April visit to Antique Rose Emporium garden
In early April I took a wildflower-hunting drive through the country east of Austin. I ended up driving out to Brenham and past The Antique Rose Emporium, which was open to visitors, so I stopped for a quick tour of the gardens, socially distanced of course. The fuchsia pennants of Byzantine gladiolus were flying.
Cottage garden charm around one of ARE’s many outbuildings
A zen moment
Jerusalem sage flowering under a leaning tree — some sort of fruit tree perhaps?
The purple greenhouse
Borage
Brick labyrinth and rose trellis-tower
Multicolored bottle tree and a cast-iron squirrel finial on a purple fence
A bottle tree is a must-have for any Southern garden, and ARE’s tree is tall and colorful.
The nursery tables and arch made of braided terracotta pots
A pot of succulents within a pot of succulents
In an orchard across the road, orange-red Indian paintbrush pooled amid green grass studded with pale-pink flowers.
Last winter’s berries still adorned a possumhaw holly, even as spring wildflowers sprang up at its feet.
Some of you reading this have been plunged back into winter this weekend, but spring will return soon. Meanwhile, Austin is enjoying a late-season, lovely cool day before we plunge back into early summer.
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Digging Deeper
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Oh my, ARE looks wonderful. Your photos are excellent.
Thanks, Hoov. ARE is a wonderful destination nursery between Austin and Houston. I was surprised to find it still open on the day I passed through, but their display gardens are large and uncrowded, so it made sense.
That looks like a great place to get away from the world’s worries, at least briefly!
Yes, it was a nice escape for a short while.
I love their gardens and glad to know they are still open. Thanks for these beautiful photos.
They were a month ago, Sylvia. I’m glad you enjoyed the pics!
I love that tower trellis and brick labyrinth. I wonder what rose is on it? I would have a hard time controlling myself there. haha
Not to tempt you unduly, but they do have an online rose nursery, Phillip, and they ship! They may also be able to answer your rose question online: https://antiqueroseemporium.com/pages/contact-us
Lots of interesting things to see at this nursery. Who knew you could braid terra cotta pots into an arch (not me)? I bet the pale pink flowers mixed in with the Indian paint brush are pink evening primroses. When I lived in Galveston I recall seeing them growing along the I45 corridor to Houston. So refreshing!
It’s been a crazy spring here in western Maryland, as in so many places. Sigh… The things we gardeners have to tolerate!
They have two of those terracotta-pot arches, Ginny, and they’re marvelous. You’ll find a closer photo in this post from 2006 (so long ago!): https://www.penick.net/digging/?p=166
Thanks for this spring visit, Pam. I’m used to seeing it in Autumn when I go for the Symposium and Festival.
It’s wonderful in autumn too — all those undulating grasses and fragrant white mistflower amid the roses.
So glad to see your post on ARE today, Pam. We go there at least 3 times a year as we live in Brenham. Wasn’t sure if they were open so this will be our next day ‘out and about’.
I’m glad you enjoyed the virtual tour, Janelle!
I am new to your site & am completely hooked! I’m a novice gardener & I know I will learn a lot from you. At the moment I am working on a flowerbed which gets morning sun & afternoon shade. I will plant some Turks Cap, but would like your suggestion of companion plants, or where I could access some information. Thank you very much for your assistance.
Cindy, welcome! I’m so glad to know you’re finding useful info here at Digging. 🙂 Turk’s cap is a tried-and-true native for part-shade gardens. In those conditions I also like Sabal minor, foxtail fern, heartleaf skullcap, ‘Sparkler’ sedge, and pale pavonia. You’ll find all those plants listed on my Plants I’m Growing page, some with links to detailed info about them. Happy gardening!