Putting the roses to bed.

[leene_chan]

Cupcake in its bed. Received from Chamblee's today!, a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

Of the roses that we received over the past two days, Honeysweet, Golden Princess, Distant Drums, Iobelle, Enchanted Autumn and Heirloom are staying in pots for good. Everything else is going in the ground sooner or later. Here's Cupcake planted in front of hydrangea Nikko Blue.

I'm giving the rest of the bed to Evelyn. But didn't I say that Madame Plantier was going back there? Well, I measured the space with a tape measure and found it only came to seven feet. I think Madame needs more room than that!

We've keeping Rook, Duchesse de Montebello, Gallicandy and Felicite Parmentier in what I've dubbed the "Rose Band Nursery," pot-growing them on our deck until August. There's no way I'd put such puny things in the ground right away. They'd probably get trampled to death by a raccoon!

I keep trying and failing to take a photo of the flower we cut off Buck rose "Polonaise." At first I thought it was only a double flower, but it opened up in a vase into something wonderful. It's a gorgeous red-pink color but unfortunately has little fragrance. I never thought I'd be a fragrance person. I think Madame Plantier has spoiled me.