The past couple of months in Houston has been a roller coaster of warm and chilly temperatures with beautiful cloudless skies mixed with thunderstorms and high winds. For the most part, though, we've had pleasant days that make many other regions envious.

While there are global warming deniers or those who don't believe our lifestyles and over-consumption are contributing to climate change, we gardeners know something is going on. Anyone who grows plants or food in Houston keeps a close watch on temperature changes and precipitation. From record-breaking freezes, unexpected snow, hurricanes and exceptional droughts, we've been living it all. And typical gardening rules seem to be more like suggestions nowadays.
So, we gardeners have to take chances. I rolled the dice on sowing seeds for carrots, peas, lettuce and greens in January and it paid off, with varying levels of success. I gambled again in February by planting tomatoes, peppers and beans early and so far, so good. However, we have been getting cooler temps all of a sudden which means my peppers and tomatoes aren't putting out many new blooms. On the other hand, the almost-ready-to-harvest carrots are thrilled and the lettuce has yet to bolt. I picked a Japanese New Kuroda carrot this week and it was delicious. It's a great variety for Houston's climate.

That's why the rules of gardening don't always apply. Weather is a major variable and even within a backyard, there are different microcosms. New gardeners may not want to hear it, but there's no secret to success when it comes to growing lush flowers and tasty vegetables. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature, so we must be subservient and follow her lead.
The Greater Houston area has been getting a decent amount of rain and  temperate weather for most of the past month. Our gardens love rainwater more than our city water so that has been helpful in lowering water costs and also in providing some extra minerals to our plants and lawns.

While February and March are two of the busiest planting months for gardeners who like to get a jump on things, April and May are still shoulder seasons that allow procrastinators to get plants in the ground or pots before the killer heat of summer. It just needs some planning and a good hard look at what will thrive right now. Dreams of blousy hydrangeas and heirloom tomatoes will have to wait until next fall or spring. We have some tips for what to plant now and what steps to take so that our gardens are places of joy and not regret.

Vegetables and Fruits for April and May:
Every year I dream of having so much extra bounty in my vegetable plot that I could hold a little farm stand in my front yard. That has yet to happen. The weird weather this year meant that I have one peach from two large peach trees in my yard. My mulberry tree started putting out berries in February and my blackberry bushes are already fruiting as well, about three weeks before they usually do. And my Thompson Seedless grape vines should be called Thompson Grapeless because this is the fifth year that they have produced nada.

Still, the little victories propel us forward, like the loads of French radishes I grew that no one ate or the arugula that went wild in my garden. That no one ate.
However, the Red Swan and Calima beans have been productive and I am serving them with every meal whether my family likes it or not. My eight tomato plants have fruit and blooms while my pepper plants are already giving me enough jalapenos and serranos for fresh salsa.

For those who planted early, harvest time is beginning and it's important to get the ripe fruits and veggies picked so that the plants keep producing. String beans will have a second flush but it won't be as much as the first, so it's a good idea to sow a second round.
It's also important to keep pests and diseases under control. A regular fertilizing regimen helps to keep plants healthy enough to fight some diseases. I use an organic granular fertilizer as well as soil amendments.

There are a few organic controls for bugs and disease like Neem Oil, which is pretty much the only thing I use. Many chemical pesticides and herbicides are unhealthy for the environment and they're expensive. It's a personal choice but it's also one that affects wildlife, waterways and human beings. So maybe not that personal.

For gardeners who want to fill out their vegetable gardens or get started in the first place there are still vegetables that can be sown or transplanted within the next month.
Most Houston veg gardeners have their tomatoes planted by now but there are still some options for those who have not. Sometimes, garden centers have larger potted transplants this time of year that may cost quite a bit more but they are already putting out blooms. There may be time to get fruit before it gets too hot. Cherry tomatoes are best at this point because they usually take less time to ripen and can withstand heat and are often more disease-resistant. We recommend Sweet Chelsea, Yellow Pear, Juliet and Black Cherry for late season planting.

For pepper lovers, this is a great time to get going. The cooler temps we had in early April slowed my peppers down a bit but they will get bopping as the temps begin to go up. I grow El Jefe jalapeno which is hot, but not devilishly so. I am also growing Gypsy and Candy Cane sweet peppers. There are so many varieties that there's one very every person's taste and heat threshold. And they're simple to grow.

Eggplant is another heat-loving edible and even though I don't usually have much success myself, I invested in a couple of Calliope eggplant seedlings and already have a couple of fruit. Black Beauty, Ichiban and Rosa Bianca are popular and easily-found varieties. It's too late to start from seed but there are plenty of transplants at local nurseries.
However, a number of vegetable and fruit can still be sown from seed this month and into early May. Again, bush beans are easy and productive, so do another sowing before the first peters out. Pole beans are good for those who have have vertical space to grow them upward. Cucumber, zucchini and a number of melons can be started straight in the garden. I sowed Charentais melon and Spacemaster cucumber a couple of weeks ago and not a one came up. It could have been the cooler temps so I will do more this week. I am sowing more bush beans tomorrow because something ate my second seedlings in half.

Blackberries and blueberries should ideally be planted in January and February but container-grown plants can still be planted in the ground with a little TLC. That means keeping an eye on the watering.
Okra and Southern peas can be planted now as well as sweet potato slips, though they need quite a bit of space. Strawberry plants will be hard to find this month but they can be planted in pots to keep them away from pill bugs, or roly polies.

And herb fans can plant them almost anytime of year. Basil can still be grown from seed this month.

Flowers for April and May:
The mix of rain and cooler temps meant my roses were pretty spectacular. Unfortunately the Climbing Eden and New Dawn roses were also decimated by thrips, the bane of any rosarian's existence. I have kept up a steady spraying of Neem Oil in the very early morning or early evening. It actually helped some but very few things can completely rid a rose garden of thrips once they take hold. I felt a little less of a bad rose momma when a visit to the Antique Rose Emporium last week showed me that I wasn't the only one battling these nearly microscopic gluttons. For those who want to avoid such horrors, darker colored roses seem less attractive to the buggers.
Some of the cooler weather annuals are still putting on a show because of our mild weather. Lobelia, pansies, snapdragons and dianthus are still showing off but the upcoming summer heat will put an end to their revelries. It's a good idea to make plans for their replacements.

I have never been a big fan of salvia, despite its hardiness and heat tolerance. Maybe it's because I am too fond of the delicate types that challenge me mercilessly. Still, there are numerous types of salvia that thrive in Houston's climate. In the garden center, blue salvia doesn't really stand out but when it's planted en masse or used as a landscaping plant with other flowers and shrubs, it becomes a garden bed workhorse.

I have found a use for it in my yard. Roses have beautiful flowers but as a plant, they don't look like much. An underplanting of blue salvia goes with every color of rose and helps to hide the shrub itself. It also tends to come back up every year. I just add two or three new plants each spring.
Pentas are annuals that can oftentimes be perennial in Houston. And they bloom almost continuously. They do best in sun but they will still do well in part shade. Butterflies love them. Another heat-loving, butterfly-attracting plant is lantana. But be forewarned: It's invasive. However, a dedicated space for it, along with some blue plumbago and maybe duranta or clerodendrum, creates a lush butterfly garden in relatively little time.

Balloon flowers are also a great choice for long-lasting color. Most are a beautiful shade of blue but they can also be found in pink and white. They are quite compact and make a pretty border for a flower bed. For a taller perennial plant, echinacea, or coneflower, can be a nice background planting.
There is still time to plant zinnias and cosmos from seed but the wait will be close to three months for blooms. They can be bought as transplants but for me, they never seem to do as well as the ones I sow from seed. For sunny balconies and patios, petunias are always a favorite along with calibrachoa which some call mini petunias.

For those who have houseplants, a mild, sunny daytrip outside in April or early May can be beneficial but the conditions must be monitored. An African violet left in the heat of the sun will fry. I put my houseplants out on a covered part of the patio where light filters in. I then bring them inside at night. It may be unnecessary but I think they like it.
For container gardens and potted plants, the last of the mild weather means that plants that have outgrown their pots should be transplanted now. Or, for those of us who have let some poor wee shrub suffer in the same pot it was sold in, there is just a little time left to give it a happy home where it can settle in before the 90 degree heat.

Summer is coming to Houston. Whether this will be one of exceptional drought or a particularly busy hurricane season remains to be seen. We Houstonians have to take each day as it comes and garden with the expectation and hope that we will have flowers and veggies in our future.

Maybe no more radishes, though.