Happy Mother’s Day

A few days ago, I noticed that the first blooms on my roses this year would be on one of my new bushes, the Abraham Lincoln.

As best I can recall, I don’t ever remember a time when my mom didn’t grow an Abraham Lincoln rosebush.  It’s a very strong plant, and produces florist quality, long-stemmed and highly fragrant red buds.  Just beautiful, and it’s easy for me to see why she loved it.

Our weather here in Maryland has been cold and rainy for a few weeks, so the roses have been slow in coming to life again.  Since the Abraham Lincoln was new and probably brought up from the warmer South, it was fully leafed out when I purchased it about a month ago.

For many reasons, I didn’t spend the time needed last year to care for a rose garden in Maryland, and my roses suffered.  They have to be sprayed consistently here, or the dreaded black spot will consume the leaves in a matter of days.  If it’s not black spot, then the Japanese beetles will come to feast on a roses tasty leaves, stripping the foliage off a plant almost overnight.  Yes, roses don’t have it too easy here in my back yard.

This year, however, it’s going to be different.  I made that decision while I was on the flight home from California after my mother’s death during Holy Week.  Nope, this year I was going to put in some replacement roses and properly take care of my rose garden.  Mom was a master at it, and she will be long remembered for her beautiful rose bouquets which she had throughout her house for most of the year, or that she brought with her when she went visiting.

Yesterday, I realized that the first rose I would pick would be one of my mom’s favorites, and that it this first rose of the season would be ready to cut today, Mother’s Day.  Now, the first roses on new rose bushes aren’t the greatest in the world.  Usually, it takes a couple of blooms for the plant to settle in and get the top-notch roses you might be looking for.  It will be the same for my Abraham Lincoln, just outside my back door.  But today, this first bloom means a lot.  It’s a reminder to me that ll is well in the world, and that a single flower can bring a flood of wonderful memories of a life well lived.

Happy Mother’s Day