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.

Basil Fest!

On Saturday morning I headed out to Basil Fest at the Pearl Farmer's Market.  While the Farmer's Market is open every Saturday, Basil Fest is an annual event held in May.  This year the beneficiary of funds raised by Basil Fest was the Healing and Therapy Gardens of The Warrior and Family Support Center where I volunteer each week.

Basil Fest is one of two events sponsored each year by the San Antonio Herb Market Association.  Their other event is the Herb Market held in mid-October.  First stop was the Nature's Herb Farm plant sale and this year I picked up a very nice ruffled purple basil.  Nature's Herb Farm, with their huge operation located in San Antonio, supplies herbs for most of the state of Texas.

Nature's Herb Farm also grows succulents.  These wood succulent boxes were planted up and ready to go.  You might recognize the rusty tanks planted with prickly pear from my previous post on this plaza at the Pearl.

Expert talks on growing and cooking with basil were just one of activities available.  It was also fun for me to see this park full of activity on a Saturday since I'm mostly here on slower weekdays.  When I posted on this space last fall it was nearly empty and the contrast is quite striking.



During breaks I took a walk around the Pearl Farmer's Market held each Saturday morning.  With live music almost every week and streets closed off, it has turned into a huge event.

Chalking up the street is fun!

So are balloons!

Never tried goat milk soap.



I took a few minutes to drop into Melissa Guerra, one of my favorite shops in San Antonio.

Primarily a cookware shop, Melissa includes all kinds of fun and colorful items in her shop.

Now that's a sun hat!

Milagros in all sizes

Down the way, Adelante Boutique displays a "Y'all" pillow in the window.

An exquisitely handmade gown from Fiesta court is on display in another window.  Fiesta is our annual city-wide party held each April since 1891.  Over the years it has grown from a one-day celebration at the Alamo to events across the city for most of the month of April.  You can see more of these elaborate gowns on Pinterest here and look at the second row on this link to see the gown worn in the pageant.

Entirely hand beaded with crystal flowers and covered in sequins these dresses take a year to make.  Reflections make it tough to capture the incredible details.  Quite obviously the gowns are heavy to wear so they are mainly worn standing on floats in Fiesta parades where special platforms hold the train.  Scroll down to the second photo in this link to see.

Back at Basil Fest "voters" are lining up to sample basil dishes and vote with donations for their favorite .  Despite intermittent rain, we had a great turnout.

And the winner is Chef Tony from Fratello's Market and Deli!  Fratello's served a delicious basil filled cream puff and a sweet roll with pesto topping which were both excellent.  Their tough competition included cranberry bread with goat cheese/pesto spread from Chef Jenny Mattingsley of Oblate Theological Center and (my favorite) guacamole with basil and bacon from Chef Jacky of Broadway Daily Bread.

Basil Fest raised just over $750 for the Healing and Therapy Gardens.  That's Wendy Martinson, Executive Director of Returning Heroes Home, presenting the award to Tony.

Thanks so much to The San Antonio Herb Market Association for a great event and making my favorite gardens the beneficiary of your fundraising this year.

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Pam Penick is set to speak at Festival of Flowers on Saturday, May 28th at 10:30 am.  She'll present "Hold the Hose", a presentation on saving water in our gardens.  After the talk Pam will have her latest book  The Water-Saving Garden and her first book Lawn Gone! available for purchase and signing.  Look for me attending Pam's talk, volunteering at the SAWS butterfly garden display, shopping for plants on the vendor floor, and/or taking part in the City-Wide Plant Swap!

Central Texas Gardener visits WFSC

We recently welcomed the filming team from Central Texas Gardener to the Warrior and Family Support Center at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio.   Produced by KLRU, the Austin PBS station, Central Texas Gardener (CTG) is a must-see every Saturday for avid gardeners in our region.   Tuesday is our usual volunteer day but it was with great anticipation we arrived early on a Thursday to make sure the garden was spiffy.