Reading, Writing, & Stuff That Makes Me Crazy: roses

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Not So Rosy

My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Dale

So, I put my roses out in front of my house (in their pots) where I figured I'd be planting them, just to see how they'd do.

They didn't do well.

Those of you on Facebook already know: the petals on the flowers turned black. They cooked.

Here's the thing that I can never seem to emphasize enough to flower nursery workers: my house doesn't just have full sun all day. It has full sun that reflects off my nearly white vinyl siding that acts like a magnifier. If it's 90 outside (like yesterday), it's probably 120 in the garden in front of my house. I'm not exaggerating, and no matter how many times I tell the folks at the nursery that, they never quite seem to understand.

So... roses may be full sun plants, but their flowers can't hack the heat, so they're getting out of the oven and back to the store.

Yes, I'm a bit sad, but no point in keeping them if they aren't going to survive.

Maybe I'll just plant more echinacea (coneflower). It really seems to like it there.

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Speaking of Facebook, here's something that made me crack up:

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I tried writing yesterday. I had a little bit of time where I didn't *have* to do anything, so opened up "Now and Forever". And stared at it. I knew where I wanted it to go, but nothing would move from my brain to my fingers. Anything I forced sounded...forced.

So, I'm going to do what I did with all my completed stories (save one): write it out of order.

Yep. I'm going to write the scenes that I have bouncing around in my head that happen further down the road. Hopefully, as those get written, it'll loosen up whatever is blocking the current scene. Maybe that scene isn't necessary or isn't happening the way it should and my subconscious knows this. Regardless, I need to get some words down, and since I have a pile of scenes already brainstormed (including the end) I think it'll work. It always has before.

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Your Creative Power is Your Logic

You're the type of person who is great at execution. You don't just dream about ideas - you make them happen!

You are idealistic and determined, but you are also a realist. You only undertake projects you're pretty sure you can finish.

You are a natural problem solver, and you actually think better when you're being challenged.

You do best when you work by yourself or when you're in charge. You ideas are big, dramatic, and the best.

What's Your Creative Power?

Actually.... um... that's right on.

Sometimes these quizzes really freak me out. Just saying.

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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Coming Up Roses

“You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses” - Ziggy

I did something yesterday I never thought I'd do...I bought rose bushes.

I know, perhaps not scandalous, but you must understand that roses and I tend to not get along very well. Yes, yes... I kill them. So I've avoided getting any until now. The fact is, I need some pretty, compact bushes for the front of my house. They need to be able to take brutal, hot, full sun (and not your average full sun -- my house is VERY pale gray and gets full sun all day, reflecting that heat down on the plants and cooking them. Even most full sun plants can't take the heat.) and still look pretty.

I'm told these roses can, but if not they have a one year guarantee. I told the lady at Agway that I'd know by July if they'd make it!

Here they are... aren't they lovely?

And I'm told they'll bloom until first frost, so I'm happy. They haven't passed the husband test yet -- he hasn't seen them, but he should like them. If not there were these yellow deciduous bushes with tiny white flowers that were my next choice.

Still, I like that vibrant red. Hopefully, I won't kill them.

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You Are an Orange Rose