“Has it stopped raining yet?” That’s the first question someone will ask on a rainy day. Most of us find rainy days depressing. But wait. Walk outside after the rain stops. Smell the sweet, damp, fertile earth. Enjoy the scent of lilacs and hyacinths in the air. Inhale the fragrance of spring rain.
What if you’re a big city apartment dweller? Ride your bike, walk, or drive your car to the nearest park, or college campus. This week, you might see magnolias in full bloom, or other flowering trees with pink and white blossoms. It’s a magical wonderland.
For me, spring is offering fresh hope for my rose garden. For two years now, i have planted rose bushes and seen them struggle for survival during the strange, hot dry summers we’ve endured. Five of them survived the winter, and I bought a dozen more at Rural King, employing the help of a young man to help me plant them.
After researching the care of roses on the internet, I discover I made some serious mistakes. I didn’t realize you’re supposed to soak the roots of the new bushes overnight before planting. Then, after digging an 18 inch hole, you’re supposed to fill the hole with water before planting each rose. Water, Water. I planted the poor things with dry roots, in dry soil, and thought I could spray them with the hose for awhile. That wasn’t giving them nearly enough water. But it got worse during the summer. I watered them every night over the top of the leaves, and several of them got infected with bugs, or rotted.
This year is going to be different. We got two inches of rain this morning and I’m already seeing new growth on my little rose canes. It’s supposed to rain off and on all week, so I won’t have to do a thing. And when the rain stops, I will water them at the bottom, no more than every four days.