After some forty plus years of marriage, I still get flowers…

Our yard is not a large one. Nevertheless, I have always tried to plant some plants that will serve as cut flowers. They vary from month to month. African blue basil, purple coneflower, rudbeckia are some of my favorites. I will use the plumes of lindheimer muhly and inland sea oats. Rain lilies, columbine, ground orchid and hardy amaryllis go into vases.

There are three rose bushes in our yard. Graham Thomas is a yellow, very fragrant English rose. Red Knockouts are my husband’s favorite, because they are so easy to take care of, and bloom almost the year round. And, there is an orange rose that I have no idea what it is. Last year, when it had reached almost 7 feet in height, we woke up one morning and found it reduced to eighteen-inch stubs. Our local beavers had decided they needed it for their home! They had also made a feast out of the knockouts.

This year all have recovered.

Each day as I go to the kitchen to prepare dinner I find a new rose in a small vase by the sink. It is a simple (and cheap) act that warms my heart.