The Reason I Don't Post Often

The main reason I don't post often is because my father-in-law's health took a turn downhill a couple months ago. I spend at least 30 hours a week tending to his care now.

When I planted the roses eight months ago, I was abruptly thrown into a foreign world, a world of black spot and mulch and manure. A world where one inch of green growth was new and exciting, a world where bugs were no longer cute and friendly. When I planted the roses, I expected lots of back-breaking labor rewarded with lavish armloads of roses and heady aroma. It never occurred to me that life would head in a different direction.

When my gardening time got suddenly and severly limited, I discovered that I didn't need festoons and armloads of roses. Having a jaw-dropping display of pink petals around my mailbox was no longer important. Making sure the Queen of Denmark didn't get dwarfed by James Galway was no longer a priority. What I did discover was that a good laugh with my elderly father-in-law warms my soul more than any plant I could ever grow. Fertilizing a friendship has a more lasting impact than fertilizing a plant.

It was my father-in-law who helped fund this rose adventure. He's as thorny as the Queen of Denmark on some days and if he were a rose, I'd be tempted to get those pruning shears and chop... um... well... take off no more than the top two thirds of the stem, leaving two or three clusters of leaves at the base, keeping in mind the desired shape of the rose bush... Other days, he's as sweetly scented as the Blush Noisette. Dad won't be with us as much anymore now that he'll be moving to assisted living. These days are precious. If I could make a toast with a rose, I'd say Here's to G Bob, who pushes me to near insanity while his twinkling eyes and smile still make me laugh.

Orchids and Fair Bianca

The orchids were for daughter's 26'th birthday. She sure was surprised to get flowers delivered! What fun!

The yellow orchids look dramatic with the red-dyed eucalyptus, a perfect fit for our daughter's personality. When I ordered the arrangement, I didn't pay attention to the eucalyptus and was going just for color. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that our daughter had an allergic reaction to eucalyptus once. She was visiting a friend in a warm room that had a big eucalyptus wreath on the wall and she turned beet red and passed out. She insists that she's outgrown the allergy thing but we don't want to find out so the arrangement is staying in the dining room where there is plenty of air flow.

It was quite a struggle to get the orchids and eucalyptus to stay in the pretty, red globe vase. I had to fuss with the arrangement numerous times. We tried using a smaller glass filled with water and a plastic water bottle hot glued in the middle. Neither worked. Filling the vase with glass marbles worked but doesn't look nearly as pretty because you can't see through the marbles. Still, it's a stunning fall display.

Today I checked on the roses and found a gorgeous, huge Fair Bianca bloom. Wow! It smells wonderful too! The Fair Bianca seems much happier now that the temperatures are cooling off. The bushes in the front yard are getting more buds too. That's nice to know because Pat Austin seems to be done blooming for the year and the Scepter'd Isle is slowing way down. This means I'll have roses for a long time next summer. The Fair Bianca would have had lots more blooms if I had known how to prune properly. I can't wait till next spring to see what a difference good pruning will do for the roses. I didn't get "festoons" this year but maybe next year I will.

Fair Bianca

There are five glorious, bug-free, scented blooms and lots more buds on the Fair Bianca on the deck. The two Fair Biancas in the front yard have nothing. Which means fertilizing, watering and pruning DO make a difference.

I think I finally figured out how to prune a rose bush. First, you start in the spring. That's where I went wrong. Back in the spring, I was so excited to see growth on the rose bushes that I didn't want to cut a single leaf off. But that just turned my roses into Jack-in-the-Beanstalk wannabes.


I kept cutting off the spent blooms from the Fair Bianca on the deck and that made the rose happy. It's still making more buds. At some point this month, I'm supposed to let the blooms turn into rose hips so the bush will settle down for the winter. I'll have to find out more about that.

Smoky Mountains - wow!

We spent a couple days in the Smoky Mountains this past week. I've never seen the mountains from so up high. The house was so far away from roads and people that the only sound we heard was the wind in the trees. Occasionally there were distant crows but mostly just wind in trees.

The first time I stood on the deck, I was surprised that tears fell down my cheeks. Tears? What for? I was strangely moved and couldn't tell why. The tears fell unchecked and I struggled to figure out what moved me so deeply. I actually wept.

I praised God for his magnificent handiwork. The vastness of the mountains seemed to say "I AM here. I AM here."

The house was built on a shelf cut into the side of the mountain in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Behind the house, the stone hillside disappeared into forest.







Fall is coming to the mountains. Already there are reds and golds sprinkled around. We're going back in a couple weeks to enjoy the autumn colors.

This photo is a lone maple leaf, fallen on the lichen-laced hillside behind the house.



I'm glad we have an opportunity to go back to the mountain house so soon. I shall savor every second of the supreme splendor. Truly magnificent.