Rose Gardening in July

After dealing with health issues of my dad's (dad's doing fine now after a gall bladder removal surgery), gardening has been on my mind pretty much nonstop this month. Something so relaxing and surprisingly good exercise. Probably not aerobic, but it's still exercise. Mom and I are addicted, a life long hobby of the whole family. Recently mom and I checked out the latest sales at area greenhouses. A kind greenhouse owner near me (wish I knew the name of his establishment but it's on Kinsman, near WalMart between Burton and Middlefield) had a few rose bushes that had some "rust" on them. Mom and I like to rescue plants in distress then rehab them and we asked how much they were. He said we could have all four of them, that they needed time and work, which he didn't want to bother with..big, gallon sized plants. Not only a kind gesture, but a great marketing move..I bought a healthy creeping rose bush also, since he did that for us, and went back a few days later and got another one. Mom and I have stripped the plants of the diseased leaves, sprayed the heck out of them with rust killer/fungicide and they look MUCH better. Sparse, but improving. Roses add a splash of elegance to the garden, much better than just having roses by themselves in a rose-only garden.



After reading up on roses and in doing so, found out that a rose expert is called a "Rosarian". I told mom, "If you became a certified expert on roses, you would be known as "Marian the Rosarian" (couldn't resist ;) People even refer to their bushes as "he" or "she"! LOL. I wonder if they give them pet names too. It's interesting, never knew any of this. I'm not the rose naming kind of person, just want to really make them happy and healthy. Had some in our gardens when I was a kid, and it's been years since I've owned a few bushes. Last year I bought a gorgeous miniature peace rose at Heinen's, which is still doing fine. It has the most stunning little yellow flowers with pinkish orange edges. Now there's four more to add to my collection. The big ones are "Mr.Lincoln" variety, the others are creeping roses.

On the way to my dentist's office (which is a half hour away), I usually stop at Lowe's Greenhouse over on Chillicothe Rd in Chagrin Falls, which has an impressive variety of plants, some of which are harder to find. It's really nice how they color code their flowering plants according to bloom color. Another wonderful place is (of course) Pettiti's Garden Center. That place is just addictive, feel like a kid in a candy store. I am a rational adult who doesn't need every plant under the sun. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Next year I'm getting some elderberry bushes, need two different varieties, just like the blueberries. A long family tradition has been dusted off and resumed of making elderberry pies. My grandmother did it, mom does it, and I have, too. Mom and I slog out in the moist, almost bog-like terrain that elderberries grow in and pick them. They are usually situated in a giant patch of poison ivy, too. Last year we got a large quantity of berries then we all sat on the front porch of their house, combing the berries off of their stems. These little rituals are important to me, especially the older we all get. Elderberries are packed with nutritious vitamins and anti-oxidants, and what better way to get our nutrition than pie (not too sweet, the flavor is brought out with a little lemon). Heaven. During our combing sessions, dad and I would let berries roll off the edge of the porch, hoping some would take root in the garden below. To our surprise, one has, and it's a healthy, two-foot tall plant right now. They now need one more, then they will pollinate.

My garden monitors, hard at work.