Yesterday, some winter weather arrived here in Connecticut.

There was some spotty snow and in some areas, two to three inches coated the ground. But the real adventure was going to bed last night with the anticipation of a big blizzard setting up just off shore.

This was to be a real biggie! Snowfall up to 30 inches, wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour. Our governor closed the highways at 9 p.m. and the whole state was to be closed the next day. How rich is that? No one on the roads, everyone home, warm and safe… my husband and I love weather events like this.

Well, long story short, the storm set itself up about a hundred miles east of where the meteorologists expected. It was windy but nothing near 65 mph, and the storm ended about 12 hours early. So what? It is still beautiful, we got about 18 inches of snow here which has been drifting around all day long, my husband is thrilled to be out blowing it off the driveway and sidewalk, and I know that my sleeping roses are ecstatic with their new, white blanket.

Snow is a wonderful insulator for our rose bushes. January cold is in place, and it looks like the white stuff will be around for awhile. It’s been a couple of months since I’ve done any gardening, but I’m always thinking about it! So, how does one rosarian make it through the winter while her roses are nodded out for the next few weeks?

Here are some things to keep rosarians busy in their spare time.

Reflect on Last Year’s Garden

First, go through all your pictures that you took in the garden last summer. You can see how your garden looked, and now is the time to decide whether or not you may wish to move some of your plants to different locations. You may wish to discard some plants that didn’t perform as you hoped they would.

Enjoy Your Rose Catalogs this Winter

The second thing you will want to do is to go through the rose catalogs that have arrived at your door! You can also go online and look up rose companies, but I prefer the catalog in my hands so I can linger over the colors and descriptions.

Look up Edmund’s Roses, Jackson and Perkins Roses, Heirloom Roses… or just Google roses for retail sale. Most of these companies publish catalogs and will be happy to send you one on request. Some will charge a fee that is refundable with your purchase. I have been victim of falling in love with rose pictures my whole life, and I am seldom disappointed with a new rose…and the anticipation of the first bloom is mighty!

Discover New Rose Varieties

Jackson and Perkins is introducing a new rose this year called Pure Posh. I know this rose well as it was in the All-America Rose Selection Test Gardens at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT while I was rosarian and AARS Test Judge there. If you love very fragrant lavender roses on very long stems, this is the rose for you. It displays really decent disease resistance and the rose has just gorgeous exhibition form. I have been waiting for years for this rose to be introduced and this is the year! Another really beautiful new introduction from J&P is Beautiful Dreamer. I met this rose years ago in the test gardens, too, and I know it to be very floriforous and worth planting in the garden. The only thing it’s missing is a heavy fragrance.

It takes many years of trials for a ‘new’ rose to be introduced. The hybridizers and rose developers want all of us to have quality plants for our gardens, and out of the thousands of roses that they create, only a few will reach us. Treat yourself to getting lost in these beautiful catalogs…and then, order some new cultivars. There’s always room for a few more beautiful roses in MY gardens…

So, I’ll be dreaming with my roses for the next few weeks. Before long, I’ll be back in the garden with them, fertilizing away!