Very nice, Roselee. You could write a book just putting together your posts. How about "Gardening pleasures in San Antonio" for a title?

Omar

Oh Roselee your garden is so pretty.

Beautiful pics and beautiful gardens, Roselee!

Kristi

Beautiful garden and great photos Roselee.

Your color combos are great. All the different flower colors give you more time to enjoy them and more to share with us.

The Fanick's Phlox from Heather at last year's swap is about to bloom for the first time. It won't look like yours yet, but I am excited. Your wonderful pictures show me what I have to look forward to as these plants fill in.

Thank you all for looking and commenting! Comments kind of keep us going. Not that we are looking for people to 'brag' on our gardens, but it's just that we know somebody is looking at what we want to share.

Shirley I was thinking of you when I took this picture of Velvet Pod Mimosa this morning. It has done so well for me and with all your rock-oak-deer would do as well for you in a full sun spot. I got it at Schumachers, but they don't have it now. Yuccado has listed it, but I didn't see it on their site when I looked just now. I stuck cuttings at the Schumacher class, but don't know yet if they have taken. I've never tried to start it from seeds, but I do have some.

That's purple cactus in the front. It turns a very pretty purple in the winter. I can bring pads to SAPS for whoever wants it. It is thorny though.

Hi,beautiful pictures.The velevet pod mimosa does grow from seeds and I was wondering if you would check my seed list for a possible trade.I would like to try growing this mimosa.TIA
Debbie

Hi Debbie! I'll check to see if last years seeds are viable by putting them between some wet paper towels. If they are I'd be glad to send some to you. I have a whole bag full! This years seeds will be appearing soon if by chance they are not viable.

I'm posting this picture of Spray Cecil Brunner, aka Bloomfield Abundance, because I said I'd show some of you who were interested what it looked like. Will try to get a full bush shot later.

The sweetly scented sprays are nice to put with bouquets. This one doesn't get enough sun or water, but manages to do pretty good anyway ...

Beautiful !! I totally agree with the idea of writing a book. You share a wealth of information. Thanks for posting.

Roselee, I agree with Omar, maybe you should consider a gardening blog.

That's so nice of you to offer the mimosa seeds. The flowers are beautiful and it would work here. Since it's getting hot here, I'd probably wait for the swap in October to plant it.

I looked up the purple cactus and that is such a pretty color and so unique that is looks like regular prickly pear most of the time and then turns that wild color in the winter. If you can bring one of those pads to the swap, that would be great too.

Shirley

Thanks Roselee,drop me a e-mail if you have any to trade.
Debbie

Roselee, I love your garden - I especially think First Lady phlox is super-hot! And the Kwanso daylilies - fantastic by the way - I have never seen a triple, only a single and a double in the orange daylilies.

Thanks for sharing - and I'd buy your book or subscribe to your blog...

Lin

Sooo pretty, Roselee. I am always thrilled to get glimpses of your garden. Please talk about your use of pots. I'm interested in whether you use them for the structure, or so you can move the plants around, or if you like the pots as much as you like the plants, Ha!, or if you just prefer container gardening. With so many, don't you find watering to be a real pain? I'm asking because I find myself watering more and more pots every year, and I am about ready to put a stop to it. To me it has become a not so fun part of gardening.
Jim

Debbie, I haven't got around to checking the Velvet pod mimosa seeds yet. Will do that today.

Thanks Lin. The Kwanso daylily is a very old daylily. Nobody knows how it came to be, but it's thought to be a natural 'sport'. It's sterile for the most part. Blooms later than most daylilies BTW.

Shirley, I will bring some cactus pads to SAPS Oct. 9. They bloom beautifully in the spring too. The yellow flowers look great against the purple pads.

Jim, I use a lot of pots because things grow better in them for me, especially roses. I don't know what's with the soil around here, but it won't hold moisture worth a hoot. That's even with all the compost and oak leaves I've added through the years. There is porous rock right under the thin soil so water just runs through it I guess. I sprinkle water holding crystals in the holes I plant in, as well as in pots and that helps some.

Also it seems particularly dry here so I don't get much help with watering from rain. San Antonio's yearly average is 31 in. I think, but this area probably gets a third less being in what they call a rain shadow. It can be raining all around and not a drop at my house. Or when it does rain it will be like a monsoon for a few hours and then weeks with nothing. Oh well ...

So yes, I have to water a lot, but that goes for everything. Luckily I have very good water pressure and a 5/8 hose for it to run through (which helps a LOT) so I can stand in one place and water things 15 ft or more away. With the large amount of water coming out of the hose it doesn't take as much time as you'd think. I have mulch on top of the pots and beds so the soil doesn't splash around.

I installed drip irrigation years ago and used to use it a lot, but now there are emitters where there are no plants so not sure it is as efficient as it once was. Plus it is buried pretty deep by now which would be okay, but a hassel to pull it up and change emitter locations. Ideally there would be drip irrigation running to every plant and pot! Someday ... !!!

As you surmised I also like pots for structure and interest and love being able to move them around. If there is a bare spot I look around for a pot I can move there. I put the pots in the flower beds so Bob doesn't have to mow around them.

Also wanted to mention that if you snap the spent blooms off the phlox they will put out flowers from the sides sooner and you can keep them going for months.

Thanks ibheri and all, but this is the closest I'll ever get to a blog or a book ... LOL. Just hope you all don't get too tired of me posting pictures of my little yard. I try to show you something new so you can get ideas. I just hope I don't talk too much ... :-)

Roselee thanks for the tip on phlox. The Fanick's phlox has bloomed, but there's only one stalk and no side shoots. So I'll cut it soon and hope that encourages branching and spreading.

It's good to hear you successfully grow so many things, including roses, in containers. Do you grow all types of roses that way? I've been considering adding roses and some at ARE are specifically marked for containers.

-Shirley

I love seeing pictures of your garden, Roselee. It is always so beautiful and you have such an artistic eye for getting those great garden photos. Thanks for sharing your pictures!