Texas Gardening: Blooms?, 1 by SapphiresMom

SapphiresMom wrote:
Until about two weeks ago, I had several of my rose bushes blooming. One was Climbing Iceberg and the other, Golden Showers.

We live just above Waco, and my husband and I went to Tyler today to visit Chamblee's Rose Nursery. I was VERY impressed. They have literally, acres of roses. I liked the knowledgable fellow who waited on us. He was very helpful, and didn't try to hard sell us; he just wanted us to be satisfied customers.

Another thing I like about Chamblee's is that all their roses are own-root roses, instead of grafted roses. Also, they do not sell bare root roses, even if they are purchased by mail order.

We bought about $250 worth of roses there, and every plant was leafed out nicely. Some even had buds and a couple of them were blooming. I can hardly wait to get them planted. I am not exactly sure where every plant will go, but we will find a spot. One cannot have too many roses.

The picture I am displaying is of Sapphire, since I am SapphiresMom. She is a Maltepoo -- three-quarters Maltese and one-quarter Toy Poodle.

I found her when visiting a friend in Dallas (Texas). We were on our way to lunch in my friend's car on the access road to Interstate 35. Suddenly, my friend stopped and said "OMG, that dog is going to get hit." I opened my door and called "Come here."

This ragged scrap of fur came leaping into my arms, and huddled against me. She was so thin her ribs were sticking out, but she had on a collar with no tags, and little bows on either ear. When I brought her home, my husband rolled his eyes and said "I thought we weren't going to get a dog." With tongue in cheek, I said "I can take her back out by the interstate."

The next evening when my husband came in from work, he had a dog bed under his arm, because "she needs someplace to sleep." I smiled and said, "Yes, Dear."

When I found her, Sapphire was about 11 months old, according to the vet. She will be 13 in May. She sleeps in her bed during the day, but at night she is at the head of the bed between us. She is also a Daddy's girl. She likes me all right, but my husband is the light of her life.

This message was edited Jan 11, 2008 3:59 PM