When I was in junior high, I subscribed to some basic horticulture magazines. If I remember correctly, they were the magazines with the most pictures in them. My highest frustrations were when there were beautiful pictures, but no detailed descriptions to help identify the flowers. One such beautiful picture was the snowscape created in the outdoor display area of Longwood Gardens. As I read on, more pictures of an impressive conservatory filled my eyes and sparked my imagination. They were offering an internship through one of their programs. I applied but it did not work out. Fast forward 9 years to the future, and imagine my pleasure as they hosted us to one of the grandest evening I have experienced.

Dinner was served in the conservatory. There was a live band with dancing. Afterwards, we were treated to a fountain show with impressive lighting and even more impressive fireworks. The performance was set to classical music and other American classics such as pieces by John Phillip Sousa. The climax for me was the emotional strong string movement towards the end of "Waltz of the Flowers" by Taichovsky. We later retired, setting our glasses of red wine down as we left.

There were some beautiful gardens and arrangements on this trip. I took particular notice of the Zephyranthes candida that they were growing completely submerged in water. I had never seen it grown that way, but it just goes to show it's tolerance (or liking) to wet feet. On a final note, I snapped this picture at the Delaware Art Museum because if the reader were to ever wander what we do in our free time, this is the best visual representation.

The Fed-Ex and UPS shipments came in and we now have a presence with the Garden Writers of America. The cab ride from downtown Philadelphia was $50 though...looking forward to when my hotel room reservation here starts. It was a nice ride though, with the windows down and a cool breeze to enrich the ride--I was beginning to think cool breezes didn't exist anymore.

I made it to Philadelphia. It was kind of rough waking up around 4:30 and going to bed so late at night, but I was able to sleep some on the plane. There is a careful balance between drinking just enough coffee to keep the caffeine withdrawal headache at bay and not drinking enough to wire your body so as to keep yourself awake. On the second leg of the drip, I sat next to Amanda, who was headed into the 7th grade in a couple of weeks and who taught me how to work those “math crossword puzzles” called Sudoku puzzles.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia, I “price lined” (or had a very helpful and loving person priceline) a hotel for me downtown. My Valley Forge hotel room doesn’t start until Saturday. For $5.50 I took the Philadelphia train system (SEPTA) to downtown and found my hotel room. Then, I did what I’ve always wanted to do. I went to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and eat the best Philly cheese steak I could find. When I rounded the hall and saw the Liberty Bell, I had chill bumps run up and down me. Then, as I stood outside Independence Hall below one of the windows, I thought about how they boarded that very window up so they wouldn’t be hung for treason!

I slipped into Nick’s Roast Beef on Second Street. Their particular cheese steak had apparently won some high awards and I can see why. It was great and the beverages were half off because the Philadelphia Phillies were playing on TV. They sure could use Mike Schmidt again.

When I was walking back between Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, a passenger in a suburban drove down the street that separated the two, leaned out the window, and in her best Philly accent exclaimed to the US park ranger “Hey where’s the Liberty Bell? I’m looking for the Liberty Bell!” It was obviously right behind her…she knew it, the park ranger knew it, and even I (the tourist) knew it—she was obviously making fun of the millions of stupid questions we tourist ask every day. The park ranger calmly shouted back to her “It’s not here. Somebody moved it!”

On some final notes, ever wonder why they would be flying the Texas flag in Philadelphia. Actually, that's the Chilean flag. Lots to do here tomorrow at the Garden Writers of America convention. Ben told me that he has a Sternbergia back at the farm already trying to push out its bud. So are our oxblood lilies. “Holllddd!” Not yet please….but who am I to tell nature what to do?

Well, we were honored and excited to be on Martha Stewart Radio featured on "Morning Living with Lauren Pressley" last Friday morning on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 112. We are again honored to be invited back to Martha Stewart Radio on "Homegrown with Margaret and Andrew." Be sure to look for it on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 112, September 12th, at 9:15AM central time.

Now on a horticulture note, it is sad to say but are summer is coming to an end. Yes, I know it is 100 plus degrees outside, BUT Aunt Sunny says she has seen the sulphur butterflies which means an early fall and particularly hairy butterflies, which means a cold winter. I might tend to agree with her on fall, as our Oxblood Lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) are already trying to push up buds! Customers better head to the Calloway's stores and select Austin nurseries to get them and put them in the ground. Actually, many will hold off for a little longer, but they ARE in the stores now.

With the summer closing, we know that we will say goodbye to the rain lilies that have so faithfully kept us going through these horrible dry days. I wanted to take a moment and post a picture of Zephyranthes grandiflora (on the left) next to a Habranthus robustus (on the right) to show people the difference in color and form. I realize that neither of these products will be available until next spring, but it is just good to know the difference.

I am still in San Antonio.

What a busy weekend this was. I feel that our Mondays must necessarily become our day of rest for the fall. On that note, I just finished "The Far Side of the World" by Patrick O'Brien and will now move on to "The Reversal of the Medal." Brad headed back last night by way of Austin and Buffalo, and Ben stayed in Boerne. I am off later this week to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania for a garden writers conference. More to come later but I do not want to disappoint you the fun of a picture. Below is a sample display of our oxbloods and spiders in a Calloway's store.

It has been a fun and busy time down in here at the TNLA Expo in San Antonio Texas. Today we sat down with the store managers of Calloway's and Cornelius and talked about bulbs that are great for the Houston and San Antonio areas, namely the Oxblood Lily(Rhodophiala bifida) and the Spider Lily (Lycoris radiata). Greg Grant also did a nice write up on fall blooming bulbs in Neil Sperry's garden magazine. We are hoping consumers will brave the heat and head to the retail stores carrying these bulbs and plant them now for a fall bloom.

We've had some fun visitors come by including Uncle Alton and other A&M friends. Dr. Welch stopped by about the same time as Angie Motal and Adam Belloney when we snapped this photo. Friends and businesses across the industry really have a good time catching up and swapping ideas at this state wide event.

So please forgive my play on words, but Ben and Brad have both been very busy making sure this fall will be a success. Brad and I talked with all the managers of the Calloway's stores today and hope they enjoyed the story of The Southern Bulb Company. We really appreciate how Calloway's believed in us, even when we were just starting out. Today all of the oxblood and spider lilies were delivered to the 18 DFW stores. This partnership is not only going to be fun, but a great opportunity for residents all across the state to have a chance to partake in these Texas tough perennials!

We are in Dallas all day tomorrow and then off to San Antonio for the Texas Nursery and Landscape Expo. Be sure to look for us over the next month in Pennsylvania, Austin, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio!

Brad will be taking a 22 day adventure into Central America and we have had some great conversations about the possibilities.

We recently snapped a few of these photos of our Narcissus tazetta 'Grand Primos,' Rhodophiala bifida (Oxblood Lilies), and Hyacinthus orientalis romanus (Blue French Roman Hyacinths). Thought you might enjoy some of the stunning displays bulbs will make even when they are out of the ground.