Philippine Lily in Far Away Shadows

Oakland Cemetery Angel Tombstone

Brent & Becky Heath of Brent & Becky's Bulbs

Wednesday I had the honor of flying to Atlanta to speak to the Perennial Plant Association. Following my talk was a presentation by Brooks Garcia, Landscape Committee member of the Historic Oakland Cemetery.  Have you ever heard of Oakland Cemetery? Well, here’s a little bit…it is being managed and recovered by extraordinary individuals, including Sarah Henderson, and Brooks Garcia, and a whole host of staff and volunteers. The cemetery dates back to the mid-nineteenth century and is full of American history, art, and culture.

Tall Tombstone Oakland Cemetery

Oakland Cemetery Mattie Tombstone

After my talk I had the privilege of taking a tour of the cemetery with Sarah and a couple that are becoming very dear friends, Brent and Becky Heath of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs! Before we started the tour, we of course had to have a bite at the restaurant across the street called “Six Feet Under.” After that, Brent led the charge as we looked for old bulbs.  The sun was setting so some of our pictures were a little blurry, but we did see the ghostly Philippine lilies blooming, clumps of crinums and iris, and some sweet smelling gardenias. The long wispy strands of purple phlox drooped this way and that, adding color as they pleased to otherwise colorless spots. It was a Southern experience extraordinaire!

Brent Heath Leads the Charge

Cemetery Graves & Phlox

Cross Grave Marker & Philippine Lily

Tombstone: Born a Slave, Died the Daughter of a King

We found several interesting tomb sites, but most importantly, I have to announce that we found “him.”  After years of searching through the books at doctor’s offices, here is Waldo.

Waldo Tombstone

Crinum Powellii 'Album'

Chris always enjoys speaking and sharing his passion for bulbs and their histories. One of his new favorite speaking venues is Tim’s Landscape and Garden Center in Fort Worth, TX.

Chris will be speaking twice at Tim’s this coming Saturday, April 2nd. The 10:30am presentation is “Bulbs & Perennial Combinations,” and the 1:30pm presentation is “Propagating Your Own Bulbs – Digging, Dividing, & Replanting.” Each 45 minute talk will be followed by a short question and answer time and opportunities to chat with Chris and others about gardening and landscape.

Crinum 'Ellen Bosanquet'

There will be a book signing of Heirloom Bulbs for Today, along with a nice assortment of proven, heirloom bulbs available.

Heirloom Bulbs For Today

Tim’s Landscape & Garden center invites anyone interested to attend. The address is:

Tim’s Landscape & Garden Center
7321 W Vickery Blvd
Fort Worth, TX 76116
(817) 732-6861

My friend Stephen

While in the field, we saw a truck stop on the side of the road.  A gentleman came out and began walking towards us in the field.  I was not concerned because this is a normal occurrence if someone spots me in my field when things are blooming.  It was only polite for me to walk towards him as well, and when we met he explained to me that he was my neighbor one field over.  He continued and explained to me that he was a sort of bulb hunter himself.  Delighted, I asked more.  He even owned some land behind the old Freedman community on the other side of town, and it must have been an old home site as it was filled with these little jonquil things.

Those are the key words: land, old home site, blooming flowers. The hunt is on.  Boldly, I asked if we could go see it, maybe as soon as now!  Somewhat taken back, he agrees, and even offers for us to ride in his truck.  My opinion of the gentlemen is a good one, and gas is at $3.50, so my gut told me we’d not only be alright, but that we’d save money as well.  My friend and I hope in his truck, and after a 30 minute drive, this is what we see:

Clump of Texas Star Jonquil (Narcissus x intermedius)

Old Trees with the Bulbs--Another Tell-Tell Sign of a Home Place

Texas Star Jonquils (Narcissus x intermedius)

Camera Man Taking a Break

Gentleman with His Hunting Cabin

Wooden Piece on Side Used by Old Fir Trappers to Stretch Out Pelts

Living Simply

Old table with square nails.

What a shack! I want a wood burning stove.

What a nice man to show us his little get away and land!  When visiting with him, it is obvious that he sees the value of the flowers.  He shows us clumps here and there were he has diligently worked to spread the bulbs around.  Somebody used to live on this piece of land, and even after everyone else forgot, the bulbs still tell the story.  It is time for us to head back to the farm.  I thank him, and Stephen and I are dropped off.

Now with a bulb hunt in the air, I take Stephen to another old homesite where I have recently spotted some bulbs.  I knock on the door of the more modern home one hill over who I have determined to be the owner.  I explain my story, all the while my friend is a little amazed at what I’m doing.  Permission is granted and we drive up a back road this is explained to us and begin shooting.  This site not only had the Texas star jonquils (Narcissus x intermedius) but it also had Lent lilies (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) and campernelle (Narcissus x odorus)!  Now the campernelles were about finished, but the variety of Lent lily daffodil on this property and Texas stars were still blooming,

Texas Star Jonquils (Narcissus x intermedius) on old lot.

Texas Star Jonquils (Narcissus x intermedius)

Lent lily (Narcissus pseudonarcissus)

Lent lily (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) with 40 acres in the background.

Daffodils as the spring weeds start to grow.

Field of abandoned flowers, daffodils, and jonquils.

As I was photographing Stephen he started to get bitten by ants!

I then realized it was getting serious!

I felt so guilty for my camera having captured Stephen being bitten.  As soon as I realized it was serious, I hopped up to go and help.  Just about everyone who has worked on the Southern Bulb farm has bitten by fire ants at some point.  They all very quietly creep over you, and then one of them yells “BITE!” and they all chomp down together.

My camera took one more picture before I went to help. The pitfalls of laying on your stomach taking pictures of flowers.

All was back to normal and the daffodil pictures continued.

With all of the photographs we need, we head to the tax office to find out the history of the property.  The tax office is closed, but the land owner did stop us on our way there.  He mentions that he had the original deed for the property.  We circle back around and enter the home of the land owner.  What he shows us, is an amazing account of all of the owners of the property since 1849. That is 13 years after the Alamo!

The deed to the property dating to 1849.

George T. Wood was governor of the state of Texas.

Apparently the old road used to travel through there, and before it was only a home, it was also a general store.  Now any remnants of a former structure are gone.  Only the flowers remember.

Here are some pictures from late last week.  Consider this a pictorial journey, and I’ll keep the captions to a minimum.

Old Home in Washington County, TX

Took this picture as the sun was setting on the old home. I think it would be hard to call it abandoned completely, but it’s definitely uninhabited and has seen better days.  The amazing part about this property are the hardy amaryllis that still bloom around the base of the trees each spring.  This photo was shared with me by a friend who snapped the photos last year.

Now, I’m not pushing you, but you can buy these heirloom treasures for a limited time right now from us here–http://www.southernbulbs.com/hardy-amaryllis-Hippeastrum-johnsonii/ at The Southern Bulb Company.  Now, I’ve go to start posting more pictures quicker if we’re going to get through the many places I was last week.  In fact, I’ll start with this one this evening, and post the rest in the morning.

The Texas tulips are beginning to bloom everywhere!  Now, Felder Rushing will tell you this is blooming in Jackson, Mississippi as well, so maybe Texas tulip isn’t the best common name, but we do believe it to be (Tulipa praecox) a very old form of tulip that naturalizes across the state.

Inside of a Texas tulip (Tulipa praecox)

Texas tulips with Grand Primo Narcissus

And here’s a preview of what I will post tomorrow morning…

On the mighty Brazos river

Some very old homesites

What a delight it was to participate at this event. These gentlemen put us up in a nice hotel room, provided several meals, and even gave us a fun gift basket full of treats. Many of the attendees had been a part of this association for years, and while the conference was an opportunity to fulfill some continuing education hours, it was also a chance for the men to catch up with old friends. Watching these guys huddle around an outdoor fire pit, grill hamburgers for each other, enjoy a couple of beers, and laugh and talk was well, just plain terrific. Women always seem to find a way to carve out plenty of time for socialization with one another. Many guys just don’t, so it was a heart warming sight to behold.

I didn’t get a picture of the after hour festivities but here’s a shot of Chris presenting on Thursday morning. Many of the bulbs we love at The Southern Bulb Co would work well in the landscapes on Texas universities.

Ok. Since my job as cashier was over early on Thursday, I fulfilled the rest of my responsibility (wandering the streets of Fredericksburg) that very afternoon.

Stopped in at the Peach Tree Tea Room which is one of my very favorite haunts here. We sadly missed eating in the tea room by about three hours.

Super cute shop window.

We found this fantastic ancient looking gate.

We stumbled upon this antique store that had a gazillion different treasures in stock. It must have been a collaborative effort because the inventory was outrageously huge. (Such fun!)

One quirky thing about this place was their drapery hanging methods.

Notice the leather strapping pulled through the fabric and tied to a strong piece of wire. The combination of the beautiful drapes with the rustic looking hardware was lovely.

This is just another great shot of the window treatments in this place.

Passing by a shop window, minding my own business, these beauties caught my eye. Love at first sight…until I noticed the price tag. The relationship ended right then and there.

Avoiding the ice cream because of the chilly temperatures, we stopped in at this adorable 50′s diner for some coffee.

These guys are seriously passionate about plants. The owner declined the offer to appear with his vehicle.

Thank you UMLA members for your kind hospitality! Keep up the great work!

Cover of first Cottage Living magazine in the fall of 2004.

First Cottage Living magazine in the fall of 2004.

House and Garden 1990.

Pecan pie from Garden and Gun magazine.

More snow on the way but Rebecca and I are headed to Fredericksburg tomorrow for a talk. I absolutely LOVE that town and am glad I have the opportunity to speak about heirloom bulbs in the Hill Country!

Rebecca in the snow.

Thanksgiving is over, the holiday season is here, and I am still in Houston. I have several good reasons for staying here this morning:

1) Instead of spending my time focusing on the road today, we at Southern Bulb feverishly worked hard to finish our Cyber Monday “Bulb Hunter” newsletter and prepare the product gift page for Christmas gifts. That newsletter went out this morning.

2) With intermittent rain, it was hard for me to make the drive home because I have something very special in the back of my truck—the first arrivals of my new book Heirloom Bulbs for Today.

Also have some garden writing friends flying in to Houston to write and photograph for a story and think Rebecca and I will make the drive and meet them for dinner. It is nice and warm here in Houston, but we know that colder weather is once again on its way tonight and tomorrow. The rain should let up though by tonight, and we can begin our trek home to Northeast Texas.

All around my in-laws home paperwhites are coming up, planted by you know who.

Our paperwhites in the cabin were really growing well before we left as well. I am interested to check out their progress on our return home!