One of the roses in that garden opened its first flower yesterday. This is 'Mrs. Robinson', a Floribunda from Cliff Orent in California. This rose has everything that I love most in roses ... single row of petals and colorful stamens. It's still a baby and it's kind of floppy right now. I hope it will stiffen up and grow more upright as it matures.
I have noticed that the new leaves on the ends of some of my long rose canes are being eaten by something, starting at the tip of the cane and working downward. A careful look at the underside of the leaves showed these little guys, Curly Rose Slugs. I don't use insecticides, and there really weren't enough of them in the garden to justify it anyway. I just spent a little time checking all of the roses that had damage, and I picked and flicked the little critters one by one.
I am leaving later this morning to go to my brother's house in SW Virginia to finish painting his kitchen cabinets. In preparation to be gone for a few days, I moved my potted roses to a central location to make it easier for The Husband to keep an eye on them for me. These little pots contain rooted cuttings from friends and rustling excursions. I think they will be big enough in the next month, to have some to sell at a fall open garden day/weekend in October. Stay tuned.
The big-leafed things up by the seat are figs ... They will definitely be for sale.
I have little appreciation for vinyl stick family decals ... but these, on a van parked beside me at the store yesterday, made me smile.
I have been thinking and thinking about how to pack and transport the doors and drawer fronts for my brother's kitchen so they don't get damaged on the trip. Yesterday morning, I had a brainstorm ... pack them in pillowcases! Now all of them are packaged and ready to load into the car.
Speaking of loading the car, I should hush now and get to it. Most things are gathered and ready to go, so it won't take long. I have no cell phone service where I'm going, and I don't know the status of Internet access, so I may be out of communication here till the middle of next week or so.
It's a beautiful day for a road trip!
(Happy "Random Five Friday", Everyone!)