We had a wild and crazy week after Hurricane Irene, getting ready to leave for our annual two weeks at Cape Cod. Of course, there were lots of issues at the Park, including discovering a new disease to deal with (I’ll devote a whole blog entry to that). Long story short…I didn’t have time to clean up my own gardens before it was time for us to leave. We actually made out quite well here with the storm. It was downgraded to a tropical storm customary to seasons changing. We had some gusts up to 60 miles per hour, but the sustained winds were bearable. Aside from a few broken canes and leaves and petals on the ground, I figured the clean-up could wait until our return. I wasn’t worried about water while we were gone. At least ten inches came pouring down on the gardens and lawns.

I had heard from fellow rosarians that the Cape didn’t make out quite as well as we had. They were on the dry side of Irene, so they missed out on all the rain we had received. Thick, salt spray driven by heavy winds spelled suffering for all the foliage that was unprotected by dunes or structures that could block that salty wind. Leaves and pine needles alike were coated. Without forgiving showers to wash the salt away, everything became dessicated. Bob and I were amazed when we got there and saw all the damage. It looked more like late November than early September. Deciduous trees and conifers were totally burned on the windward side. As were dune grasses, annuals, perennials, and the famous wild Cape roses. All the leaves turned into brown potato-chip look alikes.

Outside of Cape Cod: Hurricane Seasons

While we are on the Cape, we rent a small cottage from old friends in North Truro. It’s about five miles outside of Provincetown. We are steps away from Cape Cod Bay and a short bike ride from Head of the Meadow Beach on the Atlantic. The wild Rugosa roses are everywhere. They are so hardy that they began to resprout very quickly after the storm had departed. The same with the cultivated roses we saw on our trips to P-town. I’ll bet that by now they have already set buds for their final flush! I’m sure the perennials will come back just fine next spring, and most of the trees will be all right as well. It’s amazing how a storm can cause such different kinds of damage in different places.

On our trek up over the dunes at Head of the Meadow, I spotted some beautiful beach roses that had been protected from Irene’s devastation. It always amazes me to see these beauties growing along in the sand. Their foliage is squeaky clean, and the blooms seem to be constructed of delicate tissue paper scented with strong, rose perfume…they look so fragile, but in fact they are really tough! Rugosa foliage is beautiful, too. It’s furrowed and minty green, and will leave a rosey scent on your fingers.

Roses

Beach roses keep me from getting too homesick for my gardens while I’m on vacation. We always have two or three blooms floating in a bowl on the table, and it always smells like roses in the little cottage.

Now that we’re home, I have a rose forest in my yard! All that water and unusually warm temperatures made all the roses jump in the last two weeks. Now that the Autumnal Equinox has passed, the shadows are lengthening again, and we’ve begun our passage into the quiet season.