This post has nothing to do with jewelry and everything to do with beauty and wonder. Since my mom passed away, I have wanted to take cuttings of her Cecile Brunner roses that grow along the white picket fence at my dad's house. I tried to grow some miniature roses from the local nursery years ago but aphids went crazy on them and I easily gave up.
Months ago I asked Dad for some cuttings which he put into plastic
baggies which my husband brought home to me....and I promptly killed.
At this point I was determined to learn more so I could be successful.
Eventually my stepmom dipped some cuttings into growth hormone and
nurtured them for several months until my next visit.
She
and I were overjoyed when we gently dug beneath the dirt's surface to
find roots. Out of the 6 cuttings, 3 took root. I asked her what
usually kills a plant...too much water or not enough. Too much, she
said. That's what I always felt was my most likely error.
Once
home, I would feel the soil just beneath the surface each day and was
surprised the plants needed water only a couple of times a week. 2
months ago I saw a teeny ball that would become this awesome, fragrant
rose. Just this single rose bloomed from the 3 cuttings that survived.
So
much emotion and anticipation came from watching this rose develop.
I'm kind of glad only one bloomed. It feels much more significant.
The least successful cutting produced only 4 leaves and then stopped growing. The leaves did not continue to grow, but they didn't die either. I cut the offshoots to hopefully freshen their growth.
Today as I was thinking, "now what do I do that this one rose bloomed" I thought I should check the other plants to see if I should cut them back to produce more growth. Surprise: the 4 leaved plant....has new leaves coming in! How about that.
Patience paid off. I've never been much of a gardener but am now enjoying becoming one. I even dared to plant seeds for sweet peas which are growing at an amazing rate. My Nona used to have sweetpeas and the color and fragrance always amazed me. How lovely to have flowers my mom and her mom used to grow. Ahhhhhhhh.
