The Reluctant Gardener

I told "those people" I wanted a low maintenance garden...because I'm not a gardener.  

I went for a power walk in the neighborhood this morning.  It was a beautiful morning...there was a nice breeze, it was cooler, the birds were singing...I call such a morning a Katina morning, because my momma and I would enjoy those kinds immensely.

My neighborhood is beautiful.  Everyone keeps their gardens and yards so nice.  Probably because most people around here have gardeners.  They have the kinds of gardeners that change out the seasonal flowers, maintain the current flowers and plants, put out mulch and pick weeds...in addition to the basic lawn mowing and bush pruning.  My gardener falls into the latter category...he's just a lawn mower and bush pruner.

Remember Shirley MacLaine's character, Ouiser, in Steel Magnolias? I've always wanted to be a Ouiser type character in my old age - but figured I wouldn't make a good one, or at least a complete one, because I don't wear big hats and garden - as all good southern ladies do.  I can make a mean pitcher of lemonade though...

Anyway, I have many, many knockout rose bushes at the new house.  They were all blooming and going crazy about a month ago. You can catch a glimpse of a few along the back fence in this picture:

Well, about two weeks or so ago, all the blooms on every stinking one were dead - in the front and back yards.  

I was miffed.

I spent about an hour this morning deadheading some of the bushes in the front:

See that one bush in the top picture?  It's getting pretty with blooms again. Yay. See those sickly looking abelias next to those pretty blooms, and again in the left side of the bottom picture?  Yeah...I don't know where to begin with those...

I still have these groups of roses in the front to go, but it was getting a little too sunny for me to be out there for too long:

I still have the whole back yard to do too - see them?  Under the crepes?:

...and that's just part of the bushes along the fence.

Oy.

Now, these beauties...they don't ask a thing of me:

I cut the three biggest blooms to bring inside:

I just know my momma is looking down and having herself a good laugh.

MK out.