I Know What I Did Last Summer

Last summer I committed a horrible crime.

Let me start from the beginning. Every spring, I start my planting rituals with a good ol' bottle of Roundup weed killer. I spray the soil a week or two before I plant and, voila! It's all weed free and ready for seeds and plants when I'm ready to put them in. Last year, I discovered Roundup had come out with a new product: Extended Control. Who wouldn't want extended week killing capabilities. Sign me up!

Even the bottle looks super advanced. So I bought it. And I sprayed away. I made sure to apply liberally around my rose bushes. I loved those rose bushes and I didn't want any weeds choking them out. It wasn't until after I applied it that I decided to read the label.

I was horrified to learn that this particular product was meant not just to kill weeds, but ALL vegetation. FOR FOUR MONTHS. Meaning that not only was this going to kill my roses, it would also kill any seed, seedling or fully grown plant I put in the dirt for the next four months. That was a sad day. And a sad summer. I did my best to replace the topsoil and I got a few petunias to grow, but my roses were putting out these sick little spider like leaves and no roses. Did I mention how much I love my roses? Summer was ruined. I planned to replace the roses the following spring, when the extend-o-kill wore off.

Then, this spring, a miracle happened. Two of my three rosebushes were putting out REAL leaves. I let it play out.

Finally two weeks ago, I got a Cabana rose.

Then a Bella Roma.

And then, finally the Nancy Reagan rosebush decided to show some life (believe me, this is a huge improvement over last year).

Add that to the promising buds on the new rosebush Chris got me for Mother's day and I am finally having a happy summer. My roses won't win any prizes at the county fair, but summer just isn't quite the same without them.