My first rose garden was in Pasadena. I was living in a house that unfortunately was sheltered by elm trees. I was highly allergic to the elm trees, but not to the roses.
Eventually, besides the roses that came with the house, I added roses in large unglazed ceramic pots. My rose garden included a black red rose (Taboo) and Double Delight. I added the yellow-green St. Patrick and eventually the purple Barbra Streisand.
When I moved, I lugged all those roses with me to a small duplex. My neighbor was an elderly Armenian lady who spoke only Armenian and French. She didn’t like my three dogs, but she loved the wild flowers (Shirley Poppies) and roses. Because she told me that she loved the red roses, I always cut the red rose blooms and left them for her.
Eventually, she became too frail and forgetful to live alone. My next neighbor liked the flowers, but their two dogs dug up the garden and they rarely picked up after them. I put up a small fence, but even helped them get roses from a friend’s garden. She was letting her roses go because after two strokes, she could no longer care for them. That couple left and another moved in who had a child and soon another on the way. They had no time for a garden and their side became just dirt.
I moved a small cottage when the owner sold that property and the new owner wanted to double the rent. Many of my gardening improvements are still there.
The next place I had all my pots in the front and the back, but the owner made promises that he didn’t keep. I took him to court and won after I had left. Most of the other people there were divorcing women. The next place I moved to in Sun Valley had a big dirt yard and I tried to add plants, but the landlord wasn’t the best there either. The yard was all dirt and due to their negligence, I was injured there and required surgery. I left all my roses, my bamboo and other plants with the neighbors and moved into a loft Pasadena with no plants at all.
Still, I began a wildflower garden across the street that had only been weeds. Those California poppies are still there.
I got married and moved into a townhouse. When the HOA took an turn for the worse, we decided to move. The HOA lost all three court cases (one brought on by them) and had to settle out of court, but we wanted to live somewhere in peace. We left behind a hummingbird garden with Heritage tomatoes. They tore those out before we left (without the required vote or notification).
The house where we now live came with three old roses, one is Angel Face. One of the front window has roses etched onto it. We added a Purple Tiger last year. This year will add two more roses, including a Barbra Streisand.
Having sold the condo for a large financial loss this last summer, we don’t have a lot of money to spend on a garden. Please take the time to click through and “Like” my story. I have 37 “Likes” and need double that. My goal is 200 by 11 p.m. on 13 February 2013.
Age of the Geek 