Early Morning Happiness

   Our spring-like weather has put all of the plants and critters in a tizzy.  It is wonderful!  The gardens are a happy place once again.  This morning as I ambled back up from the pier, the scent of roses welcomed me to the Small Gardens.  Ahh, the Cherokee Rose had to be in bloom!  This wild rose blooms far earlier than any of the others.  After entering the garden from the south, the arbor was in full view.  Yep, the white roses were covering the entire top!  Happy!!! 

  This particular rose was one that Son had literally pulled from the ground years ago.  He and I had wandered far back into the woods in search of the rose when I spied the canes sprawling along an old fence. Weeks before, I had made the comment that I wish some would grow closer to the house.  Never "wish" anything around Son because, if at all possible, he will make it happen.  Thus, we went on a hike and a wild rose came home with us.  

  That was some twelve years ago and I am happy to say the rose is still doing well!  It has outlasted several arbors and is currently on the newest of these.  Son had to rebuild the arbor this past year.  Termites had eaten the previous one and the one before was damaged by a hurricane.  The rose, however, withstood it all!  This morning...I smiled.  The rose brings happy thoughts of a son's love and of endurance.  It doesn't get much better...does it?

Just Amblin'

  Yesterday, Mr. PJ (the old dog) and I meandered in the azaleas.  He loved nosing around in a "new" territory.  He is not often allowed to wander down the lane as I do not wish to have him near the main road.  His instincts and reaction times would not serve him well in the path of an oncoming automobile.  So we normally stay far from the lane.  However, I figured that as long as I was with him (which, lately, is always), it would not hurt to give him a new place to explore.  He and I, both, loved being in our little hidden world.  For a while we were completely surrounded by the ten foot tall azaleas.  I think the escapade did him good as he slept soundly during the night following our short, amble.

  This afternoon, the wind was blowing something fierce.  Mr. PJ decided that he wished to stay on the southeast side of the house since it is obvious that he loves wind.  Our walk (which is no longer a vigorous hike due to his health) took us through the east arbor which has a rambling Cherokee Rose sprawling across the top.  This rose was planted here by Son a few years back and I love the thing.  He and I were on a hike far back in the creek bed when I spied a few of the rose vines.  I made mention that I had always wanted one for the yard even though they are considered to be an invasive species.  (Perhaps this is true as the woods are filled with the rambling roses.)   It was only a few hours later that Son called me out to see my new rose!  I am still thrilled with this beauty and, today, it proved to be a bright spot in the midst of a storm.  The top of the arbor is filled with the heavily scented white blooms.  

  The Cherokee Rose is one of the first roses to bloom in the rose garden each spring, although its history is a bit sketchy.  It was brought to the United States in 1780 and soon became naturalized.  It acclimated to the Deep South so well that it soon became invasive and now fills the wooded areas with its brambles.  Early spring, however, those thorny brambles put for a glorious show of white blooms.  From a distance, a lot of folks tend to believe that these roses are dogwood blooms but they are far from the same.  The dogwood is actually on a decline on the Coast and in recent years, there are few to be found.  Not so with the Cherokee Rose.  It is everywhere...and it is also in my yard!  I love it!

  While Mr. PJ sat with his nose to the wind, I pushed my nose in the center of several of the roses!  Our short walks are beginning to be a tad more interesting than those during the gray days of winter.  There is a lot more to see now and the old dog does not have to amble far for me to find something mesmerizing.  There is a lot of magic on this old Bayou of mine!  Hopefully, this wind will not tear up all of the azalea and rose blooms and there were still be plenty to enjoy for a few days.

How To Brighten The Day

  Today was one of those "feel blah" days.  Maybe I am just pushing myself a bit too much trying to get things straightened out in the gardens or maybe I am still a tad under the weather or maybe I am just missing my kids...maybe it is a combination of all those things.  Who knows???  Still, regardless of the multitude of things that needed to be done, my brain was in a fog.  The day passed with me acting like some animatronic puppet.  Late this afternoon, I took one last hike about the property.  As usual, the hike started at the pier and then meandered around back to the canebrake before taking me into the vegetable garden.  It was there that my attitude had a major adjustment.

  While in the back near the creek, I noticed that the Cherokee Roses were blooming.  Their white blossoms could be seen far up in the branches of the maples that dot the creek bed.  Seeing this made me hurry to the garden.  On the east arbor, our wild Cherokee Rose was in full bloom.  Yep, it is still February and the thing is splashing white blooms everywhere among the spring-green leaves.  Ahh, how delightful!   This rose is one that Son and I braved the brambles of the creek to dig and bring home.  It has not failed to bloom every year since.

  I am not sure if it was the rose that lifted my spirits of if, perhaps, it was the memory of Son's patience with my request of having the bush.  Either way, I do feel better.  Still miss my kids but I do feel some better.

Cherokee Rose

Just about this time last year, I persuaded Son to go on a hike with me. I was on a mission! Off we went, trotting through the underbrush armed with a shovel! The previous Spring, I had seen a white rose blooming far back in the woods near the creekbed. This rose was a wild Cherokee Rose and I so wanted to have one in the rose garden. Convincing anyone that a wildflower is worth making our way through the brambles was a chore within itself. Still, I persisted and once all was said and done, it was not too difficult and the rose bush has become sort of a pride and joy of Son's!

When we finally made it through the briers to the spot where I remembered seeing the rose vines, Son looked at me in bewilderment. "You want me to dig up that?" he asked. I assured Michael that the bush would not be that hard and that these wild roses were far more resilient than those wimpy, little store-bought versions. "Yes! That is the one!" So he dug. The bush/vine came out relatively easy but I had not accounted for its ungainly length! This thing had grown to the tops of the Black Gum trees that filled the creekbed. It was a good twenty feet long! Michael started pulling....and pulling...and, well, pulling! I did not have the foresight to bring the snips to trim the rose back a bit. This would have made it far easier to finagle the thing through the woods! After a few minutes of struggling with this strapping vine, Michael gave me a quick glance before smacking it with the shovel. "There..." he grinned. A shortened version of my rose vine was soon carted out of the woods. I was not at all sure this thing would now survive, but instead of being hindered..it has thrived! I am elated and so thrilled with this beautiful addition to the garden and Michael is proud of his handiwork in acquiring it! The Cherokee Rose is filling one of the arbors of the rose garden with healthy canes and just recently has burst into bloom. This hardy rose is the first to bloom this season with the other roses just setting new leaves and a few tiny buds.

Just a few notes about the Cherokee Rose.

~Its name comes from the Cherokee Indian Tribe that lived in the area where the rose is widely distributed.

~There is a legend that states that when the Trail of Tears started in 1838, the Cherokees were so distraught that many of their children were unable to survive the trek. The Elders of the Tribe prayed for a sign to give the mothers strength. The next day, a white rose sprang from the ground where each of the mother's tears fell.

~In 1916, with much support from the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs, this rose was designated as the state flower of Georgia.

~ The Cherokee Rose is often confused with the Macartney Rose. They look similar but the Cherokee Rose is not a threat to local flora. The Macartney Rose is listed as an invasive species in the entire South.