The Roses Are Still Blooming - Rain May Arrive Tonight

 

 The Paradise rose in the centeris posed on the hood of a Lincoln Town Car. Easy Does It rose is on the left.

I found a new way to protect flowers from the devouring weed-eater. I have used plastic collars, but carboard boxes are even better - shorter, flaps easily folded inward, rugged, and soil enriching. The entire yard has been covered with cardboard and wood mulch, one time or another. Rich soil is also loved by weeds, so I circulate among the plants and trim back the weeds and let them rot into the greedy soil, always looking for more organic enrichment.

White Knockout roses flourished for a time. White roses are weaker because the redness has been downplayed.

Double red Knockouts were a great way to fill in vases of flowers. We took them in plastic cups to various medical offices. Several doctors said, "You are in another league altogether." Yes - bush league.

These roses were gathered as a favor for a chiropractor's office promotion. The staff loved the bounty of roses.

 Notice the fine Limoges rose vase. No wait, that is a soft drink cup.

Big Plants for the Creation Garden

 I photographed the Easy Does It roses before I cut them for the wedding arrangements. They were at their peak, 40 blooms on two bushes, ahead of all the rest and astonishingly productive.

Wows and Vows

The rain seemed to be endless, but the roses did not mind. Two Easy Does It bushes were well established, came through the winter, and began blooming like they were long-stemmed Knock-Outs.

My siblings asked, "Did you grow them?" I said, "It runs in the family." Mom grew superb roses and so did our paternal grandfather.

Various wedding guests were wowed by them.

I thought Fever Few would grow a few inches tall. The ones I bought last fall are four feet tall and blooming like crazy. They attract beneficial insects and the leaves are supposedly good for headaches, even migraines, when brewed in a tea.

No, this is not!

I planted plenty of Joe Pye because there was a discount last year. This is a better butterfly weed than Butterfly Weed, a better butterfly bush than Butterfly Bush. The scent is lavender, the plant is hardy, and all beneficial insects love it.

Joe Pye Weed in bloom is better looking than this, but that is true of all photographs of flowers.

Roses in the Creation Garden - Some Basics

 Easy Does It blooms often and steadily in sunset colors, and it has a sweet fragrance.

Ranger Bob knocked on the door, then made scratching sounds. Sassy began barking her hello. She waits at Bob's home for him to come out, when we go on walks. Her look says, "This is my guy."

Bob said, "You better get some sunshine. It's raining tomorrow." I was already getting some things ready for planting roses. They came just before our mini-blizzard, two inches of snow, followed by zero degree temps. I had bare root roses arrive before the bad weather, sitting in barrels inside, water covering the roots. I moved them outside and added rainwater.

Roses can soak a long time, and they looked fine. Some even had green leaves on them.

 Veterans Honor is fragrant, lasts in the vase, and has spectacular blooms. We bought ours to honor cousin and veteran Peter Ellenberger

Why are roses such a good deal? When we plant them, it is their third year - leap year for many plants. When we buy small plants, which cost less per plant, they do very little the first year, a bit more the second, then really grow the third year: year 1 plant, year 2 sleep, year 3 leap.

Bare root roses will bloom one month after planting. Potted roses at the nursery are already blooming. One good, fresh rose sells for $5, sometimes less. One bush can cost $15 - $30. That is a good return, and everyone loves roses.

 Falling in Love is fragrant, pink and white, loved by our friend at the college, also by the couple who met in my classes. I cut two roses for their engagement, and we went to both weddings (the staffer's too).

I delivered cut daffodils to two neighbors. They look good but are not much in the vase until they are giant ones (in my opinion).

Sassy came outdoors to provide perimeter security while I planted. She does this with neighbors when I stop and talk. She positions herself for a view of the street, watches all movement, and shifts around for full coverage.

Bare root roses are easy to grow. I definitely believe in soaking shipped roses for two days, because they need to rehydrate. Mine had a long soak, so I wanted them in the garden before the rain, which supposedly starts at 4 am on the morrow.

Rain is free, safe, liquid fertilizer. Those who love roses will save rainwater or let tap-water stand 24 hours before using, to let the chlorine bleach evaporate out. Chlorine kills microbes, so we want  that gone from the plants when used. Rain has usable nitrogen dissolved in the water.

Our clay soil was damp, and rain was coming, so I did not add water.

I dug holes where I thought they would fit, pruned the canes and roots back, to spur growth, and filled in the soil plus Stinky Peat - peat moss plus manure, aka Peat Compost. I found red wiggler earthworms in the Stinky Peat, even though the bags were left outside all winter.

Meanwhile, I also pruned some of the roses from previous years, to get them started faster. Pruning them energizes their roots and branches. They love prunes.

I will watch the new roses in the coming weeks to make sure they have enough water, mulch, and pruning. Green leaves popping out are a good sign. Some established roses die, no matter what. I dig them out right away. Their empty places are good for new plants of some kind. A few may have gone wild, which means their wild roots are alive but the grafted hybrid tea rose top has died. I will get one set of dark red wild roses from them and dig them out. Wild roses only bloom once a year, and those much ballyhooed old roses are no different. Hybrid roses were able to blend perpetual blooming roses with the larger tea roses for the ones we enjoy today.

We met a gardener at the oncology clinic who did not know about the cure for Japanese beetles or the way beneficial bugs work.

Queen Elizabeth, front and center, is free of scent, but magnificent. Walter Lammerts, a Creationist PhD, developed this rose and Chrysler Imperial. The second rose outlasted the car. Too bad the Concordia Seminary St. Louis faculty has never gardened seriously. They might learn something about Creation, and the Bible has some good things to say about the concept.