Joni Younie's new rose garden

Joni Younie, one of the paraticipants from our Sunday classes at All Seasons Nursery in Lafayette, worked hard for the past three days to produce a beautiful rose garden at her home. Enjoy !

Photos / story
By Joni Younie

Here is the result of my Sunday class. Three nights of tilling, stacking 90 blocks and 30 bags of humis, a car full of new roses, early morning watering and voila! Three bushes are blooming already. Maybe not the sunniest part of the yard, but the most enjoyable and closest to nurture the beautiful plants.

Rose Dreams

I have been dreaming of a beautiful rose garden for two and a half years, since we moved into our tiny home with a big empty back yard with only one big crepe myrtle tree.

No flower beds front or back, just lush lawn, and surrounded by neighbors with huge old trees. I am not a housekeeper - I am a gardener, and this empty yard was just what I needed for a fun project.

My first project was to plant fruit trees in the back yard. Then last summer I tackled the start of my front yard. The front I like to have be very colorful but fairly low maintenance so that when I drive away it makes me want to come back, and when I come home I am always perked up by the bright colors and lovely flowers. I try to do a lot of my planting with perennials that will automatically surprise me year round.

This was to be my Rose year. I have had a few roses in the back yard in containers, but they were not really happy, nor was I. I just couldn’t figure out where my dream garden should be placed.

In the beginning of March it finally came to me where the rose garden should be. I wanted this garden for me and my pleasure, not to show off to anyone else. It would be sort of like a sanctuary to enjoy and be very special. That narrowed it down to the back yard where

I spend the most time. I started paying attention to where I went in the yard and what I saw looking out my windows. I thought about the maintenance and accessability, and one morning I woke up and just realized where my garden would be placed.

We have small area in direct view of the kitchen and right by a sidewalk that just was used for a B-B-Q. This was my spot! It is right outside the door and in total view from a screened in patio and the kitchen window, so the roses would be totally visible at all times and right out my door to enjoy and maintain.

Now came the garden planning. I don’t like boxes or straight lines. I like to curve everything I can. I was bound on two sides by the walk way but could curve the other side. I always plan with a garden hose.

I planned my curve to match my nearby crepe myrtle and also to allow a bird bath. I killed my grass, thus committing myself to this project. My husband went with me to pick up 30 landscape bricks, what I estimated for a three tier high container.

Then my husband left for a month of work overseas. I then planned to till the area with my garden tiller. Wrong! The tiller died during the winter and had to go to the small engine doctor.

Ironically, during my week of waiting for the tiller, I received a phone call from my best friend telling me about a Rose Seminar at All Seasons Nursery. That sounded interesting and well timed for my project. I didn’t know what I was doing except designing a garden area to plant Roses.

Friday afternoon I rushed after work to pick up my tiller and go home to start my dream garden. At 6:00 p.m. I started tilling. My neighbor came over to see what I was doing.

He offered to help but after about 30 seconds of trying said that was "too much work" and left. I wanted to do it myself anyway. I tilled it over and over until it was totally dark. I then raked it even, scattered weed preventer, and then I applied four bags of plain topsoil.

Saturday evening, 5:00 p.m. I started placing the bricks on the ground. This was definitely a challenge because I do not work out anymore, but think I will start now!

I had a mission and was obsessed with getting my garden done. I work all week so all I have is evenings and weekends. Again my neighbor came over to check it out. I needed one brick split, so he did that for me, but again he thought my project was too much work.

Now, in the dark, I had what looked like a big wishing well. I was very tempted to do more, but resisted, knowing I had the Rose Seminar the next day and I just might learn something vital for my garden. By this time, in my mind, I had planned exactly what I needed to do to finish it, but I was still open to a learning experience.

Sunday I purchased my estimated 30 bags of Humus and anxiously awaited the Rose Seminar. I was afraid to begin to fill the area with the humus in case I might learn of something else that I should be using.

Seminar time! Joe Paris spoke of the proper soil. Great! The humus was the right choice. Now for the roses. All Seasons had the most beautiful display I had ever seen of Roses.

I also found they knew about all their Roses, and they were very helpful with a novice trying to make choices. Now I began to wonder if I had planned my garden big enough! I wanted one of everything I saw, but knew that I would not be able to maintain them all.

Ironically, in the Seminar, Joe mentioned that you must "be in Love with Roses". I have that "Love" and was ready to finish my garden! By the time I got my precious new Roses home it was 6:00 p.m., and I was determined to finish my project that evening!

I placed each container where I thought it should go. I started one by one taking the plant out of its container and opening bags of humus. It got dark, but I was obsessed and determined to finish this garden so that when I come home from work I have something wonderful to enjoy.

I ended up turning a spotlight on so I could finish. No "mossies" out this night (mosquitoes), so I guess I was meant to finish this project. The hardest part of the project was when I finished and I wanted to water the plants.

I could see Joe standing up there saying, "Don’t let me find any of you watering your plants at this time of day", and this was around 4:30 p.m.. So, at 8:00 p.m. I knew he would have had a stroke if I watered.

Reluctantly, I resisted. I picked up my empty bags, and tools and got my camera. I figured with a flash I could see what I had really accomplished. All looked fine.

I got up extra early Monday morning so I could water the Roses and see what the finished project really looked like.

I was very pleased. All the roses looked happy and I only broke one stem in the evening planting process. I cut my first rose and happily took it to work with me. I am thrilled with the visibility of the garden, and the height makes it easy to work in. My Rose Sanctuary is complete and everything I wanted and well worth the wait.

My garden may not appeal to everyone, but this one is personal for my enjoyment. As I look around my neighborhood I see many yards with roses. Most are a bush here and there that look nice, but are often on the side yard and not something you see or that provide the effect my garden does.

Everyone has their own design, and I finally completed mine. My husband is away at work for three more weeks. I will love seeing his delight when he sees my Rose Garden, and by then all the bushes should be in bloom.

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The first rose from Joni's Garden !!! Anyone care to guess what it is?

Like what you see and want to visit Joni's Garden? email her at joniyounie@yahoo.com and ask her to come over. She's a friendly gal. Plus, she could use your help weeding (joke) .

Please, some of you others who read this - please contribute things to this blog (send me articles and photos via email) and I will make you a full member, so you can add things whenever you want to.

This can be a real fine resource if we simply create a community here. Let's do that.
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