{photo credit: unknown}
With the unlimited skies looking like grey mounds of cotton candy earlier today, I stood in my sweats on my urban patch of limited land envisioning an ever-blooming garden due to evolve this Spring and Summer. It appears even on gloomier days, I long to be in my garden! I suppose I miss the enchantment my garden provides me with especially after spending most of my days earlier this week soaking up the generous rays of light our area’s been afforded recently.
Little by little this week as the warm weather beckoned, I eagerly found myself picking up garbage attracted to my yard located in the heart of this city, yanking a few new weeds, and ripping out dried up vines that encompassed the pillars of my six foot black powered aluminum fence. Despite my own advice of waiting on the “forsythia factor” before pruning, I went ahead and started the process. After all, the chances of finding forsythia in this concrete jungle are slim to none. Ha! (Update: Since posting this blog, I’ve seen forsythia all over this city at properties on the outskirts of the city limits and at the local minor league baseball stadium in downtown). I figured it was safe to at least begin the process of pruning considering the fact that I must tackle my small yard in segments due to my back but more importantly, the leaf buds are already birthing their deep red leaflets, bright green grass has miraculously appeared along with a few prideful weeds, and the forecast predicts temperatures to remain above freezing the next few weeks. My drive to proceed could also be due to lack of patience and self-control: fruits God is still tending to within His daughter. 😉
Regardless of the melancholy weather today and my abundant eagerness to bring on Spring, there I stood mentally picturing where I would soon be planting the purchases I secretly made online while my husband napped. Although he too enjoys gardening, he prefers we plant things we can actually eat. I try to tell him all about the many uses of roses, but rose tea, rose oil, and rose potpurri do not appeal to him as much for some reason. He has tried eating a rose hip after I explained to him the immense health benefits in doing so. Still, he’d rather swallow a pill.
The blooms of the Eden climbing rose are so large and heavy, they often dangle. {photo credit: unknown}
So while he is napping after working hard all week, I either am planning out my rose garden, writing about it, or in my yard making my urban rose garden dreams a reality. For now, as I stood in my garden tiny in size, but bountiful in joy and hope, I meditate on where my husband will be digging a space for my much longed for Eden rose due to arrive in a few days. And while visions of 4.5 inches of white and pink blooms dazzled my mind, my eyes mentally planted the 4 lavender hidcotes due to arrive in mid-April. Hey, American Meadows had a great sale on lavender that I just couldn’t pass up! It was like lavender was in the $5 bin at Walmart (something else I am a sucker for). If we run out of Earth, which no doubt will be soon and very soon, I will happily move on to creating a colorful container garden.
While standing there for several minutes perusing the 14 rose bushes I’ve adopted, I considered the importance of air flow and color scheme. And yet, I still squeeze in other herbs, clematis, and miniature roses among others on my wishlist. What is this garden gal to do?! On one hand, my back is grateful for petite pieces of real estate such as mine, but on the other hand, I contemplate digging up my earlier boring rose choices so I could replace them with others I’ve since discovered. But like children, how hard it is to part with any rose.
For now, my eager soul rests peacefully while dreaming of her up and coming ever-blooming garden.
Ever-Blooming Roses 