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| Fragrant Cloud. |
Mother's Day was a good day to harvest roses, but nothing like today. Even though most hybrid teas were done blooming for the moment, I had two large bouquets, each garnished with fragrant roses.
We laughed about that when Mrs. Ichabod and I delivered them. One bouquet was in a large plastic coffee sipper cup - I found it on the morning walk with Sassy. Yes, I washed it carefully first. I have a lot more roses than rose vases, and this one was just right in size for long-stemmed roses, which is how I cut them.
Floribunda roses and KnockOuts tend to grow multiple blooms on a stem when they are healthy and well fed organically. Last year I had one stem with seven perfect orange roses on it. That one went into a glass vase for Mrs. I to enjoy.
But - at the chiro's office, I admitted, "My parents would be asking me if I thought this one through. Just to keep up with harvesting the best roses will be a challenge."
I have fond thoughts of previous efforts. I planted one Fragrant Cloud rose near the downspout of the garage in Midland. The rose produced constantly, unusual in color and fragrance, unique in shape. Now one Fragrant Rose is planted in memory of Mrs. Wright and will have a plaque.
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| Queen Elizabeth - from Dr. Walter Lammerts, PhD |
The two Queen Elizabeth roses were planted last year, so they are quite strong already this year. They already have plaques for Bethany and Erin Joy.
Growing so many roses will also be a lot of fun - and a necessary part of raising and pruning roses. Today we had another thunderstorm, loud but short on rain. More should fall tonight. The happy consequence of this will be a bountiful harvest of roses in June.
- The roots will be more established.
- The above ground will be developed.
- The underground soil microbes will be thriving and - at the worst - in suspension waiting for more rain.
Mowing the front lawn is no longer a chore, and sometimes we sit on the patio chairs and enjoy the scene. The cardinals fly to their nest in the Crepe Myrtle bush. Robins work the mulch for worms and insects.
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| California Dreamin' |
