March 19, 2009

The Rose Queen

Last spring I visited my Aunt Doris in Marin County California. She is a very inspiring gardener to say the least. The roses were not in bloom when I visited but I wanted to show you a little before and after.
I think I can admit that I have rose envy. I can expect a small spring bloom on my roses before they are devoured by the evil doing Japanese Beetles in early July.

The lesson that I take from my lovely aunt is perseverance. This garden did not become this beautiful overnight but took many long years of effort and lots of pain. I try and remember that when I'm doing my spring cleaning in the garden. Thank you Aunt Doris for giving me a gardening dream to aspire to.

4 comments:

Fantastic Forrest said...

I can almost smell those roses. So pretty!

Hang in there, wormgirl. What deters Japanese beetles? Can you spray soap on the flowers or something?

Rachel said...

You pretty much have to pick them off and throw into a soapy bucket of water. The only problems is that there will literally be 50 on a plant and 5 minutes after picking 50 more.

Fantastic Forrest said...

So why not soap the plant???

Rachel said...

It doesn't really work and the beetles just keep bonking!