And if I believed in such a thing, it was jinxed! I wrote a page on Kitchen gardens– which I hope to make into a series of two more pages and felt like making my own vegetable patch prettier this year. So I hilled up the broccoli beds a little more edged them with lettuces and started digging a straighter edge around the plot- which I will do something with- just not sure yet! Digging is always a little hard on me- I use my right leg, and it gets a bit overworked… but it was in weeding the side garden that I had the most trying time.
I attempted to put up some planters on the trellis. Sounds easy right? Not with mine, couldn’t figure out the hanger, then tripped when I stepped backwards (on the basket), slid -just barely breaking the fall, went inside to clean up the blood. Kept at things for about twenty more minutes before giving up, not having accomplished anything. Except sawing away a bit of the trellis (oops), I was getting nowhere and wasting lots of time doing it, so decided to move on. That’s when I started the actual weeding and came upon a load of poison ivy under the Thérèse Bugnet Rose. Being spring, the oils are very potent on the shiny leaves. I mashed it all over me, trying to pull it out. Normally I am not allergic to it, but I don’t want to test that too thoroughly, so I had to take a shower and wash my hair (yes, I pulled it all over me). Followed up with some trim mowing.
A word about the Thérèse Bugnet Rose. It is a very beautiful, hardy, fragrant, full blooming rugosa rose. That is a picture of it at the top of the post. Most years it is simply covered with roses of a very pretty bright lipstick pink which scent the air in garden with the most delicious sweet smell. It does have its faults, however. It spreads widely and takes over. I have started pulling it up just to keep it in line, but it pops up ever further from its allotted place. I noticed it was full of tiny pointed rosebuds, so I can’t bear to part with any until after it blooms…. then without mercy! And yes, this does mean it can prove invasive under the right circumstances.
I will take pictures this year- I’ve been a little better about that. I have some of my magnolia stellata that I just need to upload…
I loved the Therese when I had her but alas, I had to shovel prune her when she showed her dominating tendencies.