I’ve been growing roses for over 25 years. I started growing roses when I lived in North Carolina. The only time I haven’t had roses during those years is when I lived in South Carolina and the first couple of years I lived in Tennessee.
While I was in North Carolina I was of course much younger. And even though I was teaching full time, I think I had more time to devote to roses. For several years I grew test roses for Jackson & Perkins (very interesting since I never knew what roses I would get in any year) and at one point I had over 100 roses in our yard.
I don’t have nearly that many roses now and I no longer grow test roses. But I do have enough roses that I can continue a habit I started back in North Carolina — I try to bring in a fresh rose bud each morning. There are some mornings when I can’t find one to bring in, but at other times we’ll have several roses on our dining room table.
I have to admit that I try to sneak the roses in while Betsy is not looking. Meanie that I am, I like to see how long it is before she notices them. But I’m glad Betsy enjoys our roses as much as I do. So I guess I’ll just continue to bring in a rose a day.
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