Roses.

I wanted to show off the definite high point of my day yesterday--I pulled out of the driveway and slammed on my brakes, because the roses at the bottom of the driveway are blooming!

This bed was, according to our neighbors, full of roses, until the previous owners (aka The Plant Haters) ripped out every bit of trees and shrubbery that they could manage in their two-months' time here. All that's left are these two tiny bushes, which I thought were one bush until yesterday, when I saw that one has pink roses and the other, yellow.


I was taken aback to see that two of the roses were past full bloom--and how had I missed it? The answer, I guess, was that we'd been gone for three days over the weekend, and I hadn't left the house Monday. And since roses don't bloom in Ohio until June, I wasn't even casting any glances at our little bushes yet. After three springs in Virginia, I'm still surprised by how soon things sprout and bloom here. So it was quite a surprise.
And a really delightful one...I love roses. I mean, I LOVE roses. Not the ones you get from the florist that don't have any smell, but "real" roses, on bushes, in gorgeous colors, with heavenly scents! The pink ones smell stronger than the yellow ones--and they are absolute heaven. But the yellow ones are nice, too. I have always wanted to grow roses, and to have these little gems coming up is like a gift.