Friday Favorites: What's Blooming Now

When I was in college, my roommates and I used to sneak into the city rose gardens to steal flowers for our apartment. Located in front of an old library, the garden was lovely and fragrant from June until October, but the best month of all was September; the roses bloomed in colorful masses in a last-ditch effort to shine before the first frost heralded their ultimate demise.

September is a good month for roses here in Petticoat Junction, too. The bushes that I planted early this spring have almost all doubled in size and three out of the nine are currently blooming.

Chicago Peace

Fragrant Plum

Marilyn Monroe 

Five bushes are budding and should bloom soon, and, one lone bush is without either bloom or bud; I am hoping it catches up, soon.

If the bushes winter well, I might expand into the back yard; there are several varieties that I would like to have, including a deeper yellow and some more double-blooming varieties. In the meantime, I will enjoy the blooms that I do have; they remind me of my besties, of late-night rose raids, and of Big Gulp cups, overfilled with colorful bouquets.

Hey, we were poor college students, who could afford a vase?