The One That Started It All

I never thought I would grow roses. My mother had climbing roses when I was growing up and I hated having to mow around them. Invariably I would get scratched. There were many times I accidentally on purpose ran over the limbs laying on the ground. And don't get me started on the bees!

Fast forward to just a few years ago. A friend asked me to teach--me, teach??--a class about roses. She had an answer for every argument I could come up with why I was not the best choice for this job. Number one being that I knew nothing about roses! I finally just said no.

Then Shana died. A good friend of hers gave us this rose bush with the name Angel Face. It's a tea rose in a beautiful mauve color. This rose requires a little more maintenance than the others I have--pruning, deadheading, etc. I kept it in the original pot until we moved to this new house, then finally planted it. I was a little apprehensive, since I remembered all my mother went through to grow her roses. This rose had a special significance for me and I didn't want to lose it.

Since Angel Face did pretty well the first couple of months, we started buying the knockout roses. Then Angel Face had to move. She was getting crowded out. Now she happily sits at the corner of the house. And evidently loves her new home. I had been watching these buds, but hadn't gotten out in the yard the past couple of days. This is what I found when I took a little walkabout today.

We now have 8 or so knockout roses (including 2 new yellow ones), Angel Face, and I even have climbing roses in red and yellow--but they're where they won't have to be mowed around and have something to climb up!