Worth The Wait

Aside from my family, friends, and pets, there are few things I love more in this world than flowers.  I think it has something to do with the fact that my mother loved flowers and that one of her closest friends was a florist, so flowers were always an important design element around our house.

Flowers were used to adorn the exterior of our house, and inside they held a place of honor atop antique and vintage tables made of cherry, walnut, and tiger maple.

People used to stop and tell my parents how beautiful their yard was, especially in the spring when it was dressed in the latest finery of daffodils, tulips, cherry and plum blossoms, plus an array of other colorful blooms.

And on the farm property we own, my father decided to plant a half acre of Cosmos one year in shades ranging from deep fuchsia to white with just a hint of pink.  It was a show stopper, and something I intend to attempt at my own home this year...I have a bag full of Cosmos seed that promises to cover an acre!  All I need is someone to plow up the area and I'll be set to create my color explosion.

But of all the flowers my parents, grandparents, and friends all nurtured over the years, roses were never at the top of the list.  Sure, we had ramblers that managed, against all odds, to find their way into the nooks and crannies around various outbuildings, but formal roses just weren't on the menu for my family.

And yet my mother would drool when we visited historic homes and their formal rose gardens.  But I think she saw her house as a more humble abode, not worthy of such a prim and proper flower.

I think I likely had that notion for many years as well, until I met Connie of Hartwood Roses.  One short email exchange, or better yet, an in-person convo and visit to Connie's beautiful gardens will convince even the faintest of heart to grow roses.

There is just something about a rose that is unlike any other flower, and I'm a devoted fan of LOTS of flower species, but I am now addicted to roses!  Maybe it's their scent, or it could be their gorgeous shades that change as they mature and later wane...I don't know, but I do know that I love them.

I also love that their blossoms last well beyond my beloved peonies, lilacs, cherry blossoms...the list goes on and on.  And it is no surprise that royalty have prized, perfected, and pursued these delicate flowers for centuries.  I now join their ranks of admirers, and I bought 2 new David Austin rose bushes yesterday at a local nursery.  I had just left the nursery when my sister texted me with a picture saying she had also bought a David Austin, her first, just a half hour before at the same nursery.  I told her congratulations and gave her the "now you've gone and done it" talk, knowing she too will turn into one of those crazy rose loving gardners! :)

Some things need to be anticipated, like a big bunch of rose blossoms to grace your desk as you work, or a bowl of fresh, ripe strawberries grown organically and locally!

Maybe if we had these things at our disposal all year long we wouldn't appreciate their flavor, their scent, the magical impact they have on our senses.  Worth the wait?...you betcha!

Other things I've been waiting on that are now here...

1. Peonies

2. Hummingbirds

3. Lightning Bugs (just a few so far)

4. Sleeping with the windows open at night

5. Wearing shorts and flip flops

6. The smell of freshly mown grass

How about you, what do you wait for each spring?