Greatly Increased Interest In Woody Perennials

The roses are coming back nicely from the damage inflicted by the July storms. Hail has a tendency to beat roses to flowerless and leafless stems.

However, just like Randall "Tex" Cobb, you can beat a rose but you can't knock it out - at least not the roses I've planted.

I now have eleven rose bushes growing in the flower beds in front of the house. They are all a hardy bunch of modern garden roses, such as the ever-popular hybrid teas Mr. Lincoln and Chrysler Imperial, as well as a few hybrid rugosas, which do well with little care - just prune the deadheads and stand back.

To date the roses I've planted have all been of the short and shrubbery type, as I have yet to find a climbing rose that is known to be able to withstand the cold of the Colorado winter - though I have read about some interesting Canadian hybrids that hold up in cold weather extremely well.

If I can find a good climber, I will plant it in the backyard, along the fence. It would be so much more appealing to look at than that old weather-beaten fence.

I planted roses simply because they are fairly easy to grow and care for, and they make great subjects for paintings - they don't move much, and they can be arranged however I want them.

Also, there is nothing quite like seeing the beauty of a rose bush in full bloom. Walking out to the car in the morning when I'm going to work and seeing the vibrant colors and smelling the fragrant aromas (especially of the hybrid musks), it is impossible not the drive off without a smile on my face.