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Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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Posted by MeriBast Northam WA (My Page) on Thu, Jun 23, 05 at 20:26
Hi all,
It's been a while since I posted. So much has been going on that I have not had a chance to get to the computer very often :(
We need to sell our house. I need to move back to the city for health reasons. As a first home owner, it is sad enough that I only managed to live in my home for 18 months, and will need to go back to renting again. What is even sadder is the fact that I managed to put 70 rose bushes into the ground over the last 18 months and I don't want to leave them here.
I grew so attached to them all. I can name each and every one. I watched the first new shoots sprout that told me they had taken to their new home with ease. I watched the first flowers bloom, going outside every day to observe the buds open. I put the roses we saved from my mother's home into the ground here and saw them take off. Blackboy has transformed from a spindly straggling thing into a climber that has already stretched half way along the fence!
I have taken so many pictures of them all that they fill several cd's.
I have been watching the hips form, waiting patiently for them to ripen so I can sow the seeds and see what is produced. And now... now I have to leave. Well, I will have to leave SOON.
And I don't know what to do. I will miss them all so much that I cry just thinking about it. They have become like children to me. I just don't know if I should dig them up and pot them all and take them with me, or leave them in the ground where they are happy at the moment?
It seems selfish to want to take them out of the ground, but I love them all so much and I would hate to think that the place will be bought by someone who will not want them...someone who will neglect them or (worse) dig them up and throw them out!
I am not even sure that any cuttings I take will survive now. The frosts are here early this year :(
kind regards,
a very sad and confused Meri Bast. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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- Posted by deejaus Melb.Vic. Aust (My Page) on
Thu, Jun 23, 05 at 21:48
I feel so sad for you. It must be heart-breaking, but your health MUST come first.
I was thinking that perhaps you could go round the garden and decide which are your absolute favourites and pot them up to take with you. Then go round again and choose your second most favourites and offer them to friends or family who you can trust to look after them. Perhaps there are some GW members in WA who you might want to share with as well.
I do hope everything works out alright for you.
Cheers,
Dee. |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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I also feel very sad for you I also had to leave my large garden I grew from scratch due to ill health so I can relate to your situation, if you are going to rent a place with a yard then I would pot up my absolute favourites & take them with me & as Dee said have you some friends who would like some so that you can still see them or have some flowers off them whatever you do I wish you goodluck in the future
Jan. |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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OMG!! Im so sorry to hear this.My roses are like my family to me as well.
I would pot as many as I could and take them with me.
If you have space in your new place they can be grown very well in large containers (I know!! I have about 45 in containers at the moment while we do the back yard).
Some have grown beautifully ,some have been in their pots for 2-3 years.
It will be a lot of work but it will be worth it.
Hope things improve for you
cheers
Michelle |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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- Posted by meryl2 Sydney/Blue Mts (My Page) on
Fri, Jun 24, 05 at 7:51
| Hugs. So sorry. I empathise (had major problems in recent years, even landed back in hospital over the long weekend). Take everything you can. Make access to maximum sunshine a priority when you are looking for the rental property. Best of luck. |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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That is sad I feel so sorry for you, do try and takes as many of your roses as you can.
Pot them up as you will need some kind of Cheering up at your next house
And flowers, especially Roses do that kind of thing, I do hope everything goes Ok for you.
Especially in your next house, Good Luck with the new garden. Cheers....MM |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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| Thank you all so very much for your kind wishes and sympathy. You are all such lovely people! It is hard to see through the tears in my eyes... Your advice has been incredibly helpful and I have now come to a decision. I will pot up my absolute favourites. I would love that list to include the roses from my mother's house but they are old roses and to dig them up AGAIN and pot them may be too much for them, so I will take cuttings instead. Then, when the place goes on the market, I will tell the agent that, if the new owners don't want the roses, I want to have the choice of taking them. I will then go around again and pot up those that are not too large and take them with me if possible. Some of the bushes are huge already (like Elina-she looks like she has been in the ground for years)and, as much as I love her, (she IS one of my favourites) she would suffer in a pot now... So, I will then offer bushes like her to members of this list who may be interested. Due to quarentine issues, as well as the truma of posting such large roses,etc, that means I will probably only be able to offer them to others here in Perth. I will also offer my mum's roses too. If they can go straight back into the ground then they may stand a chance of surviving. Anyway, I will keep you all up to date as things progress. But first, I need to find somewhere to rent... Once again, thank you all so very much for your kind words to me. warm hugs,
MeriBast. |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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| There is health and there is health your emotional health is just as important as your physical health. If it will break your heart to leave any then dont. Follow your heart.Pot them up a few at a time and if there is not enough room for all when you are renting perhaps relatives could look after some and you could visit. It sounds as if you have a bit of time so pot up a few at a time. All the best with it cheers pam |
RE:sorry too late
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| Sorry MeriBast it looks as if we were both posting at the same time. I hope it all works out well |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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Also take with you the knowledge and experience you gained from creating your garden, plus lots of catalogues and books to help you plan your next one.
All the best. |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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I'm so glad you have made a decision. Often the worst part is in deciding what to do. Now you can start planning and acting and feel good in your decision. Good on you!!
Cheers,
Dee. |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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- Posted by ashmeri Cent. Qld.Aust. (My Page) on
Sat, Jun 25, 05 at 5:53
Good luck with your potting, I am sure they will all live well for you in their new home and be such a comfort to you when they bloom.
I just bought my first roses this year and they are all living happily in their pots, and I go and have a little chat with them each morning loooking for the first sign of buds.
All the very best with your health and the big move.
Marion |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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| Being winter you at least have the choice rather than in summer to Perth. I moved some of my roses from Perth in large pots in spring but I potted them up in winter and it's cutting time too now. I replanted them but should have left thenm in pots longer as they went in the wrong spots and I also used Glysophate too close to some of them. |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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Meri
at least you will be able to take some of them with you. Take heart in your new potted plants as their care I'm sure will help you get well again
If you need somewhere to store the pots for a short time they can come to my house - but I am short of sunny spots .
regards Deryn |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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Good luck Meri, I hope the move proves to be worth the sadness of leaving your babies, maybe the new owners will love them too! If they don't want them and you need help to pot them up I would be willing to come and help you if you need it!
I empathise as my roses are company to me while my husband is away! (I have to have a growl at them occasionally too!)
Please do contact me if you need help as maybe with your health issues you shouldn't be struggling with the digging as well as the emotion of it all!
Good luck
Kym |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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| Thank you both for your very kind offers of assistance Deryn and Kym. I will know more about the move in the next couple of weeks, so I will certainly keep you informed, ok? You are both very kind to offer your help in such a way. I appreciate it very much! warm regards,
MeriBast.
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RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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| just putting my two pence worth in...maybe..let them go...let others enjoy them...including your mums roses.......if there is some health issues that will need your focus....perhaps planning a new rose garden will be a pleasant and importantdistraction?....just my houghts |
RE: Heartbreaking decision needs to be made.
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- Posted by Snodge Outer Sydney (My Page) on
Tue, Jul 26, 05 at 0:04
I hope it's all proceeding well for you. It's an agonising decision after all the decisions and work along the way. I can understand I'm having to make similar choices at the moment.
Like Brenton has suggested there can be relief in just letting it go. It's so stressful agonising, then worrying about whether they'll live, or feeling bad because you don't have the time or perhaps health to fuss over them in the pots (or in my case after the move).
I've decided that I'll move those I'm especially fond of IF they'll look good where they're going. I calculated that the cost of large pots and potting mix would be just about as much as replacing the rose, so I'm not going to pot things up beyond what supplies I've already got on hand, but that wouldn't be so for you, cause you'll probably need them in pots in future anyway. But you might want to think about how many pots you WANT and stick to that - remember the maintenance on pots is way higher than roses in the ground. Time to be ruthless. For you, I'd say only take what is likely to do well in a pot more or less indefinitely. I don't know what your landlord will require, but I know where my daughter was renting recently it was in the lease that they were not allowed to plant anything, or interfere with the garden at all. The pleasure from a small number of really happy plants will far outweight 50 pots of half dead things. So I'd suggest (If you can manhandle them, or have assistance from someone who can) go for fewer in bigger pots. |
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