Um, well, I didn't actually go out today to check, but I do go out almost every day right now and look at the buds to see if any of them have color yet. I'm really hoping to have blooms by June 14 when my brother comes to visit. Right now I've got one rose blooming, but that one cheated and was a larger mail ordered plant new this year. I'm very excited about my gallica which should be blooming for the first time this year. It's covered in buds and I can't wait to see it.

Oh, I know what you mean! I check my garden every single day when I get home from work. My irises are opening up now. I have over 50 peonies, 30 roses, 50 clematis and tons of perennials. I can't wait to see everything pop!

It's an exciting time of year. I was explaining this to my son the other day when he came in and told me he'd accidentally run over part of my garden with his truck. "Only one rose," he said. What???

The "one rose" turned out to be one cane of a rugosa, Dart's Dash. Not too awful. But then I saw the flattened, broken irises. I was not a happy camper. So I told him about the anticipation I experience every year at this time, how I watch the rosebuds, and how I couldn't wait to see what those irises, purchased last year, were going to look like.

"This one looks like it would have been yellow," he said, picking up a stalk. I could see the humor in this scene the next morning. But at the time I took the stalk from him, cut off the bottom half, and put it in a vase in the kitchen. He'll be happy to know it looks like it might actually bloom.

I know EXACTLY what you mean. I do roll call this a.m. to see who is blooming and then I tuck them in at night. I just love looking at their sweet pretty faces.

After surving 6 months of dreary cold northern winter, we have to cram every minute of gardening into just a few short months. I love summer!

Oh, poor alisande and poor alisande's son! :o( I am sure he felt terrible. How old is he? Glad the dmagae ws minimal, but I probably would have cried...

bellarosa, your garden sounds like a delight! I still have SO MUCH work and rehab to do here...but the roses seem like they will provide some inspiration to keep working and planning. Do you have photos posted of your garden?

athena, I had a "cheater plant' too, a potted Oklahoma that surely came from a warmer clime. I had four HUGE blooms. The plant has just now finally strted to put on more growth since transplanting.

My (RdR?) under the tree had a few sparse blooms on it last year, it was a surprise to find it last Spring! But this year I cleared the rocks off her toes, watered her thoroughly, and fed her some "Good Morning, Roses!" She is absolutely COVERED in buds, now!

Actually, it just gets worse. After they start to bloom, you start losing whole hours. You peek out the window first thing in the morning and suddenly you are late for work. You tour the garden when you get home in the evening and before you know it it's long past dinner time.

Oh great, catsrose, just great! *rolleyes* When we had a marvelous big colt born on our place in '02 people said, "Gosh, foals are such time-wasters! You'll spend all your time leaning on the fence watching that baby." I was SURE I had more self-control than that. R-i-i-i-gh-t!

terryjean, somehow I missed your post! Yes, a few short months. That didn't really hit home with me until I fully realized that some lucky-ducks are getting rose blooms nearly YEAR-ROUND! :o

And yes, what a long winter it was this year...then hardly a Spring worth mentioning before the blazing heat comes roaring in. And what is UP with the forecasted TEN days of storms and scattered showers???

Gee, I think I am losing my "high." :o(

Greenhaven, he's 29. And I don't know how I'd manage this house and property if he didn't come over often to help. He asked more than once, "Are you going to cry?" :-)

Like I said, I'm glad I can see the humor in the situation now.

I feel sorry for the kids not being able to play basketball anywhere in the vicinity of 'my' garden...

I have a list of every rose I grow... everyday I go out and see what has opened, then I come in and mark the date on the list... it's funny how the same rose will bloom within a couple of days of when it bloomed last year...

Up until the very first rose opened, I was pretty bummed... I mean tulips and daffodils and phlox are ok and all, hyacinths smell great, but they just aren't the same as the roses...

Now the iris and daylilies are starting and I just practically ignore them in my eagerness to check out the roses...

I cut roses to bring inside today and I can't walk by the kitchen counter without sticking my face into them...

Today I got to see a bloom that I have been waiting to see for FOUR years.... it FINALLY bloomed! It's name is Mecéne and the smell was well worth the wait!

I can't wait to see who opens tomorrow :)

Somewhere in my garden, lies a whiffle ball. I may find it weeding. If not, it will probably show up in the fall, after everything dies down. The roses near the driveway were selected for their ability to stand up to basketballs, and the younger basketball players are, um, adverse to go into the beds after them. Too many years of dealing with plants that bite.

At this point, we've had roses for about a month. The first ones get all the attention. Pictures, visits, oohs and aahs. By next week, it will be 'oh we have more roses'. There are things out there I've taken absolutely no pictures of. Some don't produce. Some are just very, very difficult to photograph.

The first ones get all the attention. Pictures, visits, oohs and aahs. By next week, it will be 'oh we have more roses'.

Kinda like parents and baby books. The first child's baby book is stuffed with photos and notes. First smile! First solid food! First steps! First temper tantrum!! The third baby's book is practically pristine. :-)

lol, alisande that is exactly what I was thinking! :o)

decobug, I was beginning to have my own guilt trip when my boy2 was trying to practice his soccer drills in the backyard and I kept hollering at him to keep away from the plants. Then he blasted the ball over the fence into the neighbors metal shed and I said "That's enough!" We are fortunate to be a two-minute walk to a park full of basketball hoops, volleyball nets and soccer goals. No reason to be tearing up my stuff and the neighbors!

I understand completely. There is nothing much better than the first blooms. Then the explosion of color comes and you are taken away. Enjoy them.

Carla