Smelling the roses

Two years ago or so, I bought a couple of Albertine roses in the clearance bin at The Warehouse for $3.97 each. They looked really sorry, their roots were packed with sawdust, and I wasn’t sure they’d grow. But for less than $4 for climber. Well… And this year, they finally flowered. And they are beautiful.
I now have 4 full size roses (a Brother Cadfael, a Blackberry Nip and 2 Albertine) and three smaller roses in my garden. Four of which are climbers. And along with the Chilean Guava, lavender, rosemary, sage, thyme, and my Jasmine that is finally flowering – my deck smells amazing, and the bees are very happy. (Not to mention the tomato is fruiting and the passionfruit plants are finally looking settled and are vining with delight).
It’s been difficult to not get into it properly with one functional shoulder, but I have some feverfew to now pull out, the last of my poppies, and the never ending crusade against dock and weeds. I’m hoping to have some semblance of order before I start back at work next week, but for now I’m just delighting in the fact that my garden is growing for me. I’m going to need to get some more compost into the dense clay soil – hopefully it will rain this weekend (after the cricket though) – and I can get in and break it up some more.
It’s been such a delight to get in and garden. Probably because it’s mine, and like crafting, it’s something I’m doing with my hands. Unlike crafting though – plants are temperamental beings and will die on you if they don’t like you. I’ve had a few do that – or simply refuse to grow (I’m looking at you cosmos). They also take time and commitment. Something I’m working on using more wisely (time), and something I can do (commitment – hi, tattoos anybody?).
My Blackberry Nip have 5 more buds while my Albertine are currently finishing their run. So I’ll proudly post more roses when they bloom. I wish there was smell-o-vision for them though, the perfume is something else.