Prickly as a Rose
Garry bought me roses and they are still looking lovely on the table in the living room. While I was poking around, I found pictures of the last of my roses from this past October.
I was looking at them today as we were coming home from shopping. I realized that the rose bushes have gone into a full wrestling match in the garden. The barbed roses have wound themselves around the rhododendrons that have grown like crazy since I cut the roses back last year.
Tame roses from the florist
Home-grown barbed roses. These are the most merciless roses in the world …
I sat there, staring at them, and seriously wondering how in the world to untangle the two bushes. These aren’t little bushes, either. Both are more than six feet high and at least that or more across. I can feel the pain of thorns already and I haven’t even picked up the pruning shears. It’s going to be pointy, poky, thorny, bloody springtime!
Not only spiky squares. Jagged, barbed, bristly, serrated, prickly, spiny, and pointy whatever, but these are flowers. This time.
FOTD – 03/25/2019
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Categories: #Flowers, #Photography, Blackstone Valley, Cee's Photo Challenge, Flower of the day, square
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
I had a real struggle with multiple brambles last year. They went right through my gardening gloves. And they don’t look as good as roses either.
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And they have no scent, either.
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“The Bramble Bush” (’60/WB) Richard Burton, Barbara Rush.
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Roses are a challenge sometimes. We have three bushes that just keep on giving. They are mostly white, but some of them have pink petals. Occasionally, a red rose will appear. They just do their own thing.
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I tried letting them do their own thing. They were trying to EAT us!
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I spent time, deciding between red, white and pink. I went with red.
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The classic. You just can’t go wrong with a classic.
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As Lwbut says they will come back and they’ll be more vigorous too.
That’s the sacrifice we make for roses.
Leslie
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I did that last year and now they are EXTREMELY vigorous and completely entangled with a rhododendron. I do not know if I have the strength of character to do what needs doing.
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How about your son? That would make a nice Mother’s Day gift.
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Little late in the year to be pruning, but better late than never.
My advice: ‘borrow’ a pair of extending arm shears and cut low and from a distance – use a rake to pick up prunings and chop with shears if necessary. 🙂
They’ll come back!
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It’s EARLY here. Remember, up here, it’s early spring.
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Yup…. you just had a COOOLLD winter!
Pruning time down here is normally late June, start of July, before the cold of Winter. With the cooler climate i would think November would have been the best time to prune? 🙂
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Oh these are both so beautiful 😊 and what a treat to be brought roses. Oh my though that bush sounds terrifying, can you send in your rose giver instead?!
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That bush IS terrifying. These rose hedges were very popular in old England to protect property. If you ever tried to fight your way through one, you’d understand how daunting they are. They grow like mad and send out HEAVILY thorned branches in every direction. They are very pretty in season and they bloom from June through October, but cutting them back is bloody.
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Amazing! I’ve never heard of them being used this way, do you recall where you came across the citation as intrigued to find out more.
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