Begging To Be Stared At

Late afternoon sun on a rose made for one glorious sight.

This rose plant was left uncovered last year as it had grown up on a side of the trellis lawn bench which once belonged to my mom.  The plant was just hard to protect from winter, and granted last year we never really had much snow or cold.  The warm weather started early this year, and this plant has lots of sun.  With the great growing season this rose has neared the top of the side of the bench and continues to bloom.  The afternoon sun today made the rose almost shine.

 

Amazing Roses

A couple of days ago I noticed the bud on a new rose was the most intense color–even when waiting to bloom.  Once it opened today it was nothing short of spectacular!  None of these roses pictured cost more than $3.00 (after rebate) per plant.

Alongside it was another beauty–though more muted in color–it also was intense.

And then there were these climbers…….

Roses For a Few Bucks From Menards Bring Spectacular Color

I am sure my keyboard should be cranking out a post on the recall election but my thoughts tonight are on much calmer things–and I might even argue more important things as it deals with living life.  So here goes….

No one can call be a rose snob.

In 2011 I ran across a large bin of roses outside a local Menards that were wrapped tightly in a plastic wrap with the stalk sticking out.  They all were labeled with names such as the John Kennedy Rose, or the Elizabeth Rose.    For $1.98 I bought half a dozen, and while hoping they might grow and bloom knew I was not out anything other than my time if they failed to produce.

I realized that when the roses grew chest high in three cases, and the blooms were vibrant and eye-catching I had stumbled on something worthy of telling others about.

While last winter was warmer than normal these roses–which I did not cover unlike some others that were more sensitive and expensive in the yard and did get a winter cone–got back to the business of making blooms and splashes of color this spring.

So off I went to Menards to buy more–like a dozen–for our home, while also taking a friend along to purchase some for his yard. This year the price was $4.98–with a two dollar mail-in coupon–which made them almost the same price as last year.

James kept asking where I intended to plant them all, and I kept telling him to just have a little faith.  Every rose found a home and while some plants need more time to grow and wow the world, there are others that have folks stopping by for free sniffs.   It was a perfect planting idea for this spring.

With just about six weeks in the ground one of the new plants purchased this year has made for a dazzling reminder that roses need not be expensive to be spectacular.