It is not often that I have a mono-job day. I am by nature a flitter, and prefer to have a variety of tasks to fill the hours. Today however myself and Mrs Bun undertook to tame the great tangle of rose that divides the vegetable garden with the rest of the garden. It was a struggle, it was dangerous, it was painful, it was fun and it was successful. The unruly octopus was tamed and tied in, resulting in many tenacles bound for the bonfire, but it put up a stirling fight in the process. At one point I bashed the side of my head and my ear so hard on the arbour seat, which had been moved not far enough out of the way, that bells rang and tears welled. However, I was extremely brave and refined in my response to this incident. Most unlike me. Later Mrs Bun told me she would have brought me smarties if I had cried. Bravery does not pay.
The more astute of you will have noticed that the photo above is not the aforementioned rose, or indeed any rose. It is Helenium autumnale, grown from seed to flowering in one year. Well I was impressed.
Off The Edge Gardening 
In my early years, when we had all those innoculations in (what was then called infants) school, a teacher gave us a Smartie (singular) for being brave and not crying. We discovered that those who cried got two. So the next time we screamed loudly. And got three. We were fast learners. Helenium from seed to flower in a single season IS impressive. And deserves four Smarties for excellent achievement.
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I will accept the four smarties on behalf of Mrs Bun. Thanks 🙂
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Who knew that gardening was so dangerous? I can see the value of loud weeping.
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I have learnt a lesson. Actually I am usually very good at crying. Not too much at physical stuff though. Just the rest. Always blubbing. 🙂
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My father used to say that if I came home from the movies and had not cried, it must not have been a very good movie.
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I love a good weepy too, the tears get rid of all the badness. 🙂
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Those rose bushes! I’ve had lots of pokes and scrapes from them whilst weeding and not watching out. Nothing like the full out battle you were engaged in, though! You deserved some Smarties, for sure! .
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They always manage to grab onto you somewhere! I had quite a lot of clothes on, needed armour really. 😉
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I have a 45 foot hedge of rosa rugosa Roseraie de l’Hay to divide a large bed it two, it’s beautiful in bloom but a pain, pun intended, to prune every year. I’ve discovered that welder’s gauntlets don’t let the thorns through, bliss.
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Ha! That sounds an absolute nightmare and absolutely beautiful at the same time!
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*hands over tube of Smarties and Sudocrem*
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Cheers me dear, much appreciated x
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I have a love hate relationship with my climbing roses, I love them when they are in flower but come pruning time…..
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Exactly! And then we forget until the next time. Which is possibly just as well 🙂
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