In the final stretch!
Category: Garden Dreams
6 weeks
8 Weeks
10 weeks
76 Days
But whose counting!
Pretty in Pink
Sweet Drift, by Knock Out Roses / Star Roses and Plants, has been an excellent disease-resistant performer for me here in Zone 6b of Central South Pennsylvania over the years. I have four of these beauties planted in a row. They just love to try to take over my walkway that runs parallel to them. Though they were alleged to be small ever-blooming shrubs, these clusters of abundant pink easily grow 3 – 4 ft high and about 2 – 3 ft wide if I let them. Oh, I don’t mind their eager growth though for they sweetly greet me every time I drift to and fro.
Sweet Drift in all her shades of pink say farewell. {Sept 2016}
New Life and Purrfect Opportunities
After the dormancy of winter, I welcome new life and new opportunities sprouting forth this Spring. The birds joyfully sing and the foliage of my roses burst into a song of their own. Spring has once more resurrected my garden and soul! Oh, what happy days!
While dumping potting soil into a new container one sunny and recent Spring day, I heard a distinct sound that differed from the usual twitters of my flying friends. I stopped tilling the soil to simply listen. As it’s frantic cries beckoned my curiosity, I discovered a rejected newborn kitten within the boundaries of my yard. One of the local and very pregnant alley cats frequently napped in my garden, but apparently on this particular day she moved a large piece of cardboard from our recycle bin area to make herself a temporary home to give birth in. For whatever reason, she opted to remove this tiny, gray, and feisty kitten from her nest. Hoping this little guy had just wandered away, I waited from within my home watching to see if Momma Cat would retrieve her helpless kitten. As I anxiously peered out my window, storm clouds approached threatening to drown the abandoned newborn. The drops came fast and furious while Momma Cat still refused to rescue her kin. I had no choice but to make a dash to retrieve the frightened baby. I quickly bathed it and warmed it to my chest. A few hours later, Momma Cat began putting one kitten after another outside the nest rejecting all four of her litter. I read feral mother cats are more likely to become overwhelmed, stressed, and malnourished forfeiting their parental rights in order to simply survive.
Naturally, my husband and I rescued the crying kittens.
God surely has a sense of humor because just the other day I was wishing my tubes weren’t tied. Suddenly, I have quadruplets! To my surprise and delight, these precious babies require much of the same care a human infant requires: Feeding them every couple of hours or so, burping them, wiping their tooshies before and after feedings, and many loads of laundry. I am sleep deprived and exhausted just like any mom caring for her newborn. Nevertheless, I am grateful for this resurrection season of new life and new opportunities! It’s simply purrfect!
The Irony
Eden {photo credit: unknown}
Upon waking up this morning, my heart nearly stopped when looking at my phone to see snow in this weekend’s forecast. The irony of snow falling on the first day of the much anticipated warmth of Spring. Ordinarily, such a surprise winter attack would not be cause of panic, but when one considers I just planted the newly arrived and leafed out Eden rose a few days prior, my heart sank. Not to mention, freezing temperatures were not in the forecast. Even the forsythia are blooming as well as Japanese Magnolia trees (also known as Tulip Trees) and Eastern Red Bud Trees. With such promising signs the welcomed warmth of Spring was seemingly here to stay, I proceeded in clearing my rose beds and pruning my beloved rose babies just last week.
Naturally, prior to even completing a full cup of coffee, I was on the phone with my local nursery getting critical feedback on how to protect my newest addition, Eden. Upon receiving such advice, I also called Heirloom Roses, where I ordered Eden from, to get a second opinion. Both retailers suggested I apply mulch around the base of the plant then cover the hopeful bush with a 5 gallon bucket and blanket of sorts using a brick to secure it. Fair enough.
While driving to the nursery to purchase mulch for our emergency rose rescue operation, my husband gently, but adamantly declared we will most ardently not be purchasing any more roses in this trip or ever as our yard is small yet full of roses (plus I do believe he is tired of breaking ground). I calmly assured him not to worry. After all, unbeknownst to him, I already inquired on the local nursery’s rose inventory and was informed all they had right now was a few bare roots and left over Knock Outs. Naturally, I had every intention of still browsing their selection as well as all the other garden candy they had to offer. Ironically and much to my surprise, upon walking up to the few bare roots they had on display, my adamant “no more roses” husband immediately fell in love with Angel Face, a lavender purple color rose and promptly suggested we get it (we can plant the bare root rose once this cold snap passes).
Angel Face (photo credit: Pinterest)
Consequently, I about fell over… Then again, I did pull him close and hugged him before entering “the danger zone” of the nursery (aka where they keep the roses). Ha! Although I did not knowingly intend to manipulate, I discovered bodily contact within the nursery limits was certainly a good way to get more roses should he ever attempt to intervene in my apparent rose addiction again.
With all that said, I’m hoping, of course, the up and coming snow fall turns out to be a bust, but am thankful regardless for it provided me an unexpected rose and a productive day of weeding and mulching! The irony!
(Update: Thankfully, the weather experts were wrong. It didn’t snow nor even rained. But God cares about roses and still answers prayers!) 😄
Envisioning an Ever-Blooming Garden
{photo credit: unknown}
With the unlimited skies looking like grey mounds of cotton candy earlier today, I stood in my sweats on my urban patch of limited land envisioning an ever-blooming garden due to evolve this Spring and Summer. It appears even on gloomier days, I long to be in my garden! I suppose I miss the enchantment my garden provides me with especially after spending most of my days earlier this week soaking up the generous rays of light our area’s been afforded recently.
Little by little this week as the warm weather beckoned, I eagerly found myself picking up garbage attracted to my yard located in the heart of this city, yanking a few new weeds, and ripping out dried up vines that encompassed the pillars of my six foot black powered aluminum fence. Despite my own advice of waiting on the “forsythia factor” before pruning, I went ahead and started the process. After all, the chances of finding forsythia in this concrete jungle are slim to none. Ha! (Update: Since posting this blog, I’ve seen forsythia all over this city at properties on the outskirts of the city limits and at the local minor league baseball stadium in downtown). I figured it was safe to at least begin the process of pruning considering the fact that I must tackle my small yard in segments due to my back but more importantly, the leaf buds are already birthing their deep red leaflets, bright green grass has miraculously appeared along with a few prideful weeds, and the forecast predicts temperatures to remain above freezing the next few weeks. My drive to proceed could also be due to lack of patience and self-control: fruits God is still tending to within His daughter. 😉
Regardless of the melancholy weather today and my abundant eagerness to bring on Spring, there I stood mentally picturing where I would soon be planting the purchases I secretly made online while my husband napped. Although he too enjoys gardening, he prefers we plant things we can actually eat. I try to tell him all about the many uses of roses, but rose tea, rose oil, and rose potpurri do not appeal to him as much for some reason. He has tried eating a rose hip after I explained to him the immense health benefits in doing so. Still, he’d rather swallow a pill.
The blooms of the Eden climbing rose are so large and heavy, they often dangle. {photo credit: unknown}
So while he is napping after working hard all week, I either am planning out my rose garden, writing about it, or in my yard making my urban rose garden dreams a reality. For now, as I stood in my garden tiny in size, but bountiful in joy and hope, I meditate on where my husband will be digging a space for my much longed for Eden rose due to arrive in a few days. And while visions of 4.5 inches of white and pink blooms dazzled my mind, my eyes mentally planted the 4 lavender hidcotes due to arrive in mid-April. Hey, American Meadows had a great sale on lavender that I just couldn’t pass up! It was like lavender was in the $5 bin at Walmart (something else I am a sucker for). If we run out of Earth, which no doubt will be soon and very soon, I will happily move on to creating a colorful container garden.
While standing there for several minutes perusing the 14 rose bushes I’ve adopted, I considered the importance of air flow and color scheme. And yet, I still squeeze in other herbs, clematis, and miniature roses among others on my wishlist. What is this garden gal to do?! On one hand, my back is grateful for petite pieces of real estate such as mine, but on the other hand, I contemplate digging up my earlier boring rose choices so I could replace them with others I’ve since discovered. But like children, how hard it is to part with any rose.
For now, my eager soul rests peacefully while dreaming of her up and coming ever-blooming garden.
Birth Announcement!
I am proud to announce a new addition to my rose family! I just ordered a rose through Heirloom Roses that beckons romance and exquisite beauty… The Eden climbing rose with her 4.5″ dangling blooms will soon greet me as I pull in my driveway. I have been longing for her graceful presence for a few years now and am thrilled to adopt her as my youngest rose baby! Some garden dreams come true…
