More progress on Sacred. Roses.
We’ve finished the second week of March and here is the progress I’ve made on Sacred. I am in the home stretch!
Our family enjoyed a nice Spring Break in California this past week, perhaps our last spring break with all of us together, at least for this stage of life. My oldest is headed to college this year! I can’t hardly believe it. More on that later.
In other news, I had mentioned my stitching bug was back…and now my gardening bug is also back. I have to admit, working at The Attic was wonderful, but it did take away from my desire to stitch. After spending a whole day dealing with needlework, I found I rarely was interested in stitching at the end of the day. And on top of that, I really had no time at all in daylight hours for gardening. I had missed that! Well….now I have put in a veggie garden for the first time in a couple years and have replanted my rose bed. At one point, before I had 5 kids, I had 20+ rose bushes. That dwindled down to a more manageable 7-8, and the oldest among them have been dying off due to various pests, neglect, and the harsh climate here in AZ which does allow for beautiful roses (we don’t have to contend with mildew or fungal infections as much since it’s so dry), but also does shorten the lifespan of plants. A good lifespan for roses here is about 10-15 years and my oldest are 13. I was not too hesitant to shovel prune my very old and declining Julia Child which was one of my favorites…I will get another one as soon as I see it in a nursery, though I was a little sad since she has been a good friend. I was astonished how thick the trunk under the ground has grown….a good 5″ in diameter. I got her planted very well I guess and in a very favorable spot!
The other rose I am seeking in a new Mr. Lincoln. Mine, which was over 10 years old, succumbed to a terrible infestation of chili thrips last summer. It was my very favorite for scent and cutting. One cut Mr. Lincoln would fill up the whole house with rose fragrance.
Roses that are still going strong in my garden are Mary Rose, Cinco de Mayo (a rescue from the clearance section which I gambled on and which will not give up!) and Windy City. They are all cut back now so there are no pictures to show, but here are some photos of them in bloom from previous years:
The new ones that got put in this spring are Granada, Double Delight, Arizona, and Francis Meilland. A new Mr. Lincoln and Julia Child have spots reserved once I find them available. If you know anything about roses than you know from this list that I pick for strong fragrance more than any other factor! We’ll see how they do, and if I lined up the colors in an attractive order later this spring. Are any of you rose (or other) gardeners? I am a very mediocre gardener but I am trying to be better especially now that there is more time for it.
For those of you who are still living under winter-y conditions, now you see why we Arizonans will put up with the summer heat! We get to do spring time gardening in February and March!