I have noticed that working (or playing, as I call it) in the garden elevates my mood, and creates a "good" tiredness which leads to wonderful sleep at night. I love your excuse - excused from working in order to prune roses! What could be better?

Jackie

I am sorry you've had to go through all this, but I know you will bounce back and feel soo much better because of those surgeries. You have a great attitude, too, and seem to be doing everything right. My best gardening friend--actually, friend since the second grade, and 69 years old, is huge gardener with arthritis problems, too. She scheduled her total hip replacement in mid October. Sure, there were some chores that got neglected, but it was so much better than May. Anyway, she's doing beautifully and doesn't regret the surgery at all, and I'm sure you will feel the same.
When you say, pruning 750 roses at a "leisurely pace" my mind boggles. You are superwoman! It would take me a decade to do that after surgery. I so admire all that you accomplish, and I was missing your great photos and posts, so I'm very glad you are back. Happy pruning! Diane

Wishing you a very speedy and full recovery!

I have arranged trips around my roses. I never travel in early April when the roses have to come out of winter storage and the spring pruning should happen (we'll see weather permitting this year). June is rose show month so I don't travel then either. If you want me to come visit you'd better make it July or August when the roses are pretty much on auto pilot, lol!

I'm actually having to have a surgery now. I go see the surgeon Tuesday to set up everything, and he better can do it now or it'll be October before he'll be able to cut on me...maybe August. So I entirely know how you feel. I even cancelled a surgery before, because it was to close to spring! Hope everything goes well with your surgery!

Cynthia, I'm tempted to call you superwoman. I don't know how you can keep all those balls up in the air and care for 750 roses at the same time. I salute you. I wish you all the best with your surgery. Everyone I know who's had it has said they wish they'd done it sooner.

I thought I'd need surgery on both my shoulders but my wonderful specialist gave me cortisone shots that were so effective that I can now sleep at night and move relatively free of pain during the day. I hope it lasts.

My garden is really my greatest passion. I only work two days a week now so there's plenty of time for me to spend in the garden, but the surrounding natural beauty of the hills and valleys captivates me just as much, and is a vital extension of the garden. I don't arrange my life around my garden; it's just naturally a large and integral part of my life every single day. I've despaired at times, have almost given up, and have often turned my eyes away from it during the endless days of summer. However, it's always drawn me back in again, with renewed hopes, projects and ideas. I can't wait for spring.

Cynthia, best wishes for a quick recovery - though no recovery is quick. Give yourself the time to heal, then you will be strong again and not have problems. I just rescheduled hand surgery for the heat of the summer. Small tumor pressing on some nerves, but after having a knee surgery 2010 when I thought I would be out 6 weeks, it was 5 months on a walker. NEVER again. Learned to write with left hand, so will just get this done when all I have to do is hold a water hose in the left hand. NOT ruining another glorious spring! If it were an emergency, would just have to do it, but its not. Got several projects that I am planning and have no intention of being infirm! At the rate winter is dragging it out.....we may not see the sun again until June............Judith

I, too, hope your recovery goes by quicker than you know it!

I have toes on both feet that were supposed to be bone-grafted years and years ago, but I'm putting that off until they get really painful, lol. When I get a foot done (they have to be one at a time), it will definitely be in winter. No doubt about it at all! Then at least till the next winter for the other one :D

HA, like I ever have a day in the spring, summer or fall when I don't look like some rabid cat has attacked my legs and arms.

- that's hysterical!! We're all like that.

--------------

I think you're wonderfully wise in scheduling time around gardening - that way gardening will buoy up your spirits while recuperating.

Sounds like everyone here is having health problems. Wishing everyone health and wellness.

Carol

Wow...you sure are a busy lady! I agree with you 100%! I need a new hip and will wait until Aug or Sept when the garden is quiet here. I worry a little how I will get everything done this spring, but I will. Just a little slower than usual. Wishing you a speedy recovery. You`ll enjoy some time off to enjoy your garden while you re-hab and be much better off after surgery. Best of Luck. Lesley

Cynthia, if only there is a button for "Admire" on houzz! You are an amazing lady. And the photos of your gardens of roses and clematis is just pure gazing pleasure. I don't how many times I have gone back to that thread to look at them. Good luck with your surgery.

Best wishes for a quick recovery!

Thanks for your kind remarks everyone and wishes for recovery. I appreciate your encouragement and support! I have been very pleased with my progress in both surgeries. The shoulder is back to 95% with just a little range of motion to get back, which apparently impressed my surgeon as it's well ahead of the usual schedule. All that good muscle tone from hauling garden debris and stretching to reach wayward roses has clearly paid off. I'm really grateful for that use of my shoulder, since I rely on it to get into and out of sitting positions now after the hip surgery. Even four days out of surgery, I'm already standing and sitting fairly easily and navigating my house without much problem.

Lesley (and Diane's friend) - the best advice I can give you as you work up to your hip replacement is to keep moving within reason - the two best forms of exercise to counteract arthritis are apparently light weightlifting and (ahem, drumroll...) gardening! Think of it - all that squatting and stretching and weight shifting we do all the time? The better you can move before the surgery, the easier the recovery. At the same time, listen to your body and the doctors! If it hurts or feels wrong don't do it, and follow the doctor's instructions. There are some horror stories going around my YMCA of a member who had his hip replaced and felt so good he cleaned his garage the next day, mowed the lawn, and other foolishness. He ended up getting the hip infected, needing a second surgery, and totally complicating his life. There's a reason I'm unapologetically propped up in my recliner and making my preteen kids do the household chores ("you'll thank me later, kids").

Boy, we do have quite a collection of injuries and ailments affecting our GW family! Alana, I hope your doctor can fit you in now to get past the problems so that you can enjoy spring! As Jackie and Carol said, there is something inherently healing about being out in the garden and "playing" with our roses. Meredith, a bone graft on toes sounds daunting and complex, though I'm glad you've been able to manage long enough to schedule surgery in winter when it's more feasible - I don't think we fully appreciate how much we rely on our toes for walking and standing until they cause us problems. Judith, I totally sympathize on waiting for non-emergency surgery until you don't need use of that hand - we'll all be thinking of you and Meredith and Alana and hoping for a speedy recovery as well. In terms of your knee surgery, I totally sympathize. In my hip/knee prep class, I learned that knees are much trickier surgeries than hips because of the structure and pressure on those joints, and the rehab is much longer and more painful. Glad to hear you're back to speed as far as the knee goes!

Ingrid, it's fantastic that you've been able to relieve pain without surgery on your shoulders! I remember you talking about how debilitating those shoulders were, and as gardeners we rely on our shoulders more than we realize for everything you do. Of course your garden and landscape is an inspiration to you, since it clearly is to all of us as well, in your lovely photos and stories of gardening. Here's hoping for decent rainfall into the growing season in California.

Ken, I can relate about picking your house with the garden in mind. When we were planning to move in town about 8 years ago, a friend suggested we look at their house they were selling in a nice part of town. I mentioned how important gardening was to me and she said, "Me too - I have a well-established garden". I drove by and her garden was no bigger than my couch. Clearly we had different ideas of what we were looking for in a garden.

Sharon, I agree with you on travel. There isn't a trip we've made in the last 10 years that was even considered in April or May, which is prime rose planting season. Even an extended family gathering in mid-June last year was pushing it a bit, but it was a unique situation. Besides in Kansas, July/August is the right time to head to the mountains and escape the heat.

Karen, you're very sweet to enjoy my garden photos and posts - that's one of many factors that make GW the go-to place for enjoying rose chatter. And really folks - Diane & Ingrid included - you forget when I'm talking about pruning 750 roses, this is zone 5 and I'm a zone pusher with lots of hybrid teas. Pruning an HT can take as little as 30 seconds - "is there any surviving cane?" "nope" - lop off entire blackened rose bush an inch or two above soil line. The Austins can get a little tricky, as they have canker that's not visible that needs several cuts to get to clear cane. Huge twiggy roses like Darlow's Enigma tend to not get pruned at all in spring - partly because he laughs off the winter, and partly because trimming off those pesky little dead twig ends is easier when the leaves are fully emerged. At a pinch, I can get all the roses spring pruned in three fairly packed weekends, but this spring I get to do a few hours a day and to me in spring, that's leisurely.

Stay healthy and thanks again for the support!

Cynthia

Cynthia - may I also offer my best wishes for speedy rehab and recovery? I, too, am facing elective surgeries (total knee replacement) and I have been mulling over when to schedule so that it least interferes with the garden. Glad to hear I am not alone in thinking this way, LOL! I'm leaning towards waiting for autumn for the first knee so that I can have the second done (if all goes well) sometime next winter and still be somewhat back in action for late spring of 2016. (I'd forgotten about the no scratches pre-surgery part; that might be tricky before the early autumn surgery, eh?) I surely wish I could get both knees done at once, but living alone as I do I fear that would be impossible.
Well, congrats on managing your events so well and I wish you an enjoyable and "leisurely" pruning time this year!
Anne

May I also extend my best wishes to all who need surgery. Don't often comment on a tread such as this. Just feels as if it's more for those who know each other. Ah, what the heck I've been reading here for so long I feel as if I know you all. Should surgery ever be needed here it better be able to wait for early winter.

I also have arthritis. Had a fleeting thought here is are gardening great exercise or are we wearing our joints down to a frazzle. Seriously thou I would think most gardeners are not folks that enjoy sitting much. I shall garden as long as I'm still breathing. If the time comes I need a scooter than so be it. Will just need a few more paths and heavy duty tires. Speedy recovery everyone!

Had to be on a walker for 5 months in 2010 in March from knee surgery, what worse time! I was so frustrated I bought a golf cart to get around on. Best thing I ever did! I am totally well now, but use that cart every day and it is just wonderful to haul all sorts of gardening related things! Before, I refused to get one because I thought they were only for lazy people. That was a big plus that came from being down so long! I guess if we all live long enough, a bit of surgery or illness is to be expected. The main thing is to give body time to heal, keep a good attitude and know the time will come when you can get back in the garden again! Good luck to everyone taking some down time. Judith

Anne - sympathies on the knee replacements and I think it's a wise move to do one at a time. In zone 5, you can get away without much garden care from certainly September on, and given Judith's input as well as several other folks I know, 5 months is something to plan on for full recovery. That would put you into January for doing the other knee, with spring pruning in April/May probably feasible on that schedule, all else going well. At least in my case, I was dreading the time off and rehab, but it's better on the way back up after the surgery even if it's an extended time.

I love the idea of the golf cart, and we've had a precedent for GW members gardening long-term from that kind of cart as well. Karl Bapst Rosenut did all his rather extensive rose care from a cart after he had a stroke, and that's using mostly one arm as well. We love our gardens, but we also need to love our bodies and do what they need, and not hesitate to look "lazy" if it's the best thing for our recovery. We all work hard enough in the gardens to deserve a break if we need them.

Patty, it's lovely to have you chime in, and this kind of discussion is exactly what GW is for. If it were only the same old fogies putting in their comments about various things, how boring would that be? Feel free to step into any discussion that interests you, and that way we'll "know" you as well as you "know" us. And do keep gardening - everything I read in arthritis research and magazines says we're not wearing our joints out but actually making them healthier the more we move. Yay - more doctor's orders to keep gardening (woo hoo).

Thanks again for the encouragement, for me as well as the other posters facing surgeries.

Cynthia

Thank you for nice comment, Cynthia. I almost never mention my arthritis. Would rather just deal with it. I forget that mine is the kind that grows calcium deposits when I use them. I've been on the darn computer too much this month. My knuckles are growing!!!! Still love the peace that gardening brings and always will.

Once again I hope that all of you are doing well.

Nippstress, I can't imagine pruning 750 rose bushes! You could do a good pruning advice video (something to think about during your down time). I am glad all is going well for you.

I do think that our rose gardening makes us strong physically, emotionally, and spiritually. All of these shared experiences back this up. Wishing everyone many blooms for 2015!

This cracks me up. Not only is your life filled with roses, you want to talk about your life being filled with roses -- and now, I am talking about you talking about your life being filled with roses. . .of course, I do not stand in judgment whatsoever. I have chosen a life focused on roses as well. Have tried to find a Roseaholics Anonymous -- to no avail!

Ah, Patty - thanks for clarifying, though I wish your arthritis weren't the tricky kind that leaves deposits. Still, I expect that some motion is better than none on your joints, and gardening is definitely good for the spirit regardless. Life's always about a balance, isn't it?

Ha, Kentucky rose - I appreciate the encouragement to do a video or something, but I'm very glad Paul Zimmerman has done such terrific ones since I'd never really make the time. One thing I'm planning for this week is to work on getting my kids' baby pictures actually into albums. That doesn't sound too bad, but I have 12-year-old twins. Can we say procrastination? Well, at least I can rope them into helping, and they might enjoy it.

That's a hoot, cjrosaphile. I expect I'm even worse since I'm on my fourth posting in this thread. That means I'm talking about you talking about me talking about me talking about you talking about me talking about roses (I've probably missed a few). Regardless, that's what GW does for us - no one on this forum thinks endless talking about roses is weird at all!

Cynthia