The saying, “stop to smell the roses,” should sometimes be taken literally in the garden. Many of our roses are in bloom now but I think my favorite is a beach rose (Rosa rugosa) that we have had for just a few years.
It is the most simple of roses to care for as it needs little help save a bi-yearly deposit of cow manure and an occasional banana peel at its base.
Juana picks one and tells me to smell it. The heady scent of a rose combined with a hint of clove surprises me.
“Isn’t that wonderful?” she asks. Indeed it is.
