6.27.2008

The Color of Roses


The plants plants in my yard have become needy and spoiled. I'm forced to water them twice a day. Otherwise, they repay me by pretending to be dead and withered until I water them again.

When we first began work on our yard, I came across a great deal on not-yet-mature roses. I carefully went through each one at the stand, with special attention to which color would co-ordinate with which area of the yard.

I purchased five bushes - two white-colored, one peach-colored, one bright red-colored with large blooms and one climbing red-colored.

Faithfully, I watered my roses each day.

After a few weeks, the one which would have had large, bright red-colored blooms died thanks to the dogs down the road peeing on it faithfully every day.

One of the white bushes did nothing (still hasn't). It's not dead, but has rebelled against getting any larger.

The other white bush grew immediately. Finally, one day it began to flower. Large beautiful pink blooms.

Pink? Really?!? You may notice from my list above that I did not buy a pink. I'm not even sure I like the color pink.

The climbing, red-colored bush began to flower next. It has beautiful white blooms with peach tips. And it doesn't climb.

The fifth bush began to bloom last. We monitored it in the evenings for several days as the bulb began to open. Then, just before the petals were completely visible, it died. (Probably the dogs again.)

Last week, I finished the landscaping. I replaced the roses that died with other flowers. And now in my desperate attempt to keep everything alive and well, I have resorted to the grueling two-time-a-day watering schedule. (I only say grueling because I have to get up early because of it.)

It's all worth it when I step back and look at my beautiful yard. Pink roses and all.

2 comments:

Alice said...

I went through a brief love affair with roses until I found I was far too lazy for them.

Now I plan on replacing everything with hydrangeas - no black spot, no japanese beetles, etc... Much more my speed!

ThePurpleBunny said...

I used to love roses when I was a kid. I got so lazy with watering them so I decided to stop. I was like 8 back then and that was my mother's gift. I miss 'em.