pushing your luck

That's me. If some risk pays off, I go for broke and reach deeper. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. But you can't blame me for not trying. Even if I'm straining at the seams to fit it all in. And here's the thing: the older I get, the more determined I am to add the extra challenge. Because if not now, then when?

I remember when I first decided (in May) to redo the strips of land in front of Steffi's House. It seemed like such a big project. And it was, even though at least I had help removing the sod then. I told Ed that eventually I may strip the side yard as well, but I didn't really think I wanted to go ahead with it. I was exhausted just planting the front (and then the fenced area, and then the strips of back yard). I felt certain that I had done enough enough. A little bit of green grass was, after all, pretty as a border to the flower beds.

Then came the roses. The rest is history.

 

The day is splendid. Really beautiful. Sunshine, gentle warm air. You could not ask for a nicer October day. Right Millie?

 

(morning walk)

 

 

What a difference a bit of sunshine makes.

Brekafast, after Millie had done her chorus, this time focusing on the porch pumpkin as the object of her annoyance/excitement/concern.

And then the pup goes to day care and I go back to Steffi's Yard. To tend to those strips of green grass. With a mower. Uff!!

I move another plant and I see that I can do another hole to make the beds more balanced. So why not two holes... Not today -- I dont have time for that, but tomorrow, I'll be stripping some more sod and digging out two more spaces. Yes, I am pushing the boundaries here, but the weather promises to be so good for the next few days -- I may as well make this whole rose project more perfect. There is, after all, always room for getting closer to perfection. Or is it that I hope that of the 89 roses I will have planted this year, maybe a handful will survive? 

 

I pick up the boys at the bus stop.

And then we all go to get Snowdrop for our Friday Adventure. Not that today's outing has everyone excited. At least two are skeptical. But, the weather is perfect and they are outnumbered: three of us want an outdoor walk. In the Arboretum. 

And the two skeptics are soon bought over. We do a long loop through field and forest.

 

 

Dry lands and wetlands...

And of course there's always a treat at the end of an outing. Today we go to our local ice cream store -- the Chocolate Shoppe.

And then it's the usual Friday rollback: some get dropped off at home. Millie gets picked up.

 

 

The girl gets dropped off at her activity, Millie and I return home.

Dinner? I've stooped this low: reheated slices of left over pizza from ages ago. Well, Millie at least enjoyed a few nibbles of pizza crust. Only afterwards did it strike me to check if a pizza crust is a major hazard for dogs. Answer: yes it is. Apparently (according to AI) this particular pizza crust is brushed with some mix of oils, cheese and garlic powder. Garlic is a huge no no for dogs. It's always when you want to make your dog happy that you cause the most harm! Ah well, I was stingy with the crust. So far, she seems fine.

with so much love... 

 

 

pot throwing, water color painting, origami, tai chi or taekwan-do...

All these hobbies I could have taken up in my retirement would have been amazing and creative and meditative and... so much easier than growing roses! So much easier!

It rained last night. It rained this morning. It rained all day. Many inches of rain, saturating my clay soil in a way that cannot be helpful to all the new roses!

(morning walk: remember yesterday's sunshine?)

 

(so grand to be able to bring color in from the garden...)

 

 

The thing about taking on a new project is that it's new and so you have to learn everything from scratch. I had assumed that my experience with perennials would well equip me to grow roses. I'm learning that it may be helpful in some ways (you understand soils, watering needs, winterizing, oh, a whole bunch of gardening details), but it also makes you overly confident. And I'm learning that this confidence will have you make more mistakes than you would have made, had you been a novice (and had studied texts telling you ahead of time what not to do with roses!). 

Just to give you an example: a cardinal rule in planting potted perennials is to plant them at the soil level of the pot. Sure, you can and should bury tomatoes more deeply. But flowers? Don't smother them and rot them out with excessive dirt. 

Enter the rose. 

I assumed (incorrectly) that if I get a potted rose, this, too should be planted at the soil level of the pot. Only after planting dozens of them, did I think to read up on it. And here's the thing: there isn't a simple answer. Bury the budded (grafted) root ball or else the rose of the root may take over. Dont go too deep on the own-root ones. Root rot will ensue.And ignore the level of the pot -- that's just a temporary fix. And of course throw additional soil and mulch after a deep freeze (but not before), though that, at least, is still ahead of us. So, no simple answer, but certainly very different than a perennial flower planting. I should not have assumed.

Therefore, today, after breakfast...

... and a Millie snuggle...

 

 

And after Millie went to doggie daycare, and I drove to the clinic to get not one, not two, but three seasonal senior vaccinations, I went on to plant just one rose and then to evaluate the level of soil on all the others, adding dirt to plants where I thought the level was too low. With mulch on top, but more will be needed once the freezes start coming.

I did all this in the rain. Because it did rain, all day long.

 

In the afternoon, I pick up Snowdrop and bring her home. Her home. Where Goose is waiting. To share her potato chips.

No, I do not know why that girl is never cold. I have my fleece on. And long pants. and socks. She does not.

We read, and then we go to Barnes & Noble (she is in need of a certain book, which they do not have, but the outing is fun anyway) and finally we pick up Millie. 

 

 

And it is still raining. And Snowdrop claims she is not cold!

 

At home, Millie tests sitting on my stool while I watch the LIVE rose sales -- a habit now that I have on Thursdays. 

 

 

But despite the sales, the promos, the fantastic introductions of roses not seen elsewhere, I do not buy anything. I'm done. My plant purse has run dry, my space is fully occupied in the way I want it to be and in any case, they wouldn't come in time (before my departure, before the cold weather hits). All the California shoppers are going at it as if it were early spring. Me, I'm waiting for my last eight to arrive (still in the clutches of the UPS people). After that, I'll do some mulching and major garden clean up. Yes, and bulb planting, but I'd rather not think about that. I'm quite ready to put down the shovel. More time with Millie! Or. maybe I'll take up mosaics. My neighbor does them in her basement. She said I should join her. 

Nah... I'll keep at it. So many roses, needing so much of my time and effort.

with so much love...