Spring, Roses, and A New Hobby

I have always loved growing things. My favorite chore when I was growing up was working in the yard. I loved helping my mom pick out new flowers and things to grow in our planters. When we moved up to the desert I planted two planters full of beautiful flowers and they all died that very season. The extreme weather up here makes it difficult to grow many things.
I've never cared much for roses because of the thorns and I think the flowers look yucky when they start to fade away, but they grow amazingly well in the desert and there are so many varieties. Last year my mom bought me a rose book and we started making trips down to Guerrero's rose farm in Upland. I cleared my overgrown planters of weeds and ran a drip line. David was super busy with work so I did most of it myself. I planted fifteen roses last year and I've purchased two more already this year. My mom says she finally turned me to the dark side. My favorite thing about roses is that they all have cool names. I've chosen roses based on their names to represent my family in my yard. Kinda' cheesy but I love it. I still need a rose for Cy and Aaron so that's my priority this year. Next I'll start working my extended family and friends in. :) Here are a few of the roses that are already blooming.

*Berries N' Cream*
This is Traci's rose bush, it's a beautiful climber and I was planting this when I got "the call" last year. I remember standing in the yard staring at this beautiful plant and just letting the wind blow on my face, wishing that I could feel my sweet friend beside me...one of the most vivid memories I have.

*Yellow Ribbons*
I just planted this one because it makes a pretty ground cover.

*Home Run*
I love the red flower. It's not a typical looking rose. David loved them because of the baseball reference in the name. He had me plant one big Iceberg (white shrub rose) with one of these on either side because it reminds him of the white baseball with two red stitches around it.

*Just Joey*
My newest addition to the yard, these are Joey's. :)
This rose has HUGE flowers and they smell great.

I'm also trying my hand at a garden this year. We have to start our plants indoors up here because the weather is so sporatic throughout Spring. It freezes even into April. I put them out for sun everyday that it is warm . Otherwise they are in my kitchen taking up the little bit of counter space that I have. We're growing beans, peppers, pumpkins, watermelon, strawberries, carrots, radishes, tomatoes and sunflowers. :) This year is mostly an experiement for me to see what works and what doesn't.