The Face of a Rose

yellowdry

Not one for keeping records of my garden, but rather a woman who relishes the treasures and surprises each day and season offers, I’d be hard-pressed to say if this particular garden ever once displayed the abundance of roses it currently does, but I’d say, “No. Nearly September? Hardly.” And yet here it is. And so I share the wealth with all of you.

This loveliness comes from a batch of Meidiland roses I found orphaned at one of my rare ventures into a big box store. Gradually I’ve transplanted them into bigger and bigger pots and they have not disappointed! I love their simple beauty.

medpink

Here’s another of the Meidiland sisters, now living in a very large pot and quite prolific!

roseopen

Honestly? I hardly expected to see another 4th of July rose this year–there were hundreds last May, I can barely believe how one plant could generate such a bevy of beautiful roses, and yet, here they are, in Indian Summer. It’s full of buds so I just count the blessings.

4th

Now. In the far back corner of the garden adjacent to an ancient apple tree, from which I’ve just harvested the best delicious apples (organic, of course!) used to live a huge overgrown plum tree, which sounds lovely unless you are from Northern California where an abundance of basically useless plum trees grow. No one eats them, not even the birds, which tells you something. And so it was happily removed. What to put in? As it so happened some elderly neighbors were pitching some very old heirloom roses, if you can believe that, to my good fortune. When they arrived, as bare root roses, we shall kindly call them after being rooted from their long slumbering home, I stuck them in a very large washtub full of icey water. Eventually they moved to black plastic pots, where they began to rally, and last spring I told a teenager helping me in the garden, “Oh, just put them where the plum tree was growing!” Which he did, randomly, in about fifteen minutes. That fast. And here’s how they’ve thanked me.

apricot

“I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.” ~Emma Goldman

bigpink

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

coral

“Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet.” ~Katherine Lee Bates

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And here was my big surprise. Because I kept asking myself, “Where did Jevyn put that dark red rose that looks like a Dr. Huey but isn’t?” Haha. I realized that I’d stuck a cutting from a neighbor’s yellow rose into the same temporary pot as the dark red one, and, my teenage helper recognized them as one rose, and so there they are, married forever. Quite nice, actually. I call it my Happy Accident.

accident

I shall bookend with another of the yellow roses, which are truly the most spectacular. I hope you have enjoyed this morning walk in my sweet garden. Thank you for visiting!

yellowwet

Love and garden blessings,
Kathryn xoxo

**I want to give a special shout out to my long time faithful subscribers–and to my newest subscribers, too. Thank you and enjoy!

Book News: Lots to report! Western North Carolina Woman will be running an excerpt from Plant Whatever Brings You Joy in their September issue. And we’ve restocked copies of the book in Malaprop’s in Asheville; throughout Copperfields in Napa and Sonoma; and at Four Eyed Frog Books in Gualala. Copies always available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and in Barnes and Noble brick and mortar stores around the country–and many indie bookstores as well, for which I am most grateful! I’ve also been working some magic on our publishing site, Estrella Catarina, where the home page sports testimonials for my book from publications around the country of which I am very proud!

6 Responses to “The Face of a Rose”

  1. Wonderful, mom! I love that Happy Accident blending. Roses are so special. Glad you’re surrounded by such beauty.

    Xo
    Antonia

  2. Thanks, Antonia! Roses are indeed very very special. And so are you! Love, Mom xxoxo

  3. Lovely roses. Do you have to give them a lot of attention? I have to deal with lots of disease and insects and winter for roses but I do have some very reliable old “fairy” type along a fence at the end of my drive. They often die back but are reliable to return and do not have all the problems other roses seem to have.

    Always happy to see your posts

    Alice

  4. Alice, good question. I’m surely not as fussy as probably most rose enthusiasts are. I deadhead them as needed, a morning ritual which I enjoy. I keep the aphids off either by spraying them off or simply running my fingers over them when they appear. And i keep them pruned back. And I fertilize them on occasion. And I keep them watered. I guess that’s a fair amount of tending. But I never use chemicals or other products on them as the garden is a refuge and organic, so that’s that. And they give back tremendously. So cheerful! I’m glad you have “fairy” roses…Kathryn xxoo

  5. Medial Roses…I’ll have to look that up. I too, enjoyed your gardening adventure with teenage helper and happy mistake planting. Lovely quotes you shared too. Do you have rust on any of yours? I am so tired of having to pluck leaves from mine. I am spying fall here in Sonoma and anxiously awaiting it! Thank you Kathryn for another enjoyable post.

  6. Hi, Carol! Glad you enjoyed the walk through my rose garden this morning! I do cut off leaves on the decline. I don’t think much about what it actually IS; I just recognize they are done. 🙂 I am grateful my hollyhocks have had no rust this year! Enjoy autumn! Kathryn xoxo

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