Monday, February 14, 2011

My Valentine's Day Present

Valentine's Day has always had special meaning to me.  No, it's not the candy and roses, nor the endless commercials about teddy grams and hoodie-footies.  You see, Valentine's Day is the end of winter.  At least for me mentally.  We may have more cold days, but the winter's hold has been relinquished.


In this area, Valentine's Day has traditionally been the day to prune roses and plant potatoes.  Before Valentine's Day is planning.  But come Valentine's Day, the planning turns into action.  Dreaming turns into anticipation.  Wishing turns into expectation.  Yes, Valentine's Day is a day to love and cherish.

So what's my present?  It's supposed to be almost 70 degrees F today!  A beautiful, splendid day to get out in the garden.  A wonderful day of work.

But not just any work.  Spring work!



10 comments:

  1. Dear HG, I do know exactly what you mean. And, yes, in London too there is a definite turn in the weather towards spring. Such a pity that commercialisation has made Valentine's Day rather tacky. Far better to consider it, as you do, as the first day of spring.

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  2. What a well-written post! You are right, Valentine's is the end of winter. But what are the roses in your pictures?? Is the first one Condesa de Sastago?

    Happy Vaelntine's Day!

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  3. 70F sounds dreamy, hope you had a lovely day. We're lucky to get 70F in mid summer in Northern Ireland. On a positive, the grass is always green!

    I'm a big fan of roses. Have you kept track of the names/type? I've lost track of many of my plants.

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  4. Edith - yes, Valentine's has become a day of things I don't need - chocolate, sweets, pajamas and such! Cut roses are nice but I'd rather have a rose bush. :)

    Masha - thank you. The second is Buff Beauty. The first is a modern, the Buck rose Prairie Sunset. I have all types of roses in my garden. This one is hard for me to photograph - in real life it kind of glows.

    Why I garden - 70F mid summer! I didn't realize our climates were so different. In summer we generally reach 100 F or more. I try to keep track with HelpMeFind, and I also have labels on most of the roses, though they get lost and/or fade. The rest of the plants I try to keep the label in an organizer, but I'm not the most organized and lose a lot. It's something I'm working on, though!

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  5. Your weather sounds so wonderful. Today the ice was melting, but we are expecting to turn cold again, so your blooms today were a welcome sight.

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  6. gardenwalkgardentalk - I'm glad that all our ice is a distant memory. We are expected to miss the next cold front - yeah!

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  7. Stunning roses for a happy occassion like Valentine's Day.

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  8. p3chandan - thank you. Roses are wonderful no matter what the occasion, aren't they?

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  9. The only roses at my house right now are in catalogs, but soon they will be on my doorstep. Never any camellias, but they are so lovely. Thanks for a preview of what is to come.

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  10. Commonweeder - the only roses you have are in catalogs! That is funny! I hope you enjoy growing them when they arrive. Be warned: Roses can be addicting!

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