Bud Union

Went to seminar at Swanson's Nursery this AM regarding rose care. I have left with some excellent handouts and inspiration for loving the roses around this property better. Terri Hyat has convinced me that if I give them enough love I can watch them produce a couple hundred flowers over the upcoming season. I do not even know what varieties these are, nor does Dita, but I now have a better understanding for classification. There are shrub roses in the back, which are bushy, lower growing, which are apparently easy to care for. Honestly I haven't attended to them once since I've moved in. There are Grandiflora (a cross between Hybrid Teas and Floribundas) right outside my window, which I have harvested from and guided into dormancy. They grew to be over 5 feet this year, and produced large, full single and cluster flowers well into October. There is a climber rose plant, that leapt over the stone steps down the side of the house, and culminated in lot's of rose hips. I harvested them too late, though, so didn't get much from that.

Right outside my window...

There is some lush foliage...

Some of it's diseased and needs to be trimmed, but the buds are pushing their way forth. The roses are waking up and I'm getting excited to prune them soon. I believe the correct time to do this will be March 1st, when the moon is in ascent and in the constellation of Gemini (flower). Why not? It also happens to be my father's bday that day, so I'll let him know I pruned the roses.

Terri said if I do everything right I will have more beauty than last year, so I guess that means I have something to look foward to.