Winters coming, followed by Arlene Francis!

Soaring Flight

And in advance of it's onset I've been spending a lot of time in the garden cleaning up leaves from this season and prepping for spring. Last year at this time I was widening flower beds and adding hostas, the previous year I'd ripped out the front lawn and replaced it with a bed of bulbs and vinca.

Darlow's Enigma

The current project is to add more roses. I inherited a few roses form the previous owner when I purchased the house. Of unknown origin and some being in very tricky places for roses to grow, I'm wondering if more than a few had been self seeders. In any event, this time I am doing it right. I've been mapping the garden and picking prime locations. I've prepped all the beds for next spring, spading, loosening and enriching with manure and fertilizer. However, the most fun has been been pouring over rose catalogs with the avidness of a teenage boy and a newly discovered porn stash.

Alchemist

Celebrating the new job and FINALLY being able to refinance I'm allowing myself to splurge . As of last count we're talking 17 rose bushes, mostly antique varieties. The biggest find was tracking down a grower who still offered the Arlene Francis Rose in stock. Bred by Eugene S. 'Gene" Bourner in 1957 and named after the lovely Arlene herself. Alas, is no longer a popular selling variety but you can still acquire one by requesting a cultivated bare root.

Arlene Francis

Arlene Francis

It's long been the holy grail of roses for me, mostly for sentimental reasons. My Aunt's Mary & Connie, who had introduced me to the joys of gardening had grown yellow roses, as well as introducing me to Arlene Francis through our nightly viewing of What's my Line?


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