Roses

 Andy gave Jen roses for Valentine's Day!

They are lovely and smell good too.

Monday appointments are done, I had a recheck with my Primary Care Dr and then in the afternoon I saw the Pain Management Doctor.  They want to try one more injection in my back before trying a implantable device.  

What ever lets just get this show on the road.  FYI it was a two month wait just to get to see the Pain Management Doctor.

I have one more appointment this week and Far Guy has two.  

We have wicked weather coming in soon.  I suspect our February thaw and nice weather with bearable temperatures is over. 

Far Side

Roses

 I found some photos of roses on my Mom's old Flash Drive.   

I believe these are from the Rose Gardens in Duluth, MN. 

Here is the proof...no idea what year but that is my sister and her husband and the iconic lift bridge at the Duluth Harbor in the background. 

Far Side

Wild Roses

The wild roses are in bloom.

They are so fragrant!  Chance liked to eat rose hips, he would eat all the rose hips that he could reach,  so we planted a wild rose on his grave.  In a few years it may bloom.  We still miss Chance every single day.

Far Side

Wild Roses

The wild roses bloom…

They are over again for another year…doing their best in late spring/early summer.

If you look closely you can see the whole progression of growth…barely a bud, a bud, an opened rose and the spent rose.  Spent sounds better than the dying rose.

Wild roses have a wonderful fragrance that is best enjoyed out of doors.  At the Funeral Home last night the parlor was filled with the scent of roses and other flowers mixed in with lots of perfume. We said Goodbye to my Aunt Delores.  She had her purse and looked like she was well on her way.  My Aunt Judy is very sad, she will miss her older sister, Delores was 82 and Aunt Judy just turned 80. Aunt Judy says “I will see her again someday in heaven, at least we have something to look forward to.” 

Sunshine Daydream

Now that is a lovely name for a rose.  Yellow is one of my favorite colors for flowers.

Sunshine Daydream Rose

We had a little cold sunshine here yesterday.

I took a late afternoon sleep nap where I dreamt that Chance had seven puppies and I was so pleased…Far Guy couldn’t figure out how that could happen…because of course being the practical one he knows that Chance is a neutered male.  Me not so much I was enjoying the puppy breath and lots of squirming little black and white puppies crawling all over me!  I didn’t care where they came from…I was having a blast!

Then Far Guy woke me up and said “Sweetie supper is ready.”   AND there were NO puppies.  I felt like covering my head with the pillow and going back to the wonderful puppy dream.  Instead I got up and dined with the guys… a soft taco with lots of lettuce. 

Yellow Knockout Roses

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Years ago when we had the greenhouse I kept perennials outside after the main greenhouse was closed for the summer.  It extended our selling season.  That was also back when we had display gardens that were weed free. ( Now called the wild gardens) That was what we did …we weeded.  Trying to keep the woods and weeds at bay was a struggle. ( We closed the Greenhouse Business in 2008 due to the economy and Far Guys Trigeminal Neuralgia.)

Every few weeks one of us would whack off a wild rose that wanted to grow right next to one of the display racks.  It loved that spot…one day I dug down and dug the roots out.

As you can see I was a failure. Apparently it liked root pruning.

They bloomed beautifully last June and then sporadically until Fall.

We don’t do anything for them…no fertilizer…no water…no TLC… however we have stopped digging up the roots!

Rose Hips in Winter. 

So it there a lesson in all this?  Maybe…wherever you are whatever happens to you even if someone hacks off part of your roots…bloom and someday your beauty will be appreciated.

Roses and Models

The evenings are getting chilly.  You might need a light hooded something to wear outside.  Better a light hooded something than a parka…that time is coming soon enough.

The climbing roses rose to new heights this year.

This huge arching branch grew way above the wagon wheel and then bent down with the weight of it’s blooms.  That is one of my favorite whirly gigs..a loon and a baby.

The neighborhood has been hauling wood in the evenings.  Wood from our woodshed down to my brother’s woodshed.  The neighbor kids are making short work of it all.  Chance will run along for one load and then he is content to stay with me and rest..and be a model.

Here he is showing off all the wild rose hips.

I had one other model.  She said “Wanna take my picture tonight?”   I said “Yes as long as you pose for me with your hand on your chin.”

One picture was all I got and she was off and running to catch a ride to the woodpile:)

Roses and Hearts

We visited Living Legacy Gardens near Staples Minnesota recently.

They had some very impressive roses.

This one was not marked.  It is some kind of hardy rose to withstand our winters.  The foliage was nice too.

This one is part of the Explorer Series it is called George Vancouver.  That is one stem with all those blossoms..like a bouquet!  I was impressed with the blooms but not with the foliage. The foliage had blackspot and looked sparse and not real pretty.

The Bleeding Hearts were still blooming. 

Dicentra spectabilis

Dicentra spectablis ‘Alba’

The Tall Garden Phlox will be in bloom in a few weeks and all their Lilies were heavy in bud.  The gardens have something blooming all summer.  All the work is done by volunteers. It is a great place to visit but they have a bumper crop of skeeters this summer. Much like the rest of Minnesota:(

Climbing Roses

It rained!!  We had a half an inch in the rain gauge.  It might have rained more than that..as the gauge was not sitting upright.  We really needed some rain!

Chance and I had some quality time walking around the yard yesterday on my day off.  Actually it was only part of a day off as I had to go to town to help get my car in for new tires and I had some things that I HAD to do at the Museum.  So Chance and I volunteered at the museum…he watched while I unpacked books in a vault..he only ran off once to greet people..good thing they liked dogs. 

The climbing roses are trying to climb.

Chance wasn’t far away..I think he was watching for wayward squirrels to herd.

The roses are part of the Canadian Explorer Series ‘William Baffin’:)

Roses

My William Baffin roses are thriving this year.  Far Guy cut them way back in the early spring.

This is the only rose of the Explorer Series that was developed at the Morden Research Station in Morden Manitoba. I understand that even if they no longer research roses that they have display gardens. William Baffin is a wonderful rose, he is kinda a climber, he will climb to about twelve feet.  Mine are not nearly that tall because I have this pipe dream about them climbing up the metal wagon wheels.  I think they get too warm next to the metal, and their growth is slowed.

  I could move the roses, or I could give up on the metal wheels..or maybe I could try some extra water and some fertilizer..I hope they don’t croak from some attention:)

The Last Roses Of Summer

These are my Roses that are supposed to be climbers, they are called William Baffin. I have a hard time getting them to climb. I want them to go up, but they just kind of arch..and bloom. They always put on a fairly nice show in September.

Years ago I used to have them next to the grain bin and they were loving the fish net there and climbing well..then Far Guy built the arbor for me..and I moved them. One morning I was outdoors and went to sit on one of the garden benches, a deer was eating my roses..it stomped it's feet at me. Our dog Captain, a Sheltie was very old, and deaf, and his eye sight was poor..the Deer stomped their feet at him all summer, it was probably a good thing he couldn't hear or see them. The deer apparently liked the smorgasbord that was available in my gardens, and really liked my roses. I wonder what roses taste like to the deer. Is it like a Nut Goodie Candy Bar, or licorice or a Double Fudge Brownie Delight at Dairy Queen, or is it just a different kind of salad?

The Canadians have great roses and they produce roses that are hardy in Minnesota. It is my understanding that the Morden Research Station will no longer be working with roses, however a group of individuals is anxious to take over to help preserve the roses. One article I read said that three million roses were sold every year just in Canada. The Canadian Roses..Parkland or the Explorer series are all roses that are grown from their own roots, they are not a grafted rose. They are also not your three for ten bucks roses sold at some stores. And no they have never developed a yellow climbing rose. I believe that is one of the questions that they are asked most often. They have 26 acres of arboretum and display gardens up there in Morden, Manitoba. I might have to add a trip there to my bucket list:)

*** It is rainy and cold here, these photos were taken September 03, 2009.

Late Bloomers

We had temperatures of 27 degrees to greet us yesterday morning. Some of the flowers still survived, it must be the lake effect! So I thought I would share some of our late bloomers!

My climbing roses that don't really climb were looking great..I really must be a better pruner in the spring..cause they need to go up..not out. If you are curious they are "William Baffin" a great Canadian Climbing Rose that I just do not fuss with..or prune, or water or fertilize..but should. Then again maybe he does better with neglect..some plants are like that you know..no fuss..but will bloom their hearts out. I so enjoy the late bloomers every Autumn. The colors seem more vibrant, each and every day they survive is like a welcome reprieve from the cold temperatures. Yes indeed I like late bloomers!

I watched part of the debate between Palin and Biden.. I think Sarah is a rose, and Biden is a thorn. I fell asleep again..the old checking for the holes in the eyelid thing..I am getting really good at it...don't know what I will do if I ever find one. I caught most of the debate way later.. CNN kept repeating it. I thought Sarah did well, I still like her...even if shes not perfect..she just may be a late bloomer:)