A Rosy Outlook

I usually love winter.  I love all the seasons, but this winter has been uncommonly dismal in our garden.  There were so many things that needed redoing that I forced myself not to plant anything new and our weather -- one day cold, the next day warm, the next day with pouring rain, the next with high winds -- did not favor what was already in the ground.  Fortunately, everyone has a few heroes in their gardens, those stalwart, fearless plants that take challenges head on and still manage to look good.  In our garden, the heroes are the roses.  None of the shrubs are bursting with blooms, but many are offering a sample of the glory yet to come.  It's as if they are trying to appease me.

Mutabilis is fabulous.

 

 

 

Maggie -- this tough, found rose roots readily from cuttings.

 

Duchesse de Brabant -- another easily propagated antique

 

Souvenir de la Malmaison -- one of my very favorites

 

 

And then a few lovely unknowns (= I can't remember)

 



  

We have lots of roses on our property; I would say about 70 (so far), give or take a few.  We planted each and every one and propagated many from cuttings.  We do have knockouts in certain areas; otherwise, until a week ago, all of our roses were antiques.   Last week, I bought my first hybrid tea, Papa Meilland.  It was a Hall of Fame rose and is described as being long-stemmed with large, deep red, strongly fragrant flowers.  It's sounds awesome, doesn't it?  If there had been a similar antique available that day at the nursery, I would have gone right by it.  However, as chance would have it, I am now eagerly awaiting the first blooms of this new venture.

 

I will leave you with a wink from a cheerful little rose, Martha Gonazalez.

I believe she is saying, "Don't fret; Spring is nigh!"