3 Little Roses…Ready For a New Home

New Home
New Home

They are here!!!  I was oh so patiently waiting for my English roses to arrive from Heirloom Roses.

I had ordered three different English roses a few weeks ago as it has been too long since I have had roses in my garden.  You can read more about that here if you like – “I Have a Confession To Make”  and “I’ve Made My Decision”.

English roses

I thought it would be a nice idea if each of my three youngest children could adopt one of the new rose bushes and be in charge of taking care of it.

They each picked one based on their favorite colors.  My youngest daughter picked ‘Graham Thomas’ which is yellow (note her yellow SpongeBob shoes).  My son picked ‘William Shakespeare’ because it is red.  My third-oldest daughter picked ‘Abraham Darby’ because she absolutely loves pink.

So since they are adopting their new roses, that means, they have to help dig the holes and plant them.  The kids are anxious to help.

English roses

Thankfully, their dad was willing to help them dig the holes.

*I was taking pictures of the whole planting process and my son decided that he would take pictures with his red camera.

English roses

I love kid-sized shovels and other gardening tools.

*I think I need to buy another kid-sized shovel because my daughter is throwing dirt into the wheelbarrow with her hands.

English roses

Trying to be brave and touch the earthworm they dug up.

New Home

It won’t bite….

New Home

There is just something about dirt that attracts kids…

New Home

I think this photo clearly illustrates the difference between boys and girls. My daughter is drawing a happy face in the dirt while my son is touching a worm.

Tomorrow, we will finish preparing the holes and planting our new roses.  The kids are so excited!  So is their mom.

Will post more tomorrow….

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
26 replies
  1. evolutionofagardener
    evolutionofagardener says:

    How exciting! It's great fun to give children their own plants and see them getting excited about gardening. My daughter has taken charge of the bleeding hearts. The little hearts are her friends. She pets them, talks to them, picks them, and replants them in the dirt. Have fun gardening with your little ones. 🙂

  2. VW
    VW says:

    I'm glad you have a hole-digging hubby! Best wishes for healthy and happy roses that get more beautiful each year (though with your long growing season, they'll probably get huge by the end of this year).

  3. Darla
    Darla says:

    I love the fact that the kids are going to be incharge of thier own rose bush…my daughters would love something like that. I'd have to make it a competition of some sort though..

  4. Jeff
    Jeff says:

    Noelle:

    A couple of comments…

    Is your yard behind a fence? I have a very nice David Austin rose with a moderate fragrance and the Javelina seem to enjoy eating the flowers.

    Was it serendipity that you chose three favorite colors or did your children have a vote in the purchasing decision?

    Earth worms? I have dug tons of dirt in my 2.5 years in the desert and I have only found two earth worms. I hope they take good care of that one!

    I am not sure whether dirt attracts kids or kids attract dirt. It almost seems to be symbiotic!

  5. Martha Z
    Martha Z says:

    How wonderful to see children excited about gardening. I could never get my boys into it though the yougest is now excited about having his own yard and garden. It took a while, he'll be 40 next week.
    I wish I had your soil, it looks wonderful.

  6. tina
    tina says:

    Awww, cute! Great idea to have each of the kids adopt a rose. It will be a lasting tribute to you and to them when you think of them while enjoying the roses.

  7. Joanne
    Joanne says:

    The long awaited roses arrived at last I do hope they all grow well for you. Howe nice to meet the children again and great that they share your interest in the gardening tasks.
    No need to steriotype children they follow their own natural inclinations.

  8. leavesnbloom
    leavesnbloom says:

    Noelle its great to get the kids involved in the whole process I just wish my 3 boys had an interest in the garden now that they are older. It won't be long till they are enjoying the scent of those beautiful blooms.

  9. gippslandgardener
    gippslandgardener says:

    It will be wonderful to watch the roses grow tended by their little gardeners!
    I've got two of those three roses in my garden – Abraham Darby is my biggest most prolific flowering rose, but William Shakespeare needs to move house to a sunnier spot. I'll have to look out fro Graham Thomas so I can compare gardening notes on all three with your little gardeners!

  10. fairegarden
    fairegarden says:

    What a happy tale, Noelle! Those are three fine roses and three fine kids. You do need more shovels, obviously. We have a Sponge Bob fan in the family too. If it has Sponge Bob on it, we get it for him. You might be surprised at the number of items with this guy's mug on it. Or not. Barnacles! 🙂
    Frances

  11. Andrea
    Andrea says:

    What a wonderful bonding experience and teaching also the kids to be nature protectors, be responsible of our earth and surroundings. I am like that too with my nephew and niece as i dont have a kid. I am sure they will appreciate those experiences at their when they get older, even the earthworms.

    Happy gardening and bonding!

  12. Rebecca @ In The Garden
    Rebecca @ In The Garden says:

    What a wonderful post! I'm so glad they arrived safe & sound. It's great that each of your little ones chose a special plant. I can't wait til planting time again, til then, I'll continue to live vicariously through you. 🙂

  13. Grace Peterson
    Grace Peterson says:

    I love it, Noelle. Your little darlings are lifelong gardeners in the making. [Although if they're like my kids they may decide to take a few years off during their teens]. What a happy day it will be when these gorgeous roses bloom. I can almost hear the squeals of delight.

  14. Msrobin
    Msrobin says:

    Can't wait to see your new roses in bloom! Your kids gave me a chuckle. I figured a gardener's child would be well versed in earthworms, and not be reluctant to touch them! LOL Obviously your son was not.

  15. JGH
    JGH says:

    Love the idea of getting the kids involved! I do this with mine too with the veggies, and I find they are much more open to eating the ones they've grown.

    I'll be checking back to see those rose blooms for sure!

  16. Catherine@AGardenerinProgress
    Catherine@AGardenerinProgress says:

    What a great idea to let them choose a rose to take care of. It's going to look and smell so pretty in your yard when they start blooming. Your kids are going to be great gardeners when they grow up, they probably know more than many adults do already.

  17. arizonaplantlady@gmail.com
    arizonaplantlady@gmail.com says:

    Thank you for your kind comments regarding our 3 Little Roses Getting a New Home.

    Jeff,
    Thankfully, I do have a block-wall fence that does provide protection. However, we do not have any Javelina in our neighborhood – so I have been lucky. I picked out the three colors myself and the varieties after researching what English roses did best in our climate. We get a lot of earthworms in our soil. Before our home was built, the area used to be a field used for growing vegetables of some kind, so that might be why we have earthworms.

Comments are closed.