Antique Rose Emporium

I couldn't take the waiting on the rain for one more day so I decided to take a trip to a local place that I have never been to before.  I know I saw a sign for one of these places somewhere else in Texas, maybe near Brenham, so I wanted to check it out.  It is kind of out of the way.  I had never been down the road before.  I had to take another smaller road and then an even smaller road across a low water crossing.  Fortunately the water was still below the crossing level.  Then I saw this sign pointing up yet another small gravel road winding through the trees.

I parked right outside this entrance.

There was a sign saying all photographers had to have an okay to take pictures so I went into this little building and was granted permission to take photos for my blog.

You may already guessed by now that is a garden store of sorts with grounds you can walk around.  This building looked intriguing so I walked down the path leading to it and found....

several little patio gardens, one on each end of the building.

These garden walls were painted a really bright blue color inside.

This little building had all kinds of potting soil and fertilizer.

You may not be able to read the sign on this little building but it says restroom in case you were looking for one.

I definitely don't have a green thumb so maybe I should plant one of these bottle trees in my backyard.  It might take too many wine bottles though.  I have some friends who might offer to help me collect bottles.

Next I wandered around to this little gift shop.  There were chimes and birdhouses outside.

Inside there were hats and lots of other goodies.  The only attendant was a large black cat who refused to make eye contact as long as I had the camera in hand.  If you found something you wanted, you just took it to the "check-out" building where I got permission to take pictures.

They even had books in the gift store.

Since this is a rose emporium, naturally they had roses and some neat little signs.

You wouldn't want unmannerly climbers would you?

I have some friends who are vigorous climbers.  They like to go hiking all the time.

This little building would be a lot more welcoming if there weren't so many big, black, threatening clouds in the background.

See what I mean?

It wasn't very crowded during my visit, just one or two other people and this very large gray tabby.  She was almost too friendly...until I pointed my camera...then she gave me the cold shoulder.

This little greenhouse was in front of another building whose purpose I later discovered.

As I said, I'm not a plant person, but doesn't this look soft and cuddly like fleece?

And who could resist this winter vegetable garden?

They had blooming flowers and birdbaths and pots for sale too.

And some ornaments to brighten your garden.  I liked the metal cactus.  No worries about over or under watering there.

The grounds were very interesting and would be even better in the sunshine.

As I said earlier, this is where you go to check out your purchases.

This was certainly a far more interesting garden store than most I have been in and you can also get married here!  I think that this is what the building behind the little white greenhouse was used for.

An interesting visit even with the unfriendly skies.  I think I would like to come back when it is sunny!