Springing Back to the Rose Garden

How I love this time of year! We've had our windows open for three or four weeks straight, and I am a happy woman.

Spring started right after the snow left a few weeks ago--that was fun and unusual! As soon as it warmed up, I took the opportunity to get outside and do a little gardening.

I wasn't sure I remembered how to do a little gardening, though. The last couple of years, we've pretty much abandoned that activity in favor of other pastimes (the babies won't be little forever, after all). My poor rose garden looked so unloved. But this month I've already planted six new roses, cleaned up the weeds, done most of my pruning, and put out pine straw.

Pruning is easy to put off, but to my surprise, I even enjoyed that. It seems that being out in the fresh air when it's a gorgeous 72 degrees, dreaming about the beautiful, fragrant blooms in your future, is restorative and healing. All the noise in the world fades away, and you simply enjoy the meditative quiet.

I love everything about roses--their beauty, their fragrance, and even the way the petals feel to the touch. And I found some purportedly disease-resistant varieties that I hope will make the summer a little less taxing.

I still have three more new roses on the way, and these are coming all the way from a company called Palatine Roses in Canada (I caught them right at the end of their shipping season)! These three are among the newer varieties from German breeder Kordes. One is a climber called Aloha Hawaii--which is fun, since I was born in Honolulu-- and I've also selected a pair of roses named Caramel Fairy Tale to go in the pretty pots that Hood Ornament gave us.

Wish me luck! There will be plenty of photos.