Roses and Tomatoes

My mom was a great gardener. From my earliest childhood, I wandered along with her and learned the secrets of her success as she created gardening delights. The wife and I have a garden almost every year and growing things abound in and around our home. I guess it makes me an expert on both roses and tomatoes, since we always have plenty of both.

Roses are wonderful flowers. The smell great and add a certain charm to any yard. I didn't grow up wealthy, with a professional gardener. Mom would take cuttings from friends, relatives and neighbors for some of her best roses. She took a cutting from her sister of a bright yellow rose and kept it in water for several months before planting it in the yard. I remember her struggling with it to make it thrive and almost losing the battle. Cuttings can be really tricky!

Floribundas are the best roses, as far as I'm concerned. They bloom all summer long and come in clusters, just right for bouquets. My Mom's favorite were Circus Roses. Brightly variegated yellow, white, orange and pink roses filled her lower yard. Sevin Dust works great at removing aphids, but it leaves an ugly white poweder all over the blooms. I use the mild dish soap and water spray and it works much better for far less money.

My favorite roses are the climbing kind. I planted one sorry little piece along the iron front porch rail (right in the middle) and by the next year, the whole front porch was shaded and covered with dark green leaves and flaming red roses. The beauty lasted for 20 years and the memory lingers. You don't have to buy the most expensive roses to have a great garden of them. Just get whatever roses you like, use a little Miracle Grow and plant some floribundas to cross pollinate and you'll have a garden to delight in for years to come.

TOMATOES

I love fresh tomatoes! Can't seem to help myself, either. Give me a crop of tomatoes and I turn into an instant pig!

Every spring, the wife and I buy a collection of "Beefsteak", "Cherry" and "Pear" tomatoes. We get several of each. My favorites, just for eating are the "Pear" type. They're shaped like pears, yellow in color and lower in acidity than the red ones. They're great for garnish plates, salads and just plain eating.

"Cherry" tomatoes are small, like cherries, and red, but have the flavor of much bigger tomatoes. They're perfect for salads, too.

"Beefsteak" tomatoes are perfect for slicing and putting on hamburgers, as well as peeling and cooking down for spaghetti sauce. It's a staple in our house! We have several "Beefsteak" plants just for sauce to eat all winter. The wife does the cooking and canning, but the growing is all mine... even though I'm not home as much as I'd like to be.

Tomato worms can be a real plague on your garden. The old soap and water spray helps a lot, as well as picking the caterpillars off by hand. (Watch out for the caterpillars, though. They are messy if you smash them and they do have barbs on their tails!)

It's a little late this year, but I can't wait to get home and start my gardening this year!