My new vase and some roses from my garden

Roses from my garden (they smell like sweet rose and lemon), white astrantia, and variegated pittosporum in my new vase from Tail of the Yak, Berkeley

I love the backs of these–the white petals with the green tips

Roses from my garden

for a friend’s birthday

A Thank You Bouquet for a Friend

Peonies, Graham Thomas garden roses, and wisteria leaves

My Favorite Arrangement from Last Week’s Celebration

Garden roses, peonies, white lilac, honey suckle.  By Bloomies.

More Spring Awakening

Spending the first evening of day light savings time gardening already payed off!  Or, more likely, last year’s efforts.  Here is an old, old, OLD, rose that I thought about taking out of the front garden because it was so sickly and dead, and because it produced strangely mottled-colored roses last year (that ranged from pale yellow to pale pink, not in a good way):

Look at all those buds!  I see seven just in this weird-angle shot.  In spite of the one mildewed trio of leaves I missed when I was pruning on Sunday, most of the foliage is the deep bright green of new growth.  The red tint is still there when the buds emerge, but the roses are a much more robust, healthy dark yellow than they have ever been.  And so many already!  I’m so excited the rose garden will be in bloom again soon.  Nothing is better than harvesting your own materials for casual posies around the home.