High Winds from our March Lamb

It is mid-March a few days after the vernal equinox. The winds were howling again. Really‽ The March Lion is back putting forth another night of low temperatures and freezing wind chills‽ But, no, not tonight. Tonight is different. Tonight the temperatures are in the low 60s. The March Lamb’s bleating may have sounded bad, but it really wasn’t. And, before dawn the bleating subsided and classic Chamber of Commerce weather with temperatures in the low 70s were at hand. For the next few days, the March Lamb set forth this fabulous weather by day and cooler nighttime temperatures in the 40s by night. What a far cry from what the March Lion gave us a few weeks ago.

Checking out the roses on a warm early spring day

The same day that the March Lamb’s winds died down, I was outside looking things over in the garden. I always am curious as to what survived the winter, was green, and looking good – as well as, what was black, dying, and was not going to survive. Of course my seedlings are one of my first priorities, and I am happy that they looked green and ready to burst out as soon as the warm weather sets in for the season.

Testing my first year seedlings

Many of my first year seedlings are planted in a special “test bed” that I made for a 1934 Dodge pickup cab that I have as a semi-permanent lawn ornament. I purposely leave my seedlings unprotected in the bed to expose them to the worst that Mother Nature can throw at them. We’ll see if they continue putting forth this new growth and have lots of blooms as the season progresses. I have faith that many will pass this test and graduate to become in-ground additions to the garden.

Things are looking good

As I walk through the garden, I don’t see any roses that didn’t make it through the winter, but I know it’s definitely too early to tell. (Plus there are quite a few roses buried in the pen that I haven’t even thought of looking at). There are still many battles with Mother Nature that need to be won by our March Lamb before we’ll know for sure if they made it or not. I’ll be waiting to uncover the roses and prune them until after the forsythia blooms mid-April. Until then, we wait.

My first flowers of the season

One of my favorite early bloomers in the garden, the crocus, decided it was time to be in full bloom last week. The crocus seemed to appear almost overnight, and was quite a pleasant sight to see. After a few days, they started dropping their petals, but by then, the hyacinths were already setting buds and opening their petals. That’s it, March Lamb!

Our annual Yankee District Convention auction that never was

This is the time of year that we meet for our annual Yankee District Convention. I usually buy roses to plant in my garden at the convention at the auction on Saturday night. However, since the convention was postponed until next year and I’m still behind on my planting, I have passed on getting a lot of new roses this year. Instead, I decided to purchase four roses at the Connecticut Rose Society fundraiser. Three roses I chose were to replace ones were lost years ago, and I wanted to try again. The fourth rose is one I have never grown before. The roses I chose were Veterans’ Honor, Cape Diamond, Day Breaker, and Distant Drums.

Veterans’ Honor

Veterans’ Honor is a dark red Hybrid Tea that has great exhibition form. It is a frequent visitor to many courts of honor in the rose shows. It was hybridized by Dr. Keith W. Zary, former hybridizer at Jackson and Perkins. My wife and I loved the plant that we had many years ago, but unfortunately the voles heavily damaged it one winter, and it was lost. This is the first time that I have seized upon the opportunity to grow it again. I’m looking forward to its return.

Cape Diamond

Cape Diamond is a medium pink Hybrid Kordesii that is extremely hardy (zone 3) and healthy. It was hybridized by Christian Bedard from Weeks Roses. I first heard about Cape Diamond from a fellow rosarian who couldn’t say enough good things about it. He even gave me the plant that I had to leave my old house. Cape Diamond is fully sustainable here in Rhode Island, and there are a couple of plants at the Roger Williams Park Victorian Rose Garden that have survived many years without spraying for pesticides. These same roses were also left without any supplemental water for quite a few years and thrived in spite of the neglect. These plants are some 8’ high and wide. Hopefully, my new plant of Cape Diamond will do as well as the ones growing at the Park.

Day Breaker

Day Breaker is an apricot blend floribunda that is very healthy and floriferous. It was bred by Gareth Fryer back in 2003. I am a sucker for orange and yellow roses, and Day Breaker nails my color preference perfectly by smushing the two colors together in one flower. My old plant was one that I “won” at one of our Rhode Island Rose Society raffles, where unwanted plants were given new homes. It did extremely well at my old house, and unfortunately, I had to leave my plant of Day Breaker there. I miss it very much, and hopefully, this new plant will do just as well here at my new home.

Distant Drums

Distant Drums is a mauve shrub rose bred by Dr. Griffith J. Buck. It was sold to members of the Rhode Island Rose Society as a fundraiser many years ago, and it seemed as though everyone in the Society had one but me. I joined right after they had distributed the plants but before they had it as a special class in their rose show.

Distant Drums is something that I have not personally grown before, but I did take care of a plant of it (or two) at the Roger Williams Park Victorian Rose Garden a few years ago, when I was the Garden Chair of the Rhode Island Rose Society. Distant Drums was one of the “survivors” in the no spray/no water environment there. I figure that if it can survive with zero maintenance for the many years that it did, it should do well in my garden as well.

I also have a special place in my heart for roses hybridized by Dr. Buck, and I have noted that Distant Drums frequently tops other peoples’ lists of the best Buck roses. It also has a color that varies in different growing conditions, and is hard to explain. This adds a certain mystery and mystique to it, and I just love mysterious roses.

A Special Anniversary

Today marks the 31st anniversary of my bond in matrimony to my wife. We are a team that keeps getting stronger the longer we are together. We have two great children together, and we are looking forward to next year when our family expands with the addition of a son-in-law. I can’t think of anyone that I’d rather be with these past three decades (plus one).

It was my wife and her love of roses that started my journey in roses. And, what a journey it has been! I could not have done as much as I am doing in the world of roses, if it wasn’t for my wife’s support all of these years. While she doesn’t have quite the same passion that I have towards the rose, she does love roses and advises me on where she wants the roses. She isn’t afraid to tell me which roses she likes, and which ones she doesn’t. I love you very much, and here’s to many more anniversaries together still to come.

The Lamb ushering out March

Well, that March Lamb has done it again. Temperatures reached the 60s today, and there were beautiful skies with the sun shining on my way to work. That April Fool is going to spoil things in the next few days as he drops the temperatures back below freezing and rains on our parade. Boo! Not now, Fool! We want those warm sunny days that the March Lamb gave us. Keep your foolish cold and rainy weather to yourself!

Epilogue

Originally, I composed this story on my blue Osmiroid pen that I use daily. I composed the story on a small writing pad on a rainy Saturday morning at our local greenhouse. I was there because the greenhouse was closing and having an auction. My son, wife, and I were there to see if there was anything in the auction that we could use, and we had a great time being there together.

As I watched the auction unfold, I could see the many people that were taking advantage of the very low ending bids that were being attained. It’s sad how some people’s lifelong ambitions, dreams, and hard work are sometimes boiled down to situations such as this. I know that this greenhouse’s closing is only one of the many business closings in a very long list from this past year. May we be able to get our economy back to where it once was, and get peoples’ dreams back on track.

It is sad that the greenhouse is no longer going to be supporting the community. However, the people who ran the greenhouse are going to be continuing to serve the community through another business venture that does not involve retail. They seem excited about their new business. I wish them well in their new ventures. I thank them for all that they have done/continue to do for our great little community.