Sunday, July 14, 2013

The pot of gold...

I love our cabin in the woods.  It is here that I am happiest.  We always have projects and the porch is a place of peace.  It is worth more than a pot of gold.
 
I have to share my excitement for the week.  I have admired this brilliant orange rose that grows in one of the most beautiful gardens in Deadwood. Every year I make it a point to drive by when it is blooming.  This year I gathered my courage and stopped at the little home and asked the lady for a slip of this fabulous rose.  It was so fun.  She has a yard the size of a postage stamp, but it is filled with flowers.  We talked gardening.  She was proud of her very vivid orange rose.  She said it was called an Austrian Rose.  She got it for $2 on clearance.  It was almost dead and only had one green leaf.  I cannot describe how full and beautiful this  $2 clearance rose now looks.  She cut me a few slips and said that if they didn't take that I was to be sure and stop by so we would try again.  In my excitement and her pride in showing her garden, we didn't make proper introductions.  I finally stopped talking flowers and introduced myself.  She gave a little grin and introduced herself as... Rose.  How fitting.  Some things were just meant to be.
I promptly took the rose home and grabbed my Trowel and Error book by Sharon Lovejoy.  She recommended boiling willow branches and leaves in water and using the water as a rooting hormone.  I let the three slips of roses Rose gave me soak in the willow water for several hours.  Then I planted two in the greenhouse and one in the veggie garden.   I will keep you posted on the progress.                                                I also want to share my attempts at garden art.  When I was back home I found two pieces of driftwood along the river.  I finally figured out where to use them.  I put them in this planter and added the wind chimes from the greenhouse.  I am very happy with my artistic results.
That sums up my excitement for the week.  We have had several wonderful showers (thus the rainbow).  The gardens are looking quite dapper.  This year I would dub my gardens as mature.  This is a term I got from Buttons, when she talked of a mature farm.  The nice thing about a mature garden is you get to sit on the porch and enjoy it.  I hope everyone else is enjoying their weekend.   

9 comments:

  1. Hi Bonnie,
    What beauty you have created! I can feel the peace and pleasure you feel about your gardens through your words today. And, I loved your story about meeting Rose... Aren't you happy you ' gathered your courage"...Nothing much in life worth noting happens if we don't!
    Happy Porchin' and plantin'
    Deb

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  2. PS.. I also LOVE what you did with your driftwood finds! ART INDEED!

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  3. What a wonderful encounter, and how brave of you to knock on the door and ask! Rose sounds like a really sweet woman.

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  4. I'm anxious to see how your rose grows, too! A true plant lover is excited to share her plants with another plant lover whenever possible! I'm glad you stopped and asked...I would have been honored! :)

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  5. The nursing is the best part. I have this insane habit of picking up a couple of plants on nursery clearance....I guess I mother everything....

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  6. Your story reminded me of going with my grandmother to her garden club and women sharing cuttings, seeds, bulbs, and tubers. In just a couple of weeks, I will be digging up the peony tuber that my grandmother gave me, almost 45 years ago. It's been planted in every home we've lived in and will find its final resting place in North Carolina. I can't wait to see how the Orange Rose does in your garden, XOXO

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  7. Idyllic day. Loved reading this ...adore your cabin and photos! Looks beautiful and relaxing there.

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  8. Loved reading about your rose cuttings and wish you great success with them. Loved seeing the rainbow too. Enjoy the rest of your summer, Bonnie.

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  9. A Rose is a Rose! I hope the slips "take" and you have a beautiful bed of roses too. I'm glad you were brave.

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