Portland's nickname is the City of Roses. Among other rose-inspired events there is the International Rose Test Garden with 7,000+ plants blooming from April through October, and the Rose Festival which kicks off in June with carnivals, a parade and, always a crowd favorite, the election of the Rose Queen and her Rose Court (think of a bride and her bridesmaids). June can be quite rainy and it nearly always rains on the Rose Parade, and the carnival is usually a muddy mess.
For all the rose hype in this town I've never had the nerve to buy a rose plant. I've always heard they are fussy and difficult, and I don't like putting much time into my plants. The last few years I eyed some potted roses at a local nursery then chickened out at the last minute. But last summer I finally took the plunge, getting two potted roses, one red, one white, for our upstairs porch. They did ok, better than I expected. The red bloomed pretty regularly. I would have liked a few more blooms on the white. Earlier this fall after their season appeared to over I put them away for winter. Meaning, I shoved their pots up against the back of the porch and ignored them, to let them finish dying in peace.
Now well into November, a few days ago I noticed a bud on Old Red. I thought, now that plant's got heart. No love, and she's still trying. Sure enough, it gave a full-fledged bloom the other day. A nice jolt of color in an otherwise graying landscape.
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| City of Roses |
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