The Mystery of Why I Have Roses

Normally I'm not one for the traditional look or status symbols, but one year I was so mad with what our dog did to my plants that I bought the most thorn covered rose bush at the store to teacher her a lesson. I didn't care what the name of the rose was, actually the picture on the bag they came in showed blue flowers... wonder what happened there.

Having terrorized the dog with twigs covered in thorns enough, I suddenly realized I'd actually bought a rose bush. Normally I would never have bought anything that was covered in thorns. But these stuck with me. They're pretty fragrant, I believe only a 3 of 10 on the rose scale though. They smell good, almost like soap something in Oil of Olay, that my grandmother used to wear. So I've kept it for cut flowers, and it's become something of a tree besides. I need to chop it down to something more reachable though.

No wonder why people like roses so much. This one took almost 3 weeks to finally open and show off the anthers within. Bees love it, especially when there are a few open at one time, and I haven't cut them for the vase on our dinner table.

I couldn't stand having a garden full of them, but now that I've grown a rose I don't think I'd mind it as much either. I've actually bought two more roses since. One is named after one of my favorite authors, Agatha Christie. It's described as similar to the bush above but with darker foliate, the flowers are slightly more pink, and it's a climbing variety. And another variety called Midnight Blue, which is a bush and said to be very fragrant. I went with it trying to keep with the theme of Agatha Christie's murder mystery. Somehow it reminded me of Poirot, one of her detectives. One of the great things about the monotony of rose varieties is quite a few have been named after people.

Perhaps I should take a moment to talk about why I planted a bush named after an old women who wrote books? Agatha Christie basically revolutionized the puzzle book. It's one thing to read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and be dragged around a story like you're watching over someone's shoulder. But with Agatha Christie's Poirot (the "t" is silent and the "ir" make a "w" sound) though you're given a series of suspects and clues, and through logical deduction you can come to the identity of the murderer all by yourself. Christie sure didn't make it easy though. What's neat is how ordinary her characters can be. She could take a thing like a nursery rhyme and create a situation out of it. Sometimes it was just a neat situation.

For example one of my favorites is "Cards on the Table" (which sadly doesn't have as good of an ending as the Live Action TV Series). In it a wealthy millionaire hosts a dinner party featuring 8 guests. Four of them are well rounded and respected among the law. The other four however have been involved with a murder so much so that it's hard to believe at least one of them isn't guilty of the crime itself. The two groups are separated in different rooms to play a game of cards. The wealthy millionaire takes his seat by the fire in the room containing the shady characters. When the gave is over he is found dead, a knife through the heart. Finding out who killed him and how he died is part of the fun.

Like I said though I recommend the DVD over the book. In the book 2 of your main suspects die and that makes it easy in my opinion. And Poirot has to do something underhanded that I don't like either.

Philadelphia Flower Show 2010 (Odd Plants)

Scattered here and there on the show floor were what I consider to be "odd" plants. Native or not, some of them are just wired. The enormous pitcher plant (Nepenthes sp.) pictured above for example. Carnivorous plants aren't exactly odd but it's unusual seeing them grow in a pot meant to be a bouquet.


Sarracenia purpurea is a native pitcher plant. I actually didn't notice it walking by the display the first time. Thankfully the friends I was with do a good job of getting separated and I had to track back to find them. At first it was the flower that caught my eye. But then I realized it belonged to the pitcher plant below. Suddenly having a bog garden is very appealing.


It's a shame so many people walked by this plant. Perhaps if they had a layer of light pebbles planted around them they would have gotten more attention. Virtually no one was looking at them. And I'm seriously considering a few for my yard.


Other carnivorous plants were growing in glass jars for part of the competitions. There are hundreds of categories with maybe 3 or 4 entries each. They range the full gambit of possible things to compete on.


I think this competition was for Most Carnivorous Plants Grown in a Jar.


This is was just an odd flower in a bouquet somewhere. Not sure what it is.


Probably competing for Worlds Smallest Cacti. That is a 1 inch pot.


There were several tables of odd looking succulents, and cacti. If I could I'd have put a pot of peyote on display and see how long until someone noticed.


And the award for Succulent that Most Resembles a Muffin Grown in Space goes to.... This One!

Though I loved this adorable little ... uhhh plant(?) I have to say I was annoyed to they were on sale only a few yards away.


How the hell does anyone judge these these things? I could have won a blue ribbon for something I bought at the gift shop and entered in one of their competitions.


Warning: Wet Paint.


... Is it alive?


Back in 2007 this plant (I still don't know the name) was hailed as rare. This year though there were 4 of them on display.


Even this little shrub is voting for the plant next to em.