The weather was fabulous!! Blue sky and wispy clouds, though the temperature on Friday was a bit warm in the afternoon.
Though it's a ton of work, I love taking the roses on the road like this, because I get to meet and talk to many more people than I can when I'm open here on the weekends. Folks I met ranged from experienced rosarians to complete beginners. You all KNOW how much I love roses, and I love TALKING about roses almost as much.
The photos of me in this post were taken by my friend Jim, who volunteers at the garden. He snuck around like some sort of photo sniper, snapping photos without my knowledge. Jim is such a darling ... there's no way I could be anything but delighted by the attention.
All of the pots on the tables are primped and staked, and alphabetized so I can find them easily. I made sheets of photos and descriptions and hung them clothesline-style, to show customers what the flowers look like, and to help them decide.
When people are shopping here at the nursery, they can walk the garden to see the mature-size roses. Few people are really familiar with old garden roses, so visual aids are a great help. On Saturday, I brought a vase of roses with me, cut from the garden that morning, so everyone could see the flowers in person and experience the FRAGRANCE.
As you can see, I am NOT a gifted flower arranger. It didn't matter, because I was taking this arrangement apart all day, handing roses to people to smell. In the vase in this photo, I see Felicia, Maggie, Rose de Rescht, Angel's Camp Tea, Madame Caroline Testout, White Cap, and one yellow petal left on Zeus. (Hot and sunny conditions are not good for cut flowers.)
Jim liked how I hung my hat on a bungie cord while I set up on Friday morning. After everything was in place, I wore it the rest of the time ... the clear sunshine would have fried my fair skin in almost no time. (Sunblock is a totally essential part of my morning routine.)
In the end, I sold a few roses, answered TONS of rose care questions, held a few hands as customers made their choices ... and I was so glad to get home each day to get off my feet.
(written by Hartwood Roses. Hartwood Roses blog.)