The Coolest Winter Roses

Oso Happy Candy Oh!

Fall of 2013 was the first time I planted roses in the fall. Stunningly naïve of what winter had in store for us I now call the surviving roses the ‘Ice Princesses.’ I usually buy roses in the spring and plant them well after any chance of a late hard Continue Reading

Rose Pruning Primer: A Guide To Pruning Roses

Floribunda Rose Garden

 Pruning post traumatic stress disorder (PPTSD) Remembered Kids do say the darnedest things.” Traveling South on the N. Dallas Tollway,  5 year old Ella said, “Gaga, I’ve been thinking ’bout goin’ to church but my parents don’t even know what day it is.” “Gabi always knows what day it is Continue Reading

Fantasy Pick Roses

Love Song a floribunda

Fantasy Pick Roses for 2013    Sports analogies dig deep into the heart of the American landscape.  Rose gardening can be a tough physical sport. A helmet is my next gardening fashion statement. It shall coordinate with my leopard rubber boots. This fall, during an attempted shovel pass, I did Continue Reading

Planting Roses in The Fall

'Weeping' Rose and Leaves

“The tints of autumn…a mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost.” ― John Greenleaf Whittier   Beveridge D. Fergusson’s Scottish Proverbs circa 1641 proclaimed, “An open confession is good for the soul.” I openly confess I have never planted a rose bush in the fall. I Continue Reading

Miss All American Beauty Rose For A Day Daddy

Once upon a time there was a rose garden in the far, north. It was located one mile from the beautiful north shore of Lake Michigan off of Beach Road along a little dead-end street.  My mother planted 30 or so roses and hedged the roses with peonies and a Continue Reading