"What would become of the garden

if the gardener treated all the weeds

and slugs and birds and trespassers

as he would like to be treated,

if he were in their place?"

--T.H. Huxley

My gardening this year actually began before March 1st. We had three major snowstorms this winter, very unusual for Richmond. I love the four seasons, love the snow, and try to enjoy each time period for what it offers. That being said, there was something sneaky and extravagant about watching the blizzard outside and being inside looking to spring. With each snowstorm I ordered more plants. I loved dreaming about all of the little gifts I had coming in, little pops of color and fragrance, while the outside remained cold and dreary.

Before spring arrives and the garden starts to wake up a little, a lot of restraint has to be shown, in case any warm days are just a fluke. One of the first things I knew I could safely do was to cut back all of my roses. We installed Knock Outs in the front of the house two falls ago and I have slowly been adding roses here and there to make a rose garden up front. I have ordered a few, bought a few, and transferred a few from other places in the yard. I think there are about 11 now. It reminds me of my grandmother, ZouZou, who had a large rose garden outside her kitchen. She would wrap newspapers around them and add lots of food bits to fertilize them. Mine, I gave them some rose food, will add some epsom salts (makes their leaves shiny), and eggshells from time to time.

I cut the roses way back and was briefly worried about what I had done, but now, a few weeks later, they are sprouting all kinds of leaves and new growth. A friend told me years ago that most gardeners keep up with the names of their roses, so I am trying to figure out a way to put their names by them permanently. I tried writing with a sharpie on old pottery shards but over time, it washed off. I have ordered my few roses here and there included with my other orders from Dutch Gardens, but I think the premiere place to order roses is David Austin. There are so many varieties offered, how do you choose -- by the color of the rose or its name? Some of mine include "Maria Stern", "Arctic Flame", and "Apricot Princess". I love these other names: "Stars and Stripes", "Wild Blue Yonder", "Happy Happy", "Welcome Home" and "Dream Come True". Below is one of my roses, the way it looks now and what it looked like shortly after pruning.