These Roses Are Red...

 Here's an "I Remember" post; this time about roses.  

Gary and Ellen got me this Knockout Rose bush some years ago for Mother's Day, I believe.  Although it could have been for my birthday, but I think that would have been too late in the season for Walmart to have rose bushes.  It does quite beautifully in spring, but the Japanese beetles tend to try and destroy it later in the summer.  I wage a merciless war on them until early fall, when their "season" starts to come to an end. 

I remember back in the days of my childhood on 4550 Woods Lane, we had an old-fashioned rose bush.  I believe it was my Grandmother Davis' rose bush.  My mom was indifferent about it, or at least seemed to be to me.  My parents weren't either of them into landscaping or caring much about such things, though my mom loved the rhododendron shrubs; one of which was taller than the house.  They didn't require much maintenance.

Most of the flowers and blooming shrubs we had on our place was due to my Grandmother Davis, who loved them and planted various things far and wide all over the 5 acres I grew up on.  She had owned it before, then my father inherited it.  Though that is an over-simplified explanation of it.  There were 2 separate pieces of land there; one a bit more than 2.5 acres, one a bit less.  My father had a deep-seated resentment of his mother, a long story, and after she was gone he discouraged any and all flowers or shrubbery.  Gardening was strictly for vegetables and no new rose bushes or bulbs or anything were to be planted.  

Quite unconsciously I guess I grew up that way, though there was a period where I vexed his soul by attempting to plant flowers. I distinctly remember in my ignorance my attempt at growing a multiflora rose bush.  I came home from church one day, to find he had thrown it in the stove.  At that time I had no concept of the idea that it was invasive, and he didn't try to explain.  If I remember correctly, this was only a few years prior to his death.  I soon moved to Portland, where I didn't have to worry about any sort of gardening, flowers or vegetables, for many years.

Soon after his death, my mother had to sell the place and move.  She landed in a duplex with a small side yard where she lived for close on 7-8 years.  There she planted several rose bushes and gloried in caring for them.  She loved them.

Though I lived in Portland, Oregon for nearly 12 years I remained indifferent to roses.  Portland is called "Rose City" due to the rose test gardens there.  I think I visited there a couple of times.  They do all sorts of testing and creating of different rose varieties there.

https://www.portland.gov/parks/washington-park-international-rose-test-garden  

I hope that link works.  It is absolutely beautiful there, to stroll among the rose bushes and see all the varieties.  They used to have different music shows there in summer.  

But back to Missouri.  When I moved here it took me several years to develop an interest in growing flowers.  There was this clump of irises growing up by the bull pasture.  I transplanted a couple of the rhizomes down here, and to my complete surprise they thrived.  Then a couple of years later Ellen and Gary got me the rose bush, and I just took off from there.  

Now I think I would like to get a yellow rose bush.  I've had my yellow irises for a few years now.  It's time for a yellow rose.