I have an herb and flower garden going in on the gravel side of the driveway... but I've long wanted roses on the rock side. In particular, I want a rainbow of roses... purple at the top, red at the bottom, and a favorite variety of every color I can find in between. I have my purple (still picking between Guy and Mitch for the name, as Singin' the Blues is the variety, and Guy Mitchell sang the song), and I have a lighter pink, though she needs some love. She's nothing fancy, just a very basic pink rose, I can't even remember the name of the variety (hopefully the little metal tag is still there), but I love her anyhow. This was an idea I'd thought of nearly a decade ago, but I had a neighbor who objected, so I abandoned the idea. That neighbor no longer lives at that house, so damn the torpedoes, I'm moving full speed (or maybe half speed) ahead!
I never thought I'd want roses. Only ever really knew the ones in the grocery store, and those get boring. But years ago, when we first moved to Bellingham, the old house we were renting had a huge rosebush out front that became my first clue that growing your own isn't as boring as the store ones. Then I won the pink one in the driveway at a raffle. It's not even a fancy one, but I love it. It needs better soil, which is why it still needs some love. (It's surviving, and even blooms every year, but it's not growing much.)
Topping it all of was when I fell in love with the Singin' the Blues variety... and then killed mine. I started the search for another, and along the way was introduced to more, fascinating varieties. And even better, my fabulous friend has been periodically showing me her roses as they wake up for the season, and I'm just loving them. She's got two in particular that I'm just in love with. They're beautiful, and they smell incredible! One dang near looks like it glows in the dark, and I'd bet good money that it looks even more impressive when the light of sunset hits it.
So, I'm revisiting the idea. One of the things I want to make sure of is that I plant something between them to help hid the base of the plants. I think that's about the only part I still don't like, the bare lower branches. I have a peony already planted in the spot, and some blueberries, I betcha I can make this work out nicely.
Another thing to think about is the actual spot to plant. The area is a sharp drop to the neighbor's driveway. It's covered in plastic landscape material, and then covered with rocks. I tried before just cutting through the material to plant, but I have learned that the soil beneath is just not worth it, and may be risking heavy erosion by cutting the plastic. So I think I'll have to build some sort of planters. But I'll want to make sure they're anchored safely... I wouldn't want some sort of washout to take them to the bottom of that drop. I even wonder if there is something I can do with the big pile of river rock I'd snagged from another neighbor when she redid her yard! That would be cool...
So I'm back to learning about the different categories of roses, and trying to pick favorites. I'm mostly searching online, but hope to take field trips to see and smell them in person before actually buying them. I'm also hoping to successfully learn how to root cuttings, 'cause I'm totally wanting to steal a stick or two from the ones my friend has. 😋 I've come to the conclusion that if I fall in love with too many of any color, there's room in the backyard for more. Hahaha! Especially along the wall along the west side of the house. Maybe even to the east side! It may or may not actually happen in the long run, and it may take me a couple/few years like usual, but I'm excited to be inspired again.
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