Roses



Orange – Orange roses signify desire and enthusiasm. They can be given at a graduation or a commencement to celebrate the ending and beginning of two different phases in life.







Lavender/Purple – Lavender or purple roses are a sign of love at first sight. If you just meet someone and have fallen head over heals for them, show them how you feel by giving them lavender roses.







Regardless of the color of roses, they represent love and friendship among many other wonderful things. Roses can be planted in your garden or kept in vases throughout your home. If you are growing roses in your garden follow this gardening tip to ensure you receive the best results possible:







Pruning Your Roses – Using pruning shears, trim your roses around the edges and remove any dead leaves from the plant. Cut out any dead wood, twigs or stems which are cross-growing over one another. 







Roses are a sign of love and friendship and by giving someone a rose you are telling them how truly special they are. There are a number of colors of roses available and each one represents a different meaning to the receiver. If you are looking to purchase roses for that special someone, but aren’t quite sure which color would best suit your relationship, keep reading to find out what each color represents.







Red – Red roses are a sign of love, beauty, courage and respect. This color represents romantic, sincere and passionate love. If you want to show your loved one that they are the love of your life, red roses are the ones to choose. Giving a single red rose to someone is a simple way to say “I love you”.







White – White roses are a sign of purity, innocence, silence and youthfulness. They are given to individuals who are shy about love and are used to tell the person how special they are. White roses can also be used in weddings as an indication of new love which is just beginning.




Pink – Pink roses are a sign of appreciation and are often given as a thank you. Pink flowers also represent happiness and admiration and are given to someone you love whether it be a significant other or a best friend.







Yellow – Yellow roses are a sign of friendship, happiness, joy and promise. Yellow roses are often given to show happiness for loved ones who are returning from a long trip or leave of absence.










You may be disappointed with a plant combination you chose last season. Fall is the perfect time to rearrange. Get rid of overgrown plants and revive areas with new color or foliage combinations. Think about areas in your bulb or perennial garden you want to develop. What size, shape and bloom color do you need? Plant them this fall and watch your pans come to fruition come spring.













Shrubs and trees do take years to mature and fill their place. You can get a jump start by planting them this fall. When spring arrives they'll be much more hardy and will require less babying.













Fall is the perfect time to mail order bulbs, perrenials , shrubs, hedges and trees. We're winding down the season and if you're anything like me you're just not ready to quit quite yet. Sure there's clean up to be done, but I find more planting helps to finish those mundane cxhores. As I clean out I plant new! 







Ordering online or by mail







Ordering plants online can be a bit scary. How are the plants shipped? Will they be good quality? Will they arrive at the right time and will I be prepared to plant them then?







Fear not! I've ordered in fall for years and have had tremendous results! 







Plant Quality and Guarantees







Nurseries do differ in what and how they ship so make sure you do some research, but almost all reputable mail order nurseries do guarantee their plants to grow or your money back. I've never had trouble collecting on that promise and I have used it a time or two for certain plants. I also admit, a bit grudgingly as a then new gardener, that I should never have ordered those specific plants for my climate. Nevertheless the nursery did stand behind it's guarantee.







How Plants Are Shipped







Some plants will be shipped bare root, others as potted plants. This depends on the plant variety and I've actually found preference to bare root plants. They do look dead when they arrive (they are actually dormant), but I assure you that unless they have visible signs of disease like rot they'll thrive come spring.







*Note - If you do get any plants that look like the crown has rotted either ship them back immediately or just phone the nursery and they'll ship out new ones.





Take a good look at your garden now and think about areas you need to fill in. Do you need late season color, early spring blooms? Are there bare spots or places where plants like poppies or tulips go dormant and you need a filler to keep your garden alive with color? I find the best time for next years planning is in the fall when bloom time and plant combinations are fresh in my mind.