rose care

Hello fellow gardeners, here are some tips for your roses.

Deadhead:  this encourages your roses to grow more secondary bloom cycles, cut 1/4" from an outward facing 5 leaflet.  roses love water, keep soil moist but not with standing water.

Mulch:  cover soil with 2 to 3 inches of mulch.  Keep mulch away from the main stem, mulch keeps down the weeds and keeps the moisture in the soil

Fertilize:  roses love to eat

"Oh Brother, where art thou"

Church sure can bring out the best in a person.

 My mother recently moved in with my sister and I've agreed to take her to Mass on Sundays.  On the first Sunday there was a lady begging for money at the doors of the church. To quote my mom " Oh brother, that is the last thing I want to see at church someone needing help."

2nd Sunday, as we were making our way out of the church,  there was a man in a wheelchair slowing our departure and every maneuver we made to find a path he would go the same way.  When we finally cleared him my mom was quoted as saying " boy, I just wanted to kick him".

I just love Church and the goodness it brings out in all of us!

spring 2011

                                     

you reap what you sow or do you?

I think one of the many reasons I enjoy and like gardening is that you do reap what you sow.  By following all the good gardening steps I end up with the "fruit" of my labor.  Which got me thinking about how does this saying "you reap what you sow" apply to other parts of my life or for that matter life in general.

Childern:  sometimes not always
Husband:  sometimes not always
Job: sometimes not always, usually most people get the short stick on that one

So now the saying "life isn't fair" comes to mind.

I'm keeping with my gardening in which I do reap what I sow!

Got to go mend my afghan now, you know what they say "a stitch in time saves nine"

protect your investment

With the rain comes the snails.  Be sure to put out some snail bait in the next couple of days.  Also a good time to spray those weeds.

rose care for March

apply 1 tablespoon of sulfate of potash (0-0-25) to each plant around march 1st
fertilize weekly with 1 tablespoon of sulfate of ammonia (21-0-0) per plant acidify garden soil. do not use on potted plants
watch for early symptoms of mildrew and rust, and remove afftected leaves by hand
irrigate rose beds with 1.5 inches of surface water twice a week

You can't take it with you

Stuff!  Why do we have (need) so much stuff?  I have been helping my Mother un-assembling our family home of 53 years.  She will be moving in with my sister and renting out the house.

I was surprised by how much emtional is attached to the material items she has collected over the years, down to the seemingly un-interesting (at least to me) nic nac.

I have always loved the way going home made me feel, the house to me seemed to be in perfect order, soothing and safe.  As we began to take out the furniture and nic nac's the rooms began to just become walls without any memories.

I guess all the "stuff" she has collected recalls memories for us and created the view in which we are familiar and enjoy. 

I was the beneficiary of many of these items as they were gifts I have boughten her, or items I have admired thoughtout the years.  The most prized items are those that hold the deepest memories of a simpler younger life.

My concern now is will I have the time to create my own memories with these items that hold such a nostalgia so my childern will have something to hold onto that was loved by me.

In the end its not the stuff but the memories, but the memories are connected to the stuff and a life gone by.