It's all about NUMBERS

Ok, just when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel with all this rose planting, TEN more roses arrived from Springhill Nursery. They are miniature all right but they've got thirsty and hungry roots just the same. I was hoping they wouldn't get here till April. But then, I should have taken note about the small print that said " Plants will be shipped at the proper planting time for your area of the country." Since I've never ordered plants in the mail, I had no clue to their shipping schedule. Actually, I have no clue whatsoever about the proper planting time for my area. So I decided that as long as plants keep arriving at my doorstep, I guess it's time to plant! That's easy. Sweet!

Ok, big change today. Yesterday I said that gardening was all about "personal vision". Yesterday I romanticized that it's important to keep that vision alive while you develop your dream garden. Well, today I completely scrapped the "personal vision" idea. Yes siree. Today I realized that gardening is all about NUMBERS. You know, pounds and $$$$$. It's about getting roses 60% off because of a big sale. It's about how many roses you need to plant to outnumber the Japanese Beetles' appetites. It's about how high the roses have to be grown to outreach the salivating mouths of deer. And check out these stats:

David Austin Rose order - $288.00
Spring Hill Nursery order - $76.97
Dirt and Stuff - $106
More dirt and lots more stuff - $266.19
More stuff - $48.25
Total spent so far - $785.41

Last spring we spent about $785.00 on food and clothing. To fund the Rose Adventure this year, we decided to wear the clothes we bought last spring. And we'll probably have to eat just every other day for a month, starting next week because there are more numbers to be added. Such as:

Two metal arbors for the roses to climb - $139.97 x 2 = $279.94 OR Two cedar arbors for $197.49 x 2 = $394.98.
Another half whiskey barrel - $19.95.
Retaining wall stone - $3.97 per rock-looking thing x whatever = $400 (According to the Chief Estimator on the Rose Support Team).
Boxwood for the Hedge Maze - $4.98 per 1-gallon plant x hundreds = Astronomical Amount.
Total - The same amount as the grocery bill for April, May and June.

Therefore, after getting used to eating every other day during March, we'll be in fine form to fast during April, May and June and we'll look downright handsome in our swimsuits come July.

Unfortunately, my husband says he will only cooperate for the month of March and he absolutely wants to eat during April, May and June, so the Hedge Maze is out. sigh. hmmph. sigh. That was going to be my finest gardening adventure ever. And now the deer will find the roses. sigh.

However, on a happy note, today the Rose Support Team carried 300 pounds of dirt and stuff around the house to the backyard and 500 pounds of terra cotta, whiskey barrels and stuff around the house and up the stairs to the back deck. That was so nice of them. Therefore, I've decided to give them a breather before I broach the subject of the moat.