Sunday I had the strangest experience in cutting roses for the altar. Veterans Honor roses were showing their first major display of flowers. I had the vase ready with water and cut the first, giant rose and long stem.
"Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh."
Stems are heavy and dense - blooms are light, but on this rose, the flower was top-heavy from the weight of the rose. That is more of an end of season experience, when the rains have balanced with the weather to have the best possible outcome. I look at the 2017 photos and hope for another extended fall.
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| No insecticides, no problems. Beneficial insects protected the 2017 roses. Six roses decorated our classic Town Car, whose flat hood made a perfect table and background. |
The roses were especially large and at their peak of blooming. Later the Military Gardening Group gathered to clean the garage, so I brought out the roses for Ranger Bob to take to his step-father's grave, a veteran honoring another veteran with Veterans Honor roses.
PFC observed, "You have spent 10 years improving the soil." Indeed, my last job in the autumn of 2019 was to put Peat Humus (Stinky Pete) around the base of each rose. I repeated the peat when I planted the new roses this spring. The autumn leaves so eagerly removed by my neighbors were poured and blown onto the garden. The fall rains soaked the leaves into their place and formed an organic blanket over the soil, a place where earthworms and microbes could frolic and be fruitful. So much work to be done all winter, so many contributions from our cul-de-sac.
In cutting the flowers I activated their growth impulse, increasing the roots and promoting new buds to form. I gave PFC the book on fungus among us, so he would learn the value of letting the design and engineering of the Creator do its work.
The ladies of Letha enjoyed getting roses on Mother's Day. One put her branch of six roses on Facebook. Others stop as they leave for work, rolling down their windows to thank me, grinning. I tell them, "You deserve it!"
We ended our work day with Ranger Bob needing an auto part ordered on Net. We had a big laugh about our house being one stop shopping:
- income tax help,
- wholesale books,
- book recycling,
- discount auto parts, and
- free roses for everyone.
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| Pink Peace |
