Free Virtual Class: “Cool Off with Shade Gardening” July 23
Online
Cost: Free (register here: Cool Off with Shade Gardening | Rooted In)
Saturday, July 23
9-10:30 a.m.
Learn about the many native and adapted plants that not only survive, but thrive, in shadier spots, along with tips and tricks to create beautiful shade gardens that beat the Texas heat. This class will also cover gardening under mature trees as well as turf alternatives and hardscape options for low-light areas. Sponsored by the City of Dallas.
Get to Know Yellow Garden Spiders
The experts at Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service (their Dallas office is just north of Richardson’s Coit/Campbell intersection) want you to know that yellow garden spiders, a.k.a. banana spiders or “writing” spiders, are beneficial and help keep insect populations in check around the home and garden. A recent Agrilife Today article states that while the spiders pose no danger to humans (i.e. they won’t “come after” you), they can be annoying if they build webs in high traffic areas. The safest way to relocate them is to use a broom to clear the web away and continue to clear rebuilt webbing so the spider moves on.
Note that a yellow garden spider is typically black or brown with yellow and shiny silvery or white markings and large spindly legs; males are tiny, only ¼-inch to ½-inch in size and females are ¾-inch-1 ¼-inches in size, with showier markings.
Article: Yellow garden spiders good for yards, gardens – AgriLife Today (tamu.edu)
