A Dawning Along the Path

September 29, 2014 Gaga

“Of all the paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a best path .. A thing which, here and now, it were of all things wisest for him to do .. To find this path, and walk in it, is the one thing needful for him.”
― Thomas Carlyle

It’s darker than usual at 6AM, the time Izzabelle, my alarm cat, gets me up to begin our routine. Make coffee, feed the cat. No, sorry, feed the cat, make coffee, then go outside to see what’s new to photograph in the garden. Sauntering down the floribunda rose garden path I had no idea ‘Stormy Weather’ would stop me in my tracks. I was overwhelmed with a need to show you how it looked at that very moment. You’ve seen it many times. But not like this. And it will never look this way again.

Its time to let our roses make rose hips. Other than the roses you cut for late rose shows and for your home, don’t cut any more spent blooms. This signals to your plants that its time to go into winter dormancy. I want to remind you that last year was the 3rd coldest winter in Illinois recorded weather history. Who could imagine that after just losing a few roses from the cold that this year would result in such a spectacular rose year? I’m also preparing by buying all the bags of mulch that I need to cover my roses so I am ready to put extra layers of protection on them for winterizing them.

Summer of 2014 Rotogravure

‘Moonstone’ Magnificence

‘Moonstone’ stole the show this summer. At one time this spectacular rose bush had 30 fully open roses at one time.

Duo of ‘Double Delight’

“Double Delight’, introduced by Armstrong Nursery in 1977 by breeder John Sheldon,  is still as beautiful, dramatic and rewarding a rose to have as any rose I have ever grown. I will be adding more roses to the rose rotogravure all winter.

I am Fredericksburg, VA as I write and will be telling you all about it soon.