Eulogy for Roses

Yesterday I had to unpot two new roses.  I had ordered Louise Hay plants from a place in California ... but my dirt must have been too dense, and we had torrential rains ... I think I drowned them.

I moved them under the patio roof, and left them in the pots hoping that I'd see a tiny bud appear, but weeks have gone by and nothing.

Finally I decided enough was enough, and yanked them out -- to my dismay there were tiny white roots!!  I consoled myself by thinking they were roots from the root stock the Louise Hay rose was grown on.   I hope so.

With all roses I've purchased this season, I've realized that the ones bred and grown here are the hardiest.  I purchased a climber called "Aloha" in honour of my Hawaiian roots from Select Roses here in the Fraser Valley .... and it is much slower growing than my "on-sale-at- Home-Depot" ones, but so much stronger looking!!   I can hardly wait until the summer and flowers!

I also unpotted and planted alot of house plants in a rather shady and empty section of the back yard near the house.  I am happily anticipating a great looking area in a few months.

There is something so satisfying about gardening!!

Ahhhh .. dirt!

I have recently moved from a townhouse to a house. For the first time in 7 years I am able to move from container gardening to a YARD! And this yard has dirt! Dirt is like gold to me .. you see I come from the Big Island of Hawai'i. You might have pictures in your mind of the lush forests, and miles of tropical plants .. but let me share my experience.

When I moved from Honolulu to the Big Island, I was so excited because the house I rented was surrounded by weeds at least 2 feet tall . I could see myself creating my own lush tropical paradise, with a few roses thrown in.

Unpacking finally finished, garden tools purchased, I headed outside. The mental picture I had of my garden had grown. Now there was a veggie garden area, a meditation garden with a water feature, a rose garden and of course the tropical lushness. First I had to clear those weeds. Taking shovel in hand I started to dig. Foot on the shovel, I was met with a clang that jarred my arms. Darn rocks I muttered. I tried a foot over. Again that jarring clang. After a few more attempts, I realized that those tall weeds were growing in a few inches of soil. Underneath was hard lava rock. I moved to another area of the yard and found the same thing. As disappointment flooded me, I heard a truck coming down the road, and for a moment it looked like it was filled with gold -- it was dirt, dark rich, black dirt.

Yes, dirt is like gold on the east side of the Big Island, and after mowing the weeds, I bought 3 truckloads of it and it still wasn't enough to create what I wanted! My vision changed, and my roses were in containers, and most of the yard became lawn.