October 22, 2010

The October sun just keeps giving

We are having lovely golden days with falling leaves punctuating the time and reminding us that the weather is changing. It's very cool in the mornings, but no frost has come yet. The broccoli is still producing and there are even some beans coming on. The Sungold tomatoes were the first to ripen and they are still ripening and tasting so sweet that it's a contest between them and the grapes for sweetness. It's such a beautiful time of year.

I friend dropped by who grows roses and since I know nothing about pruning them, I asked her for advice. My roses are deer pruned, but somehow the deer never bother these by the side of the cabin.

She explained to me that a simple rule of thumb is to prune the branches that have bloomed down to the first leaf stalk that has five leaves. I have been doing that with good result. But I probably could benefit from this book, which has all the information about care and feeding of roses.

At Roses for Dummies [Paperback]