by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   @HeartSisters

For the first time in 14 years, I took a wee summer break from writing my weekly Heart Sisters posts, and started a small temporary site, The Novice Rose Gardener, in the spring of 2022 – mostly to track my new obsession/adventure:  trying to grow balcony roses. I truly believed this learning experience would bring me joy ( I LOVE LOVE LOVE roses!) – but, just like in real life, I learned that it’s far more about managing expectations. My adventure can now best be described as a horticultural roller coaster!  By the way, to my readers who have been asking when or if I’ll be getting back to writing those Sunday morning blog posts about women’s heart health: I’m unable to say quite yet.  Meanwhile, you can find links to my list of all 900+ articles here.  And for all of you who happen to love roses – or roller coasters – I’m archiving my balcony rose posts, starting here with the first essay:

1.  Right Rose, Right Place – March

My only experience with choosing and planting roses (as opposed to moving into a home that already had roses in the garden) was back in the late 90s when I read an article about an amazingly fast-growing rose called Kiftsgate.  The article said:            .

Continue reading “How I spent my summer vacation. . .” →