Bloom like a rose

Who does not love the beauty of the lovely rose? There are three species: (wild) roses & their hybrids, Old Garden roses, and Modern roses. Over the years I have enjoyed rose bushes, blankets of roses that are like ground cover, and climbing roses that sometimes grew where they were not suppose to. Tim's mother was a huge fan of roses. Because of my mother-in-law, Landa, I learned so much about roses. In our early years of marriage, Tim and I had a little garden of roses and some beautiful climbers that went up our deck. I mixed in some clematis and enjoyed the beauty all summer long. I always have a spot in my gardens or a pot for a mini rose or two, and I love rose vines! Oh how I wish I could have them everywhere!

Roses are some of the most beautiful flowers to look at. A single rose can stand out in a garden and grab everyone's attention. But roses have a few enemies and if  not watched after they can be nibbled on by bugs that make the leaves look like lace and the buds deformed. They can get black spot, caused by the fungus from hot, humid, and rainy days, and the destructive disease  can spread from one plant to another. You may walk by and not notice the sad plant at first, until suddenly all the leaves start to fall to the ground and all that is left is a sad looking image of naked limbs. I bring that up because my climbers were always demanding attention. Even though I did all I could to control disease, the black spot was always trying to take over. I loved those roses too much to give up and right up until the day we moved, I would rake away the bad leaves, mix up special ingredients for spraying them, and I paid plenty of attention to them. The love came shining through every year when they would bloom in all their glory. I am happy to say that today  you can purchase easy care free and disease free roses such as the Knock Out Series and the Oso Easy Series.


This is my rose bush that was too

beautiful to die!

As I take care of my gardens I know that how they are treated determines how they will thrive. Where you plant your roses will determine how they grow. Look at this simple rose bush to the right. We had it out in full sun before we had to move it. The rose was always beautiful. I would prune and take care of it. When we decided to build a small pond and dug this pretty rose up, we felt the spot we replanted it in was perfect with the right sun and drainage. The first year it was fine, but after that, the small trees around this vibrant rose bush started to tower over it and the shade darkened the rose bush's light. After a few years, the rose bush just melted into the shade. We all knew it was there, but because it was not reaching out and showing off those beautiful blooms we just did not stop to realize it was dying. 



The struggle of the rose bush reminds me how people might be living in society. The rose, I realized, was still trying to live. I started to look at it more and saw the trees that once allowed this rose to flourish and bloom were not this rose's friend. The rose was never meant to be planted there. I made a mistake in thinking it would be happy there, but I could not move it because it was too weak! So I trimmed some of the trees up that had grown over it. I started to look at it, realized it was trying hard to live again. I fed it rose food and I watched over it and admired it every time I walked to that area that I had once just passed by. Then one day, I noticed something that I hadn't before--  it had stretched it branches out, twisting around the tree branches and it was growing up past all that darkness. It had curved over and felt like a tunnel of roses! This rose could not be stopped! As if to say "I am here and nothing you can do can stop me!" Everyone is in awe of the beauty that is shining bright and more beautiful than ever! When I realized it is hurting for life, I started to help. It had to start over, it had to be loved, and it had to know it could bloom again, that it could stand alone and do things no one ever expected.