Veteran's Day 2019

Typically the sight of a police helicopter will send me scurrying indoors.

This time I stayed outside to watch police helicopters flying in formation above the funeral procession of firefighter Greg Garza who died in an accident while answering a fire call.

A large church just north of us opens its doors for first responder's funerals.  There have been quite a few of these funerals in recent years.

Greg Garza, like so many of our first responders, served in the Marines before becoming a firefighter.

Just outside my neighborhood fire trucks raised a giant flag on an overpass to salute the procession.

Here's to all the Veterans who served and continue to serve their communities!

Veterans Day 2018

On Sunday November 11, 2018 Americans will celebrate Veterans Day while England, France, Belgium and Canada celebrate Armistice Day and the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.  If you've seen documentaries or movies on WWI, you know it was a terrible conflict.  We visited the famous Flander's Fields in Belgium during a trip to Europe which just happened to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the end of WWII.  We thoroughly enjoyed touring the nearby WWII site of The Battle of the Bulge with the visiting veterans who fought there.

I have noted BBC presenters are already wearing poppies on air as is their tradition.  Veterans sell poppies here in San Antonio during the weeks leading up to the holiday.

Tomorrow morning the Austin-based PBS program Central Texas Gardener will rebroadcast their tour of the Healing and Therapy Gardens at the Warrior and Family Support Center on Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio where a group of dedicated gardeners volunteer on Tuesdays.  Many of us are family members of veterans and several are themselves veterans.  We're honored that producer and friend Linda Lehmusvirta chose to repeat the show this year for Veterans Day.

Through the magic of YouTube the program is available here.  

I also recommend following Central Texas Gardener on Facebook and subscribing to Linda's wonderful, informative CTG garden blog.

My post on what it's like to have the CTG crew visit is here and posts about my first visit to the gardens in 2013 which inspired me to return as a volunteer start here.

And I'll finish by sharing photos from my five years in the gardens which serve wounded active duty soldiers, veterans and their families.

First, a few of our volunteers at work.  Pat works at local favorite Shades of Green Nursery and generously helps out on her day off.

Cliff Bingham, an Air Force veteran, mows the lawns.

Sandra Woodall, a fixture at gardening events around town, logs a lot of hours in the gardens.

There are so many more of us that I don't have photos of yet so thank you all!  In case you're wondering, I do actually work in between taking photos of the beautiful gardens.

A favorite combination with chartreuse and purple potato vine in raised planters from a few years ago.

Monarchs on the purple coneflowers.

John Fanick Phlox has found a perfect spot in part shade.  I have learned so much about how to plant my own garden from working here.

Everybody's favorite bloomer in the heat of August is Pride of Barbados.

Bright orange Mexican Cosmos adds a cheery touch in late summer too.

Giant Celosia heads are a head turner for our visitors in early fall.  They reseed quite nicely all around the garden.

Hibiscus Mutabilis emerges in cream and brightens to deep pink before fading again.

Like my own garden, Queen Butterflies are there most of the year.

Cheerful Zinnias greeted us all summer this year.



The Helping Hand on the stone is a symbol of volunteers throughout the military community worldwide.

Enjoy your Veterans Day, Armistice Day or Remembrance Day as our freedoms were purchased at great price.

Veteran's Day 2017: A rare license plate

With so many veterans living in San Antonio, known as Military City USA, license plates indicating the driver is a veteran are a common sight.  This veteran's license plate stands out above the rest.  A Congressional Medal of Honor plate is very rare since most receive the medal posthumously.

There are quite a few Medal of Honor recipients who have proudly called San Antonio home throughout our history and we are proud to have them as residents.

Happy Veteran's Day to all our veterans and especially my favorite veteran who will be treated to a nice home cooked dinner.  It's something that happens almost every day at our house and that fact never gets old.

A unique WWI Memorial is preserved in San Antonio

San Antonio is known as a military town so it shouldn't surprise me when I come across something special in honor of those who served.  In October I was invited to a tour of our newly opened Tobin Center for the Performing Arts built on the site of our old Municipal Auditorium.  I learned that the original building, which has been partially preserved during construction of the new center, had been built in 1926 as The Municipal Auditorium and dedicated as a memorial to those who died in WWI.  While there are a number of buildings and stadiums around the country dedicated to war veterans I don't know of another quite like this beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival structure.  It's fitting to feature this special memorial as remembrances of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of WWI are underway.

A Garden Remembrance for Veteran's Day

It's Veteran's Day in the U.S, a holiday established to thank those who have served their country in the armed forces.  Known as Poppy Day in Great Britain, red poppies are the traditional flower on this day.

Poppies aren't blooming in my garden today, but I did find this appropriately red, white, and blue combination in the circle garden.

From the top:  Blue Gregg's Mistflower, White Boneset, and Red Gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields'

Thank you to all our veterans!