About Rose

I started gardening in Texas thinking I knew what I was doing. The clay soil and the heat had other ideas.

What I've learned — through dead tomato plants, compacted beds, and more failed attempts than I'd like to admit — is that Texas gardening is its own discipline. The soil holds water differently than it should, the summers push past what most plants are rated for, and the advice you find online was usually written for somewhere else.

Rose's Gardening exists for gardeners who want Texas-specific answers, not generic tips. Clay soil management, heat-tolerant varieties, container growing when the ground fights you — that's what I focus on, because that's what actually matters here.

The garden picks I recommend are things I've used in my own beds and containers. If I link to a soil amendment, I've tested it in Texas clay. If I recommend a seed, I've grown it through a Texas summer. Some of those links are affiliate links — I earn a small commission if you buy. That doesn't change what I recommend.

If you want the deeper material — soil amendment ratios by clay density, container watering schedules by season, what to plant when in North versus South Texas — that's what Insiders is for.