The best thing you can do for that yard at this point is to apply a thin layer of compost. Buy no more than 1 cubic yard of compost per 1,000 square feet and apply that to the entire lot. This will help to heal the damage done by the weed n feed by replenishing the soil microbes. Secondly, apply 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet of any organic fertilizer to the entire yard. Water that lightly (or heavily) and leave things alone until next May. If you feel the need to do anything before May, use organic fertilizer only. Chemical fertilizers used before May will deplete the food stored in the plant roots. The grass will grow fast enough before that anyway. The compost and organic fertilizer will help transform your lot. It will change the ecology. It will help make the area more "normal" so that the ants will have more ant predators coming to visit. You should see more toads, lizards, geckos, and birds. You'll also see more predatory insects like mantis, wasps, and perhaps ladybugs. Always mow St Aug at the mower's highest setting. As you have seen, it can thrive at extreme heights. It likes to be tall. When you water, which should be very infrequently, water a full inch at a time. You may never need to water it with your climate. If you want to use a weed control, wait until the first week of May. Then apply a spray with atrazine. That's the only weed control that does not kill the St Augustine. There are some others that claim they do not, but they seem to anyway. Atrazine seems to work, but it's a little hazardous to handle. Read the entire label. The St Aug you had was only about 30 inches tall. That seems to be the limit. At least in my area that's the limit. After that it stops growing and flops over. You might have had other grasses and weeds up to your waist, but likely not the St Aug. What you should have done was cut it down gradually taking no more than 1/3 of the height of the grass off at a time. Start by taking off a foot. Then a week later take another 8 inches. A week later take 6 inches. And keep working it down until you got to normal mowing height. You can take it down like that with a string trimmer. I'll be doing something like that this weekend. I have some St Aug that's up to 18 inches which needs to come down to 12 to comply with the city ordinance.

Craftsman style house goes with my cottage style of gardening. One of the two blue spruce in the pictures, the one on the right, came down in a big rain and windstorm early this spring. So there is a lot more light in the front. That side is now in full sun. As to lots of land, I don't have it. I have a typical suburban size lot. What makes it all work here as far as everything I have planted is that the yard is all multilevel. Harder to deal with but more things can be squeeezed in. It would never all work if it was just level. The parking lot you can see across the street is to a 16 acre park and beach so its really very nice here in the summer. Its for our City residents but never crowded just afew people arounhd weekdays and not that much more on weekends. Next to it immediately adjoining so you can walk from one into the other is a large county nature preserve, this time all wooded. Also with shoreline accress. I remember going fishing there with my dad when I was a young child. Well, I went with him. He fished, I played around.

Usually you find me on the hosta forum. I enjoy this one as well. Congrats on your new home! If you email me I can send you some Ventricosa seeds in the fall to get you started. A very common, green hosta, but is my favorite for backgrounds and massing. I guarantee they will grow for you. Literally have thousands of them growing here. Extremely hardy. I will also email you back a picture of their growth habits to give you an idea if you want this particular kind. The gold and varigated varieties look even better in front of the Ventricosas.

Hello Flutterby ! I hope you love gardening as much as the rest of us do ! GardenWeb is a great research tool for you, as there is lots to learn, and plenty of valuable people here who can point you in the right direction. Depending on what part of town you're in, your soil could be different than others. North usually has a lot of rock, while other areas are great blackland. Either way, a raised bed is definitely the way to go. Personally, I don't think that I would grow herbs in pots (unless they are large) because our hot summers just seem to dry out the pots too quickly. That being said, I don't grow herbs, so I really can't say that firsthand. I do grow hundreds in pots though, and water constantly during the hot months. What grows well here ? Well, I'm terribly fond of salvias, and natives. I venture to say that many here will agree with the native side of that. A good way to determine what will do well in your area is a drive around the neighborhood to see what plants are doing nicely in yards and public areas. Starter plants -- one of my favorite nurseries is Rainbow Gardens. There are two locations in SA. Pretty soon (maybe March) they will start running a weekly ad in the Express News with great plants at great prices, and usually a freebie when you make a purchase. They have an awesome choice of herbs, as well. I also like the Antique Rose Emporium. Many of us also drop by Lowes clearance racks now and then for some really good deals ! Some stores are better than others. I prefer plants rather than seeds, just to get a headstart on things. But I don't usually buy large plants, because of the cost. Stick with 4" or 1-gallon and they'll get to that larger size soon enough at a fraction of the cost. Something else you may want to consider is attending our plant swaps. You may find the San Antonio swap post on the first page of GardenWeb, or it may have gotten to the second page by now. Or look for it also listed on the Texas Exchange sub-forum. The spring swap is March 10. You will learn a lot by attending the swaps and no doubt will go home with some plants. I also attend the Buda swap, which is April 17. I've been going to these swaps since the first one for Central Texas was started over 12 years ago. They are awesome ! You go home with all kinds of plants you couldn't find in a local nursery, and you make the best friends ! Please feel free to contact me directly by email if you want more information. Regarding your other questions, I'll let those with more knowledge about the timeline answer those for you. Mainly, you just need to watch out for those late freezes ! patty