My Love Affair with Roses

My favorite flower has always been roses (and hyacinths).  I still remember the first time I got roses.  I was around 8 and my cousins were visiting from Lexington, which was always a huge deal since we never got to see each other as much as we'd like.  On this particular visit, I developed strep throat and didn't get to see them at all.  So my cousin Sarah drew me a picture of a mouse saying 'Get Well' and my Uncle Tom brought me yellow roses.  I always thought it was horribly romantic when Dad brought Mom roses, especially for no reason  at all.  And the most amazing thing about Green Lake Conference Center in Wisconsin, where we used to spend a week in the summer for youth group at church was their massive rose garden.

Needless to say my favorite part of my Mom's flower garden is her rose bed.  There are several different colors and you can smell them when you're within 6 feet of it.  But my absolute favorite thing about the flowers in my Mom's yard is the pale pink climbing rose.  I think you have to see it to understand the sheer size of this rose.  Mom bought it a few years ago half price at the end of the summer because she thought the color was pretty.  Thje past couple of years it has gone insane.  There are branches that have climbed up the greenhouse about 4 feet away, and more branches that have hit the greenhouse, bend back and hit the fence, and are now bending back to the greenhouse, and finally branches that trail at least 8 feet down the fence.

It was only a matter of time before Nick and I started our own rose bed...which we did this weekend.  We have 3 bushes (photos to follow) and plan on adding more asap.  I have a few flowers cut now so that they won't get ruined in the storms tonight and smelling them immediately reminds me of home and my Mama. 


And on a completely unrelated note, in the week or so since my last blog, our little dog Abby has FINALLY learned that she goes to the bathroom outside.  She's also figured out that she can whine at the door and we'll take her out and she can squeeze out a little pee to keep it honest and then it's time to play in the yard.  Even though she has a tie out chain she can go out on anytime she wants.  But we already wonder what we even did without her.  =)