My rose bushes are amazing, but they have been completely out of control.  They've taken on such a life of their own that I'm surprised they haven't reached out and grabbed unsuspecting dog walkers and children passing by.   I haven't had rose bushes previously and admittedly didn't know much about maintaining them, but one thing is clear, these bushes needed to be clipped back desperately.


I worked and worked and worked and worked outside today.  I clipped and swept and plucked and watered.   I must say, all of this yard work has left me a lovely golden brown before Memorial Day even approaches.

 I can't believe how peaceful gardening makes me feel.  I have never been the sort who enjoyed working outside before but I have thoroughly loved every second of making this yard my own.  I even feel like I get a little workout when I'm out there... particularly when I'm picking the really giant weeds!!!!

I managed to clip back the rose bushes on the right side of my yard as well as the bushes lining my walkway... which was really a mess.

I clipped all of the mature roses off of the bushes and I also tried to clip back the stems that poked into the walkway.

Unfortunately for my roses, I found a deep, orange speckling covering many of my bushes.  A quick Internet search let me know that this is called rush and is a fungus.  I went out and clipped a lot of the leaves and branches with this rust off of the bushes.

This is the result.  There are still so many buds too!  I still have to do the left side of the house, which is going to be a challenge because there are many bushes and they are full of mature roses

And just look at what I collected for my kitchen table!  I can't even express how much I love having fresh cut flowers for my home all the time.

I also have some very exciting news!  Remember how I planted seeds that my friend Siet sent me?

Well, things are going very, very well!  Less than a week later I have babies!

These are the yellow squash that are growing from seeds!

These are the green peppers that I planted only a few days ago but can't believe how much they are growing!
















The cardinal climbers are poking through the soil!

And my jalapeno peppers are also thriving out there!


















Growing food is so much fun!