Features

Meant to Bee Queen Nectarine and Meant to Bee Royal Raspberry two new agastache varieties are approaching their 100th day of bloom in my house. Both agastache or hummingbird mint varieties will be making their debut in 2023 and in a summer of miserable heat, my trials of these flower varieties has brought joy and excitement.

This past weekend, my oldest grandson and I were home alone – it was never clear who was “babysitting” who, but we both fared well. Anyway

There is a new Superbells calibrachoa making its debut in 2023 that is so beautifully unusual, I’ve wondered if Proven Winners even knows what it has: Superbells Prism Pink Lemonade calibrachoa. Had calibrachoas been around in 1800 as Empress Josephine was constructing the gardens at Le Chateau de Malmaison, I am sure Pink Lemonade would have been her first choice.

A few days after Hack Wilson’s death in a Baltimore hospital, journalist Edwin A. Lahey wrote the following: “Wallace Jaco, the night attendant at the Mitchell Undertaking Parlor, seemed pleased to have his lonely vigil interrupted when I rang the buzzer and asked if Hack Wilson's body was there.

To me, this is the prettiest petunia I have ever grown. It is so pretty that if it only lasted a month, I would say I can hardly wait until next year. But it is a Supertunia and therefore will perform as suggested, a super petunia. The name of this new variety is Supertunia Persimmon.

By marrying the love of my life – who happened to be 12 years my senior – one of his gifts to me was a “preview of coming attractions.” In our 25- year marriage, I was able to witness, first-hand, and hear about the process of aging from many senior friends before having to go through it, myself.

Luminary Sunset Coral has turned The Garden Guy into a full-blown phlox fanatic. This rousing color would probably remind you of some electrifying lipstick or fingernail polish, a most rare color in the plant world.

This past week, most of us heard the U.S. Constitution mentioned in conjunction with the Supreme Court’s monumental decision on Roe v. Wade. As I listened to news programs, outlining the implications of this ruling, I began questioning my knowledge of our Constitution.

Each year as my color design guru son James orders plants for use at his client’s homes, from those that look like historic cottages to palatial garden estates, those on the waterfront to those considered mountainous. The one color that I can be guaranteed that will be in heavy use is white.

In my own experience, growing a friendship is much like growing a healthy plant.

No longer will trays of flower transplants create a mess, a sore back from picking them up and cluttering the garden shed with thoughts of future use. Thanks to Eco+ Grande Pots, we can now simply pull four tabs and plant them and the pot, a true ecological wonder.

I am a proud product of Texas Public Schools, from first (there was no public school kindergarten in the 1950s), and now that I’ve earned two graduate degrees in education, I can say with some authority, the professionals who taught me were experienced, dedicated and fulfilled as educators. They were mostly all great teachers.