What can be more beautiful than the first roses of spring?  These blooms, photographed on Mother's Day are my gift to myself.  I am trying to use all organic practices....constantly enriching the soil, mulching, using organic spray, removing Japanese beetles by hand, organic fertilizers, etc.  The proof will be as the summer progresses.  I also water with underground irrigation and also my rain barrel collection.  All of the collected water goes into my roses.  I'm in Zone 7 in Winston-Salem, NC.
More later as the summer progresses and I get more photos.  For more on roses, also see the post on my friend Kay's beautiful rose garden in Raleigh, NC.

