The Gift of Roses

by Koleen
(Bloomfield, Indiana, USA)

Roses! I've always wanted to grow them. To see their velvety colors highlighting my walkway and gate, climbing around my window edges making a classic and natural curtain. But they can be expensive to purchase and challenging to start.

One day I was at the local hardware store with my husband, and we spotted rows and rows of wilted and withering rose plants in plastic pots, lined up to be taken to the garbage! We asked the manager about them, and he said the employees had made a mistake in his absence, and that the poor roses were too far gone to salvage for selling. They had been left uncovered on a late spring night when the temperature dipped colder than expected.

I worked up the nerve to ask if we could have them for free. The manager smiled and said he'd be happy to get them off his hands, and give to them a chance to survive. He warned us, though, that they might be hopeless. Too far gone.

We packed the roses into the trunk and backseat of our little car. I even carried a couple on my lap.

At home we unloaded them in the sunshine, and went down the street to seek my mother's advice.

Water them deeply, she said, but don't let the water touch the leaves.

So we did. The next morning, we got out the spade and dug deep holes. We brought water from the outdoor faucet, bucket by bucket. My mother had given us a bit of rose food to place in each hole. We studied a rose guide from the library, measured with a yard stick, tried our best to get the depth and width just right. We held them, me with a gloved hand, and took turns filling in the back soil, dipping and tipping the water.

Now it was time to wait, and to watch. We kept them watered, and we waited for the first signs of growth.

Out of the 20 plants we brought home, 17 made it. We were more than pleased.

We enjoy discovering the nature of each gift as it leafs out, buds, blooms. We have climbers, bushes, hybrid teas, shrubs, minis, and even a tree rose. We have reds, pinks, yellows, whites, lavenders, whites tipped with red, blushing yellow and pink and peach roses.

Our home is transformed. We have the joy of the lovely scents, shapes, textures and colors. We can see our rose friends when we arrive home, enjoy them while relaxing in the yard, cut long stems with tight buds to bring inside and watch them open.

We are honored to enjoy the magical and delightful gift of roses.

Roses on eBay