A Cute Potted Rose.

More Tamora., a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

Tamora is one of those roses that fools you with its ugly buds. You look at the discolored, bug-eaten outer petals and think, "There's no way this flower is going to look pretty when it opens!"

I had assumed that most of her first flush would ball. Surprisingly enough, all those ugly, crinkled things opened up into lovely flowers! She's like Julia Child if Julia Child were a better rose. I am not feeling a lot of love for the floribunda class nowadays...

Heritage is also setting up another flush. Princess Alexandra of Kent is probably a week away from opening her first round of flowers, and she already has another one starting to form! I never thought I'd have a good time with the Austin roses. Then again, I also never thought that Margo Koster and Julia Child would be such dead weights. Iobelle has also suffered a lot over the winter, even though we overwintered her inside.

Strangely enough, Prairie Sunrise has never looked better. Marianne #1 has finally hardened off, and now we have to find a place for two 30'' potted roses in our garden. But hey, if a rose can handle being ripped out of the ground and losing almost its entire rootball to voles and still thrive, I think it's a keeper!

Marianne has the most beautiful buds I've ever seen. I'm glad that #2 has buds because I wonder if #1 won't bloom this year.

Oh, my cherry tree...

Shogetsu after a few days., a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

If anything ever happens to Shogetsu I will surely die. Here it is after almost a week in full bloom. The flowers got all puffy! XD They're so heavy that the branches are bending under the weight. I've always liked the delicate look of a weeping cherry, but Shogetsu here is really the best. It blooms late enough to avoid freeze damage, and the flowers last a long time!