Roses

I know - another post about flowers. I can't help it.

I had a vision for my white picket fence in front of the house - roses intertwined down both sides of the lawn. It would be so lovely and I planted a pink rose almost as soon as we moved in.

I am not one to give up my "visions" easily - or to give up on a living thing - so I gave that little rose bush 5 years of attention. It struggled the whole time and I eventually pulled it out.

Two years ago I happened across this peace rose while at the nursery. Peace roses have always been my favorite, so I brought it home and put it in the corner by the fence. In two years it has grown much more than the pink one ever did and has many beautiful blooms on it this year.

It has issues with the sprinklers. Roses don't like to get "sprinkled", but since it's in the front flower bed and right by the lawn, I'm not sure how to prevent it. It's leaves get black marks. I am considering some sort of partition that I can put in at night to shield it from the sprinklers .....

The kids and I are planning a trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens soon (pre-school ends next week) and I am hoping someone there can give me good advice. They have a wonderful rose garden - complete with two varieties of rose named "Rebekah" and "Emily."

Until then, we'll turn a blind eye to the leaves and just enjoy the flowers, which are huge and can be seen all the way down the block.

Makes me so happy.