I tell this story often, and most of my friends have heard it more than once.  Okay, they have heard this story MANY times, but it never ceases to amaze me.

Several years ago we were at Calloway’s nursery looking for something.  (I really can’t remember what, and it is not important to this story.)  Moving right along.

Out in the back of the nursery were buckets and buckets of roses, and the sign said $1.00 each.  I could not believe it.  What a bargain.  Some of the tags said they were from Jackson Perkins.  I had heard that name, and thought, “These are good roses”.  I jumped on this deal like a duck on a june-bug.

I asked Ben if he wanted some roses.  I thought he said maybe.  Which I took to mean yes.

At $1.00 each, I thought to myself, some of them will surely die.  SO – some for Ben, some for us, and a little extra for the ones that die.  I think I bought nine rose bushes that day.

Nine prickly roses bushes plus a live oak tree (it was just $1.00 also) FILLED the van. Then Ben told me he didn’t want any roses. I think he got pricked by the thorns one too many times as we struggled to fit all the roses into the van.

What was I to do?  We only had one little bed next to the garage, and there wasn’t room to space out the roses properly.  So we planted those nine rose bushes in a space about thirteen feet long.  Truthfully, Ever-lovin’ did the planting, and I provided moral support.  “Anyway”, I thought, “certainly some of them will die”.

Wrong!  All nine rose bushes are still alive and blooming.  They are crowded, but gorgeous.  I LOVE my roses.  I talk to them and praise them daily.

Get this – Even the live oak tree lived.

Now explain this to me.  A few weeks ago we paid good money for a rose bush.  Maybe it is in planting shock, but I’m here to tell you,  it does not look good.  Go figure!

Here are some of our roses.  No, I don’t know their names.

I’m here to tell you, having a rose garden is a blessing.

Blessings to you and yours,