Warm and Fuzzy Plants

What's softer than a Teddy Bear and sticks around longer than candy and cut flowers?  Kalanchoes!  It was plants again this year for Valentine's Day.  Fuzzy ones.

Kalanchoe Tomentosa, those dark leaf edges are so distinctive.

Springtime Roses Bloom at The Antique Rose Emporium

Roses are blooming in abundance this spring at The Antique Rose Emporium in San Antonio.  This yellow rose was just one of many blooms I saw when I visited earlier this week.

This is the view from my parking space.  I began snapping photos as soon as I stepped out of the car.   Mountains of white climbing roses and pink roses right up to the bumper! 
 

The mild, rainy winter has brought out the blooms by the thousands.  It was a beautiful sight and such a contrast to my visit in October when weather setbacks had delayed the blooms.  To the right of the entrance is a cedar gazebo surrounded by a hedge of red roses.  The white roses in the background are the same ones you can see from the parking lot.



This climber is just beginning to make its way up the gazebo post.

Red climbing rose demonstrates the variety, with the sale specimens nearby.  As you may have noticed, the great thing about this place is how they demonstrate possible ways to grow the various types of roses within a garden setting.

Shrub Rose in the demonstration garden

Container rose on display by the perennials

Roses rambling along a fence and climbing over the side of the sales office

 

Roses used as a hedge with blue salvia and other perennials

 

The giant bottle tree is just visible among all the roses

The best blooms I've seen in a couple years on this climbing rose

Another climber along the adobe wall and more rose hedges

  
The blue courtyard featured a beautiful climbing apricot rose

 

 

 


More roses over and under the arbor

   

A bee on this rose, it was too windy for butterflies

 

More beautiful roses over by the Hacienda de las Rosas special events center



Cactus, roses and a windmill -- a great Texas combination to end the tour.