Hello, friends!

I have been missing in action, but the last race to the finish line to graduate from my Masters in Business Administration, required a lot of time and effort. But thankfully, I can say that I am officially a graduate from an MBA Program! I am so excited. While this was happening, the garden (including the container garden) started blooming.

The season of roses has finally arrived! Always the most wonderful harbinger of summer. This season started early in the upper Midwest. And for me personally, even more so. Due to unseasonably warm weather, these roses came out of dormancy way too early. And because I overwinter them in an unheated garage through the winter, that meant the garage was also getting warmer. When that happens, you better prepare for what I call the spring dance: take them out when the weather is nice, bring them in when spring temperatures dip. Thank goodness they are on dollies with wheels for ease of transport. I’ve only had to move them in and out a couple of times this year— that is how unseasonably warm it has been.

The other good news story is that when came out of dormancy, they we healthy as a horse— always a welcome sight when you know the care you gave them in winter paid off. I only lost one rose, but that is something I have come to expect when overwintering roses. All of my roses are David Austin, and they are pretty resilient. This year I am branching out an trying a new brand of roses, Heirloom Roses. This is a company from Oregon that I was referred to through the DA group on Facebook. Anyhow, my main interest is because they sell roses that are hardy to zones 3-4. But I will talk about that in another post. For now, it suffices to say, I am really excited about those.

Now, the big issue is extreme hot temperatures. We are on week 2 of temperatures between 90-100F. And that is compounded by intense wind and no rain. Roses are labor intensive any given year, but these extreme conditions are requiring extra maintenance and effort. The sawflies larvae are out in full-force (I hate them) destroying leaves, so I keep an eye on those buggers. Also, the roses require more watering since they are in containers. And some roses have been moved to partially shaded areas to give them some respite. We need rain. Not just because of the garden, but as farmers, the crops are in that period when water is essential to their development. So we are praying a lot for rain. Well, it is great to be back and I am heading to some of my fav blogs to see what they have been up to! Happy gardening!

You may find me joining some of these fun link-ups: In a Vase on Monday, Mosaic Monday, Pink Saturday, Nature Notes, Dishing It & Digging It, Grace at Home, Encouraging Hearts & Home, Wonderful Wednesday Blog-Hop, Farmhouse Friday, Wonderful Wednesday, Fridays at the Firehouse.