This weekend, I'm hanging out with rustlers - rose rustlers, that is! Saturday, July 13 is the annual "Rookie Rustler" meeting of the Texas Rose Rustlers. The meeting is being held at the beautiful Mercer Arboretum, and guess what? I'm a speaker! I love it when I get air-conditioned job. I'll be speaking about Texas-tough companions for Texas-tough roses.
 | | 'Carefree Beauty' blooming at a cemetery in San Antonio. |
The Rose Rustlers' mission is to rescue antique roses so that future generations can enjoy them. Members "rescue" roses from neglected farmsteads, roadsides and even cemeteries. These roses have survived our tough climate with only the loving care they get from nature, so are good bets for our own rose gardens. In fact, Mike Shoup, owner of the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham says if dead people can grow these roses (in cemeteries), anyone can! Saturday's meeting at the Arboretum is open to everyone. Love to see you there! You'll find information about the meeting here. The day starts at 10:00 am and continues through the afternoon. Lunch is pot-luck!
It's just about time to work in the fall garden, right about when it's as hot as it will ever get. Doesn't seem fair, does it? But fair warning - the next newsletter will be all about the fall vegetable garden. The most important thing for you to be thinking about now is whether or not you want to plant fall tomatoes. If so, you need to save room for them in your plan!
My family and I got to spend a few days in Central Texas over the Fourth of July holiday and it was so refreshing! Our vacation just happened to coincide with those few days of drier, cooler weather and it was much appreciated. Now I'm planning out the next few email newsletters, so if there are features or articles you'd like to see, please let me know. I always appreciate your feedback.
 | | Frogs: always welcome in my garden! |
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Thanks again and garden on! |
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How Long Will This Plant Last?
Whenever you buy anything, it's natural to want to get your money's worth. New gardeners especially are hesitant sometimes when buying plants, because they don't want to spend money foolishly on plants that just won't survive. But what sort of expectation should we have about the little bedding flowers we buy in spring and fall for summer and winter color?
 | | Long lasting or short-timers?? |
Here are my thoughts on the matter:
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Best of the Dallas Plant Trials
I'm as excited as a kid who got to go on the field trip! While Papershell was open, I didn't get to attend many of these plant shindigs. And I'd never been to the Dallas Arboretum (more on that experience later!). There are plant trials all over the country, but the ones in Dallas are the southernmost and the plants there experience climate conditions that come closest to ours.  | | Lantana Little Lucky Hot Pink |
Curious about the plants that are "Arboretum Approved" or "Flameproof?" Read on: |
A Nurseryman's Vacation
After I got back from Dallas, my family and I went camping in Central Texas, along the San Marcos River. Don't worry - there was an air-conditioned cabin in the picture! We floated on the river, ate barbeque, chased fireflies and generally relaxed and refocused.
 | | We shared our cabin with a mama barn swallow. |
I'll let you in on a little secret: the biggest treat for me was the luxury of looking at plants that I didn't water. Watching bugs I didn't have to squish. Not having to wonder about whether a plant would sell or not. I'd like to share this little slideshow with you. Click the link below; the article has a slideshow embedded in it.
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Thanks for reading,
Elizabeth Barrow
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