A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME

My husband hums Taps when I bring plants home.  His humorous recognition of my inability to keep vegetation alive is painfully true.   Occasionally, a plant will overcome my lack of nurturing and actually survive.  So, I trimmed the rose bushes the other day.  Okay, I scalped the rose bushes!  I don’t know what came over me!  The incident started as a simple housekeeping task motivated by an artistic desire to “improve” their natural beauty.

I was in the backyard with the dog and noticed the potted rose bushes were looking a bit scraggly although, one bush had several blooms on it.  I was in a hurry to go run my errands, but the dog was taking her time so I went in to the house, set my coffee cup on the counter and brought the scissors outside to trim the bushes.  My caffeine inspired creativity took hold - just a little off here and a little more taken off there.  You know how the rose “sticks” look at the gardening centers in the spring?  That’s how my bushes looked when I finished the job.

One of my favorite movies is Steel Magnolias because the dialogue portrays the essence of a woman’s good intentions.  I love Dolly Parton’s Truvy!  She has some wonderful lines:

Shelby: Truvy, you know what you need in here? You need a radio, takes the pressure off of everyone feeling they have to talk so much.
Truvy: I had one once, but I threw it up against the wall when I couldn't figure out where the batteries went. I know now I was suffering from pre-menstrual syndrome.

Yes, it was probably a female syndrome that inspired my ingenious impulse – forcing me to cut the rose bushes to a nub in the coldest month of the year.  I told my sister about what I did and she related to the incident by telling me about the time she cut her son’s hair.  The haircut started as a trim and it became a buzz cut.  I didn’t tell my husband about the rose bushes, but he noticed and asked why I cut the roses.  I tried to explain how I meant to trim a little off the top and then suddenly the task took over and it turned into a mission to make the rose bushes look prettier, but he just couldn’t relate to my story.  He slowly shook his head in dismay and commented about the trimmings left around the pots.

I’m curious if the newlyweds will cultivate an interest in horticulture because I could be helpful to them – I’m a regular Edward Scissorhands when it comes to gardening!