Viewing post #2317891 by zuzu

After almost five months of sheltering in place, I'm glad I'm old. If I were young and still had a life, I'd be feeling highly deprived these days. The garden is my sole focus in the daytime. At night I read or I watch reruns of old favorite TV shows. It's boring and predictable but safe. The garden is quiet this year, with only an occasional human visitor, but lots of wildlife: opossums, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, and my cats. I have more birds, lizards, frogs, and snakes than ever before, and I have many more bees and fewer wasps. There are virtually no mosquitoes, snails, and spiders this year. Some of these changes might have negative ecological causes and consequences (especially the absence of garden spiders), but they're all positive changes for me personally.

Many years ago I became jaded in my appreciation of roses with solid-colored blooms and stopped buying them. I now want only bicolor and multicolored blooms. One of the prettiest in my garden is Hot Romance, the thumbnail for this month. The blooms start out orange with pink edges. About halfway through the life of the bloom, the orange portion becomes an orange and yellow blend, and that blend gradually becomes a pale yellow. The edges stay pink throughout. Here are some photos showing the color progression.