This project began in 1997 for the purposes of creating a gardening calendar for 1998 that would provide educational gardening information to the purchaser and to raise money to support the activities of the Smith County Master Gardeners.  From the beginning this was a successful venture and beginning with the 1999 calendar, a colored painting was reproduced for the cover.  The painting, a watercolor, was done by a Master Gardener and for the next few years a new painting was produced for the covers.

As the Guide was developed, more and more gardening information was included and each year that information is revised and updated, for the benefit of the gardening community.  The colored covers have been changed to a photo taken in the community and chosen by the committee.

The 2026 Garden Guide and Calendar is all about container gardening – mixed containers, shrubs and trees, flowers, and vegetables.  It tells how to make your containers from pot selection, soil to use for best results, how to water the most efficiently, and about many plants that work well in containers.  It has a list of events in our area, websites to help with gardening questions, and things to do in the garden each month.  There is also a vegetable planting guide for our area and moon phases for those who like to use those for planting.  

Our calendar can be purchased at the Texas A&M Extension Office in Tyler as well as other locations in Smith county. Click HERE to download a printable listing.  The calendar will cost $10 again this year and is a good resource to keep for the information in the future. Call (903) 590-2994 for more information.

Below are some of the images of the containers discussed in the 2026 calendar articles.