I desperately want ALL of you to come to our house right now---just to see all of our beautiful blooming roses. I call them "our" roses---but George does ALL of the work. AND--you know that Hybrid Tea roses take alot of work.. George has grown roses for many years (long before I knew him). He is an EXPERT --as you can tell.
In 2005, we bought eight rose bushes. Then, after George retired in 2006, he wanted to plant some more. But where????? Our yard is very shady --and if you know roses, they love sunshine. SO---the first thing we did was to build a huge (long) flowerbed along the side of the house. We did it so that we could plant not only roses but also perennials (Crocus, Hyacinths, Tulips, Daffodils, Iris, Lilies and Daylilies). We did plant about 18 roses that first year --along that side bed. I loved where they were because I could sit on our swing and enjoy them!!!!!
BUT---even though they bloomed, they just didn't do well in that location, due to all of the shade. The only sunny spots in our yard are in the front yard--along the driveway. SO---during those next several years, George gradually moved all of the roses (and added more each year) to our front yard. He made 2 beds on either side of the driveway for a total of 32 bushes. Our yard (like most in this area) has solid rock about 2 inches below the surface... SO---he couldn't move farther into the yard with these beds. He started putting them in large pots on both sides of the driveway... NOW--we have 48 rose bushes total, and that's about all we can have unless we chop down a bunch of gorgeous trees (NOT).
After George moved the roses to the front yard, I complained about not having a place to sit and just look at the roses. He then built me a little area and put a cute little bench out there... I surely do have a 'keeper' when it comes to husbands, don't I????? He says that he spoils me---and that is TRUE.
WELL---since you can't come and see the roses in person (sniff sniff), here is the next best thing. I took these pictures yesterday afternoon. I don't know how many total blooms there are now, but I do know that there are 30 of the 48 in bloom right now, many with several blooms. The picture above is of our house ---taken from my bench. Below are others!!!! Be sure and click on all of the pictures for a better view, especially of the roses.
This is another view from the bench---looking left, across the driveway. Our Clematis is on the left---and has begun to bloom. The smaller roses that you see in any of the pots are NEW and recent ones---that are just getting started!!!!
This picture was taken from the top of the driveway--looking toward the street. You can now see all of the potted rose bushes on both sides.
This is the rose bed on the right side of the driveway (while looking toward the street). There are 22 rose bushes in this bed. Look at all of those colors. Amazing!!!!
The same flowerbed from the other direction (looking toward the house)
This smaller bed (on the left of the driveway looking toward the street) contains 10 bushes. One of them (About Face) has grown leaps and bounds this year.
The same flowerbed from the other direction (facing the house)
I am showing you these two bushes just so you can see how many more buds there are on them. The one on the left is New Day and on the right is Medallion.
There are lots of blooms and buds on this bush... I also love the name: Brigadoon. Neat, huh?
I have mentioned to some of you that George spoils me by bringing roses into the house, putting them in a vase, and then placing them on our dining room table every day or two. These are the four in the house right now.. OH ---they smell SO good. Aren't I a blessed woman to have roses on my table most of the late spring/summer/fall??? WOW!!!
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I didn't look into the Bluebird nest today --and won't until after they fledge. BUT--I did sit on the deck and watch Daddy (above) and Mama Bluebird going back and forth to the nest to feed the babies. Isn't Daddy gorgeous?????
Now---here's Mama Bluebird. She's pretty also, don't you think???? They love that old nestbox. Remember last year when the Downy pecked a hole in the side????? That hole didn't keep the Bluebirds from coming back this year. I do have a 'new' nest-box ---but they obviously didn't like it. In fact, it has not been used yet. I'll probably never find another good one like this one again. Hope it lasts a few more years!!!!
Hope you have a great Wednesday.
Hugs,
ADDENDUM: After completing this post last night, I got an email telling me that one of my 2nd cousins had died last night. Her name was Patsy Cummings ---and she and I had a great email relationship. She also read my blogs--and would comment about them on emails to me. She had emailed me about 28 times since January of this year. The last email came on April 11. In that email, Patsy told me that she picked her first Iris bloom in her yard.
I 'thought' that something must be wrong since I hadn't heard from her lately even though I had written her. Patsy did have health problems, but I had no idea she was this close to death. She was such a gracious and caring lady. Please say a prayer for her husband, Zeke.
AND to Patsy: "May you rest in peace. I love you!"