Tuesday, April 8, 2014

ROAD TRIP TO THE ANTIQUE ROSE EMPORIUM (AND A SCARLET BUCKEYE PHOTO BLOG)

Hi Everybody!!
Every year in April, crowds of people flock to the Brenham Area to see the Texas Bluebonnets and other wildflowers. In Independence, Texas there is a Garden named Antique Rose Emporium. I was invited to go there by my friend and her Mom, Dad and cousins in Brenham. A few snaps of the day are below, with plenty of bluebonnets for You. Many native plants were for sale. I got one small Scarlet Buckeye Tree for the Bird Sanctuary. I have shared info from Wikipedia about the Buckeye Tree. Enjoy!

Antique Rose Emporium:
Top Page of their website. See link for complete info.:
http://www.independencetx.com/AntiqueRoseEmporium.htm

Preserving Independence

The Antique Rose Emporium continues a long tradition of gardening in the Independence and Brenham area.

The Baylor Rose,
developed by Emporium owner Mike Shoup, commemorates the historic association
between Baylor University
and Independence.

“Tuesday 31st
Came home in the rain. Set out Umbrella China trees.”
January 31, 1865.

“24th Set out
31 peach trees, 6 pear trees, & 9 apple trees—Attended Funeral of Mrs. Smith Sister of Tillie Shannon.” December 24, 1883.

From the diary of
Baylor President
William Carey Crane.

The Texas Collection,
Baylor University.

Restored stone kitchen at the Antique Rose Emporium.

As early as the 1850s, commercial nurseries offered a wide variety of plants and trees, and many residents took an interest in the plantings on their properties. These historic associations appealed to Mike and Jean Shoup when they were selecting a location for their eight-acre garden center in 1984.

The impressive McKnight-Hairston House, a two-story stone house with expansive wooden porches, stood on this property for over a century. Both the McKnight and Hairston families were early residents in Independence. The L-shaped house was located just across the road from Baylor University’s Male Campus. A number of outbuildings completed the complex including a detached kitchen, smokehouse, milk house, corncrib, and barn.

When the Shoups acquired the property, ruins of the stone kitchen were the only remaining evidence of the early structures. Today, the restored kitchen is the centerpiece of the Antique Rose Emporium. Other buildings have been moved to the site or built to complement the historic setting.

“Treasures and Trellis” is a circa 1850 classical cottage that was moved from Cat Spring—35 miles south of Independence.

The Antique Rose Emporium is a great place to visit and wander about the gardens and buildings any time of the year.

Location	Highway 50, south side of Independence
Hours:	Monday-Saturday: 9 am–6 pm Sunday: 11 am–6 pm Sunday during winter months: 11 am–5:30 pm Open year-r0und excluding major holidays
Phone:	979-836-5548
Mailing address:	9300 Lueckemeyer Road, Brenham, Texas 77833
Website:	www.WeAreRoses.com

Find where this site is located on our INDEPENDENCE MAP.
Return to TOURING INDEPENDENCE to see other historic sites.

Bluebonnets are everywhere!

This is the bloom of red buckeye tree. (I bought a little tree)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_pavia

Aesculus pavia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aesculus pavia, known as Red Buckeye or Firecracker Plant, is a species ofdeciduous flowering plant. The small tree or shrub is native to the southern and eastern parts of the United States, found from Illinois to Virginia in the north and from Texas to Florida in the south.^{[citation needed]}

It has a number of local names, such as scarlet buckeye, woolly buckeye and firecracker plant.

Aesculus pavia

Red Buckeye flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Sapindaceae
Genus:	Aesculus
Species:	A. pavia
Binomial name
*Aesculus pavia* L.

The Red Buckeye is a large shrub or small tree. It reaches a height of 5–8 m (16-26 ft), often growing in a multi-stemmed form. Its leaves are opposite, and are usually composed of five elliptical serrated leaflets, each 10–15 cm long. It bears 10–17 cm long clusters of attractive dark red tubular flowers in March, April and May. The flowers arehermaphrodite. The smooth light brown fruits, about 3 cm in diameter, reach maturity in September and October.

There are two varieties:

Aesculus pavia var. pavia: typical Red Buckeye.
Aesculus pavia var. flavescens: yellow-flowered Red Buckeye.

The yellow-flowered variety, var.flavescens, is found in higher country in Texas, and hybrids with intermediate flower color occur.

The flowers are attractive tohummingbirds as well as bees. The fruits are rich in saponins, which are poisonous to humans, though not particularly dangerous because they are not easily ingested. The oils can be extracted to make soap, though this is not commercially viable.

Ornamental cultivars such as the low-growing 'Humilis' have been selected for garden use.

Red Buckeye has hybridized with Common Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) in cultivation, the hybrid being named Aesculus × carnea, Red Horse-chestnut. The hybrid is a medium-sized tree to 20–25 m tall, intermediate between the parent species in most respects, but inheriting the red flower color from A. pavia. It is a popular tree in large gardens and parks, most commonly the selected cultivar 'Briotii'. Hybrids of Red Buckeye with Yellow Buckeye (A. flava) have also been found, and named Aesculus × hybrida.