A Compulsive Gardener

On Looking at a Rose

Answers and Questions on Plant Hybridizing

A Word With Marty: "ROSE"

Why I Love Growing Roses

A Lazyperson's Guide to Growing Good-Enough Roses

BeautEase Roses: a short-short story

Through Rose-Colored Glasses: A short-short story

On a Wildflower

Odd Man Out, Episode 9: Mite

Odd Man Out: Episode 8: "I Did it For the Family!"

Odd Man Out, Episode 7: Living On

A Rose's Life: A short-short story

The Lazy Person's Guide to Growing Roses

You’re attracted to growing roses because of the romantic image, the beautiful flower form or fragrance, or because your grandparent grew them.

The attraction to roses is understandable. In a world that's ever more high-tech, impersonal, and in which some people are ready to pounce if you say the "wrong" word, the peace of mind that can derive from a simple pleasure like rose growing can be appealing, especially now as we're at the year's best time to order and, in warm-winter climates, to plant roses.
But you’re much less attracted to the idea of fancy pruning, frequent feeding, let alone spraying with an arsenal that would have scared Saddam Hussein.

I'm not attracted to that either. I’ve read the frou-frou advice, even attended lectures by rosarians—Yes, that’s actually a term. I’ve even tried some of their methods and after having grown roses, over 200 in total, for 40 years now, I’ve concluded . . . Nah.

Yet I still have nice roses, maximum pleasure with minimal effort. My PsychologyToday.com article today tells how.

The Rose "Secret:" The Most Beautiful Thing I've Ever Cut from My Garden

I just cut this stem from my garden. It's the rose, Secret. It is beautiful and intensely fragrant but evanescent, which some say enhances its appeal. Click on the picture to enlarge it.