Guest Author - Lori Collvins

Roses, roses everywhere and not a plot to spare! Roses hold a fascination for me that is only overshadowed by a few other things in my life. They always hold a sort of surprise in that most of them are quite different fomr each other. A rainbow of colors, fragrances, sizes and habits make them on of the most interesting of all flowers. Yes, anyone who knows me will tell you that I am addicted to roses! Do you spend hours flipping through catalogs that sell roses? And more hours planning new rose areas in your garden? And even more hours surfing the internet for the latest information on roses? Then you are addicted to roses too.

My mother came by the other day and stared at my roses in the front yard and said, "Your roses are still blooming!". She was shocked. I am thrilled. Even my miniature roses in the back are still blooming profusely, although they have almost been stripped of all their leaves by the horde of grasshoppers who seem to find them the tastiest of all plants. I spent the summer battling these grasshoppers and these little bushes fought hard and are winning.

It is time to order roses now for spring delivery. There are a lot of places to choose from for ordering them and I am certainly trying to keep myself in check as I look through all the wonderful choices!

As always, there are some very important things to consider when buying new roses. Make sure that they are right for your area and the weather conditions that they will have to face. Also try and find the most resistant roses that you can. Weak roses may be beautiful at first but sometimes the work required to keep them healthy and alive is more than it is worth, especially if you don't have a lot time to spend with them.

Trust me, there is nothing more frustrating than buying a beautiful rose and then fighting a long, drawn out battle to keep it looking nice and healthy. I know that researching is not waht a lot of people want to spend their time doing but it is worth it in the end (and far less costly). The last thing anyone wants to do is to plant and replant and replant again because the rose doesnt thrive like we hoped.

So, research, shop, plant and enjoy and the roses (if you pick correctly) will almost take care of themselves!