There were no roses today––only hyacinths and a few daffodils. I have worked on my spring flowerbeds. I found my white rose bush in the back flowerbeds, my luscious yellow rose bush, and the red/black velvet––a very old bush planted before I moved to the farm 21 years ago––have all died. I will miss them.
I made a trip to town and bought five new rose bushes and my husband helped me dig deep holes for them. The packages were wired shut; the roots tightly wrapped in soil and mulch, then in paper and in the plastic. I cut the wires and stripped away the plastic bags.
I unwrapped a red garden rose, and after adding some potting soil I spread the roots in the holes. Next I set a white tea rose, and pushed the soil in around the thorny stem, resting the graft at the holes level. Then I planted a climbing pink rose, a bushy pink and white mixed rose, and a yellow rose.
I am so looking forward to the growth of stems, leaves, and blooms these roses will add to those lifeless looking plants. I can hardly wait for the warm summer morning, the roasting noontides, the sultry still late afternoons, and the nights of summer that are coming. These bushes will grow fast and soon I will have bouquets to fill my vases inside.
I wonder sometimes who planted the red roses that were here when I moved in. Someday another woman may cut a bouquet for her dinner table and wonder about me.
Share your love about spring and a bit of encouragement with your child’s or grandchild’s teacher. Purchase my pocket-sized book. The Heart of Spring Prayers for Teachers
Read encouraging short stories about life in my home . Read What’s Good About Home!
What’s Good About Home! 
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