garden work

Weather has been gradually warmer and sunnier, though some nights are still a bit cold. But we went ahead and bought our replacement rose shrubs --- we can always throw protection over them if nights get down in the 30's. The roses from the nearby Antique Rose Emporium are always so healthy, many of them grown from roses found on abandoned farmsteads all over Texas, and many still retain the original scents. I hate the newer hybrids that have lost all scent.

I had one overgrown pot of aloe vera also. When we gently pulled the plant out of the container (after a couple of rounds of fire-ant killer as they had taken occupancy) there were enough starts to fill SIX pots, four of which were larger than the original!

The original aloe plant was grown from off the house plant our son-in-law Michael took to college with him in the 1990's. I kept it alive as a house plant but it never grew beyond 6 to 8" high with very thin blades. After moving to Texas, we left the pot outside in the sun (covering during cold snaps) . . . and two years later, it is thriving as a huge, healthy beast!