Here we are in January already, and this is the total opposite from last winter! Last January brought us record snowfall and bitter weather. After our historic snowfall in late October, our winter weather has been barren. Meteorological winter begins December 1, and boy! Winter’s been a bust so far…average temperatures in the 40’s with a fair share of days in the 50’s and 60’s, too. This causes a few problems, as some weird things start to happen…like:
Daffodils are 4″ high, crocuses are up with buds exposed, lilac buds are swollen and bright green, I saw a forsythia in full bloom the third week of December…and…

My roses are growing! I have never seen fresh, green leaves in January before, but there they are. Not to worry, though…that’s why when I cut back, the canes are left better than 2′ high. Usually, when a rose cane sprouts, the top two buds will break first and start to grow. I am sure winter will arrive eventually, and when it does, this new growth will be lost. When I do my spring pruning, I will simply cut below that lost growth to an outward facing bud. Voila! It will all begin again.

What to Do in the Winter

Although there is really nothing to do in the garden this time of year, you can have roses to look at and enjoy all year. Pick yourself up a point-and-shoot camera, and take lots of pictures of your favorite blooms all summer long. The picture above is a rose called ‘Tuscan Sun,’and I shot that picture in June of 2010. I entered it in Connecticut Rose Society’s Calendar competition last February, and it won first prize, which means it is on the cover of this year’s calendar and it also graces the month of June. I am in the process of going through the pictures I took last summer to enter the calendar contest again next month.

Winter is a really great time to check out your local rose society and join up. There, you will find many new frendships and a plethora of information. Before I found my rose society, I thought I was the only rose freak out there, and I was so happy to find out that there are so many other people as passionate about roses as I am!

Rose Society

When you join your local rose society, you can get a trial membership from the American Rose Society for $10/four months. That will get you some nice benefits and two award winning ‘American Rose’ magazines which you will love. I was honored to be asked to write an article for the November/December Annual Issue. I have been a member for many years and I find new information in this publication every time I read it.

You can check on-line for roses to purchase, too…just google roses, and see what you come up with!

Enjoy a cozy fire, have some wine or some cocoa, and enjoy this restful season! My 2012 rose dreams have begun!