A Life With Roses: esterday, today and tomorr

摘要

It is June 1945. In the garden of a neat, white bungalow in South Milwaukee, WI, my Grandma Caroline lifts me up toward the lovely pink blossoms hanging down from a white picket arbor over the walkway on which she stands. "Careful," she says. "Roses have prickles." Perfume and color surround me, and I am sure this is the prettiest flower I have ever seen. Reaching up, I touch silky petals and begin a life-long love affair. This is one of my earliest memories. Many of us got introduced to roses in thevery same way; somebody we love grew or grows roses. My grandmother grew only one, because her small garden was a World War II Victory Garden that provided food for her family. One rose, however, was enough to make a lasting impression on her eldest grandchild. I know now that the rose was 'New Dawn' and that my Grandpa Will built the arbor for my grandmother. 'New Dawn' was a very special climber. That particular rose, holding plant patent Number One, became popular across the country after its introduction in 1930. It had a wonderful habit of blooming twice for Grandma Caroline during each brief Wisconsin summer. And it does the same for me today in our garden in Colorado Springs.