The Gardening Adventure :  Roses

When we moved into our present home 19 years ago, the only landscaping consisted of lawn in the front with overgrown cedar bushes crowding the front windows and in back, a towering old pine tree in the far corner, an elderly hackberry at the south fence line, and a non-descript scraggly bush.  Window awnings from the forties made the house seem heavy lidded and sleepy. So they were one of the first things to go, which opened the house to light and energy.  Out came the ugly cedars and we had a clean slate to start making the yard one that we would enjoy.  We did not have a master plan; things evolved as we took out bushes, dealt with dead grass and poorly watered areas. 

The first flower beds filled the void left by the cedar bushes.  I planted roses:  a pretty pink Queen Elizabeth, Sir Lagerfeld, a lavender rose with a deep rich fragrance reminiscent of roses in my wedding bouquet . I added the yellow Oregold, deep orange Miranda, petite pink Heidi, and a pristine white Pascal, a mother's Day gift from my son and daughter-in-law.  They also gave me a beautiful red climbing rose by the front step that has  a profusion of elegant flowers.  Later came one of my favorites, a floribunda named Brass Band, a creamy pale yellow with peach ruffled edges that lasts forever. A beautiful mauve Magnificent, and the white with pink stripe Cabaret have completed the rose bed for now.  So the rose bed is multicolored.  As time as progressed, we have determined to have cool colors for our flowerbeds.  But, the roses were put in before that decision and I have no desire to take the warm colored roses out of the mix, so they stay oblivious to the fact that they do not fit the planned color scheme.

Roses in pots are another addition to the garden.  I was given a miniature rose, which I planted in with the hybrid teas and floribunda roses.  I was delighted to see this spirited little plant bloom with abandon, but it was over-powered by its big siblings, so I planted it in a pot.  Now I have multiple miniature roses in pots that I move wherever I need color and where they thrive. The minis include a coral, lavender, red, pink, and white.  My pride and joy is a David Austin rose.  My daughter-in-law first introduced me to this multi-petaled fragrant shrub rose variety.  Though the bud of the hybrid tea rose is spectacular, the David Austin has a profusions of loosely gathered petals that keeps blooming all summer and wafts its perfume throughout the garden--no need to stick your nose in this flower to realize its scent.  I found this rose by looking it up on the internet; it was only sold at one nursery in Colorado and that was in Longmont next to one of our favorite antique stores!  We decided to plant it in a pot so that when we relocate, we can easily take it with us.

The roses are the royalty of the flower garden; they have staying power and do not change with each new season.    All the other flowers gather round in adoration and add their color to the to the courtly entourage.  They certainly have my admiration and give me great pleasure.