Monday, April 24, 2006





Sunday was a work in the garden day and my roses are leafing out and already giving me the promise of blooms to come. Roses are very much like babies and cats. They don't perform on demand. So I prune them; fertilize them; spray them with copper (which I believe is allowable) to prevent some black spot and then I just hope. Few of my roses get black spot as I have chosen varieties that are resistant. Ferdinand Pichard (above, right) and Reine Victoria get the spot no matter what I do. But I will not trash them since they are too beautiful and fragrant. In May and June, when most of my roses really perform, I invite friends for tea. When they go to the guest bathroom I always wait for that slight opening of the door and the question, "Can I flush this?"

Vancouver Rose Society