I’ve decided, to lower my blood pressure, perhaps I need a hobby.

Okay, I didn’t decide that, it was kinda decided for me. But I agree.

So I think – maybe – I’m going to start fiddling with roses.

Okay, then after you’re done laughing, perhaps I’ll go on. Ready yet? M’kay.

Here’s what I have – a yard in a part of the world where it freezes only a few times a year (zone 8 if you keep up with that. I don’t). Hot and humid about eight to eleven months of the year. We have quite a few sunny spots, and some that are shade part of the day. We have dogs and kids and other destructive critters around.

I have a couple of climbing roses that we put in years ago. They were insane. We chopped them back (twenty feet long, at least, locked into a neighbors hedge) to a nub and moved them to new locations.

In the garden, today, we planted an Old Blush and a Mrs. Odee. (Mrs. Odee is supposed to be easy to grow, I can use that. The Old Blush I planted today is the shrub variant of the insane climber from the last paragraph – apparently they like it here. Hope so)

Out front went a Georgetown Tea, near the Consuelo from last year. There is also something pink out by the mailbox but I’ll have to check with my wife about the name on that (maybe a Caldwell?).

Pictures to follow if anything grows, this is just to log what I’ve done so far.

Plans:

• train the climbers, provided they live in their new homes, to follow the fence. Should have plenty of light, and the fence is long enough.
• Hope the others fill in.
• Prune the sons of bitches so they look nice.
• Relax and enjoy.