The Gardener is IN

Have I done any gardening?
Well, if manually squishing hundreds of aphids off a six foot indoor, um, "#14 PREMIUM FOLIAGE IN GARDEN 6.51 GAL SKU 39438" counts, then Yes. I have no clue what the plant is but it's coming back now that I'm watering it.

My Christmas pointsettias have dwindled from a lush 7 to an emaciated 5.

My prized 10 year old Jade Plant, started from a leaf as a gift from my great grandmother's ancient Jade, was accidentally left out one bitter, frosty night last November. I brought it in the next day but the leaves started shriveling and dropping so I lopped off all the branches. Alas, now two months later, I have declared the plant officially mushy and dead. But I can't bear to throw it out yet so I've placed the three African Violets around the Jade trunk in memoriam. Fortunately, about two years ago I had started another Jade tree from a leaf. It's teeny and the cats keep biting the leaves but 10 years from now it should look lovely if the cats don't kill it.

The Chief Plant Rescuer built an industrial size A-frame shelf unit to hold all my deck planters in the garage. Now the cats have more options for playing and sleeping at night.

I mulched the roses on the deck but never had time to do anything at all to the roses in the yard. That grieves me to no end. I had PLANS. I bought MULCH. I've got BAGS of rooty-looking stuff that never got planted from last fall! I feel SICK every time I look out the back window. bah.

sigh.

I've decided that I'm going to order more roses. Despite my lack of time, I suspect that holding a bare root rose again will motivate me to pick up where I left off three months ago.

I'm going to let my most favorite people in the world pick out their favorite roses from the David Austin catalog and plant them in my yard. Then when my most favorite people in the world visit, it will be rich handing them a rose. Well, actually, some of my favorite people live here. I suspect it will be much easier motivating them to water, mulch, swat deer and squish beetles off a rose they like.

Oh and yes, in addition to squishing aphids, I've taken a lot of photos. Mostly of stuff like the doomed aphids.
Eventually, the photos will get uploaded with commentary.