Today in the Garden, a Texas Winter

It is a cool evening, but it was a warm and sunny day. It was a perfect day to check the garden.

Today in the Garden: Martha Gonzales Rose

This is a drought tolerant china rose that does well with little care. It can be used as a 3' hedge. It requires low maintenance. You can read other gardeners' comments below:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/52000/#b

Saving Seeds to Create Next Year's Garden

Many plants generate seeds that you can collect to create your garden for the following year.  In Texas, you can even plant your spring seeds in the fall for early blooms. The article link below the photos shows you how to collect seeds from various annual plants.  Perennials, that come back year after year, like mexican petunias, can be split from the root and multiplied

I grow cockscomb in different colors and have just started collecting the seeds.  It is recommended that you save your seeds in a paper bag and label the bag with the name of the plant and the date.
You can see the tiny black seeds on the cockscomb just below the bloom in the furry part of the stem.
If you are interested in collecting a specific flower, you can go the nursery now and buy one plant, check with them to find out if it seeds, and collect the seeds and you don't have to worry about buying  in the spring.  Happy gardening!

The article below, shows you how to collect seeds from numerous plants:  http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/16210840?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u2022&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery18

Today in the Garden

Today in the garden, I found this monarch butterfly feeding from the orange esperanza. It fed from the bloom and the stem.

Bees in the garden

This post explains the value of bees in the garden and distinguishes the different types:

http://www.mcmga.com/00/43/native-bees-in-texas-gardens/

These are bees in my garden.  I use a Canon EOS 7D.

Hurricane Patricia

Texas has gotten lots of rain as a result of hurricane Patricia. Luckily, the damage has been less than expected. We have been under drought conditions, so the rain is a good thing. My dog Monster prefers to stay inside. He is a rescue from the animal shelter. I got him the day before he was going to be euthanized. Isn't he cute?

New venture with International Educational Learning Kits

Learn about world cultures, languages, and geography.  Follow this link:


http://www.flyingtrunks.com