Ahh, the roses of summer! They smell so sweet.
Rosa 'Abbaye de Cluny'
Now that they have gotten past the onslaught of Japanese beetles, they are looking good basking in the warm (read that, hot!) air and drinking up all that rain from last week.
Rosa 'Morden Blush'
They bring a smile to my face, reminding me that there are still wonderful things around me to savor.
Rosa 'Radsunny Knockout'
They need a little attention and care every now and then, but when they perform – ooh, how wonderful!
Unknown Rose
This reminds me of some of my clients. Some of them are wonderful like the roses. They ask questions, they water their plants or they put in watering systems to help them, they let you know that things are looking fabulous and thank you for your work, and then they pay you promptly.
Then there are others that are like the thorns and you wonder just why they are allowed to have gardens.
Rose thorns
These thorny clients are ones that don’t hear you when you tell them which plants need extra attention with watering because they are new or in dry conditions, or that splash water with a hose (or have someone else do it similarly) occasionally over the top of the plants (containers, in particular), and then wonder why the plants are dying or even dead. Sometimes in their zeal in neaten things up, power pruners are taken to the shrubs or peonies cutting off all the flowers or potential flowers to get those nice round balls! Have you ever seen a peony plant trimmed like a ball?! Horrific! And what about never saying the work I did looks nice (or doesn’t look nice, whichever) or thanking me, or sometimes paying a month or six weeks or more later, but continuing to want more and more done. Thorns.
But, at the end of the day, one must take the thorns to get the roses!
