Thursday, December 2, 2010

My Crazy Little Rosebud

I discovered this little rosebud growing in my garden on the first of November. "Crazy little rosebud" I thought out loud. "Don't you know it's almost Winter?"  Never has a rose tried to bloom in my zone 5 garden so late in the year. How this little bud escaped my discovery for so long puzzles me.


 November 1st

I thought I might clip the stem and bring her into the house to get warm. Then perhaps she might fulfill the measure of her creation and bloom.  Just five days earlier my gardens were under an eight inch blanket of snow... our first snowstorm of the season. 

November 7th

But the weather warmed up quickly and within a day the snow had melted. "Crazy little bud, she must think it's Spring." With the snow melted and the weather warm again, it felt like Spring! My crazy little rosebud had won a tender place within my heart and I just couldn't set the pruners to her stem. 


November 14

And so my crazy little bud began to open... one petal at a time.


November 21

I soon noticed an interesting little anomaly within her petals. See how they fold inward to form little cheeks? An enchanting little moniker that tells the world "I'm unique!"


I was intrigued with the wide open petals... was this a result of the stiff winds that whipped through gardens the night before? Or some inner defense to capture all the sunlight she could muster to survive.



The winds brought lower temps. Low, low single digit temps... for several days.  And the winds were ferocious!  And more snow fell upon my gardens.



November 28

  And somehow my crazy little rose survived.






This time the snow did not melt... and the freezing cold... yup, it's still here, too.



 December 2

and my crazy little rose....






gathers ice crystals from the dry winter air.




Frozen in Time



15 comments:

  1. Sweet crazy little rose! Nice little post to melt hearts..

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  2. Beautiful progression of photos. I love the orange color of the rose, the brave little thing. I have my equivalent right now: re-blooming irises that did re-bloom this fall, but have now sent up two more stalks loaded with buds. I too can't bring myself to prune them. I review their progress every day. Carolyn

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  3. What a great series of photos! I love the narrative, it's almost like reading a kid's picture book. I'm glad your rose bloomed before the snow took hold. :)

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  4. I've got a bud on my Abraham Darby, too. I guess the soil is still warm.

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  5. That crazy little rosebud sure made for some beautiful pictures!

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  6. All about one lonely rosebud.
    Fun story...well done.

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  7. Lovely photos. Maybe that little Rose bud should be pressed and framed!
    Thanks for stopping by my winter wondrland blog.
    Hugs
    sue

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  8. What a wonderful journey, of the 'crazy little rosebud'! It just puts a smile on your face... thanks for sharing! (BTW, incredible photo on the header of your blog! Wow!!)

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  9. You've made me miss California, when I could cut roses and bring them inside to decorate the Christmas dinner table. What a tough ole girl you have in that rose!

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  10. lovely story....only my Knockouts and 1 climbing rose do this in my zone 5...love how you captured the progression...thankfully you did not snip her...I snipped a few and they were too cold when I brought them in and they did not survive or open...

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  11. Roses in the winter are just wonderful!!

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  12. Dear Meredhuit I love the senescent ones.

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  13. Oh, I'm jealous! For the last two years I had roses blooming into early December, but this year the bitter cold arrived in late November, and they are all gone now. Boohoo!

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  14. That's one tough little rose :)
    Make sure you give her a nice blanket of straw for the winter.
    Rees

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